Gay Hotels Given No Voice On City Panel

CATHEDRAL CITY, CALIFORNIA - Cathedral City's gay hotels are not represented on the city's newly formed marketing committee, and Mayor Pro Tem Greg Pettis is not happy.
"The gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender market is not represented at all in this committee - yet (it) makes up 15 to 20 percent of the total Transient Occupancy Tax, not including the bars, nightclubs and restaurants," Pettis said. The city collects about $1.2 million dollars in TOT money; the four gay hotels in Cathedral City contribute significantly to that cash amount.
He and Councilman Paul Marchand also are displeased with how volunteer committee members were selected. Mayor Kathy DeRosa made the appointments without council interviews, which is a departure from how other committee and commission appointments are made. In all other instances, the City Council conducts interviews with applicants in closed-door sessions and makes appointments by consensus. DeRosa would not say why she didn't think City Council-conducted interviews were necessary. Two council members were satisfied with how the mayor handled the appointments.
Pettis said he probably was not paying enough attention and "presumed" a standard interview process would be in place for applicants.
DeRosa said each council member was invited to submit names for her consideration. Pettis said he submitted a gay hotelier's name but DeRosa rejected him without explanation. He has since submitted the name of Rueul Olin, owner of The Villa Resort; Olin will be considered for the committee when the council meets Wednesday.
Marchand said he did not submit names. "It was my understanding this was her thing and she was going to have her way."
DeRosa and Councilmen Bud England and Chuck Vasquez say they are surprised and confused that any council member has any issues regarding the committee. They say the marketing committee is part of the council's strategic plan; they say it has been discussed since it was approved on a 5-0 vote last fall and that there are no surprises. Everyone had the same playbook.
"That's how we run business in Cathedral City," the mayor said. "It's an open and clear democracy and everything is put on the table. You have your time to speak and when a vote is taken, a vote is taken and we move forward."
Each of the six members was appointed at the mayor's discretion and the roster of names was included on the council's consent agenda last month. Items that are for information only, and do not require a decision or council action, are included in the consent agenda. It allows all of the reports to be received with one motion. Consent agendas are sometimes used as a way to easily push things through the process, though that is not their purpose.
Pettis and Marchand tried to postpone the appointments - at least until there could be more discussion - but they were on the losing end of a 3-2 vote.
"I blame myself as much as anybody for not looking at this," Marchand said. "We allowed something like this to go on consent and we weren't looking. I will not make that mistake a second time. I do not feel the process was respected and we allowed the mayor to put herself in a position where if this committee does not work, it's going to be all her fault. She's going to have to take responsibility for it. This is her brainchild."
England said the disgruntlement has little, if anything, to do with the selection process or anything else. It all comes down to politics, he said. England said a local hotelier who applied to be part of the committee was not selected, which created the animosity toward the selection process and those who were or were not chosen.
"That (hotelier) is "closely tied to a particular council member," England said.
"I kind of snicker, but I'm a little frustrated because I know the political game that's being played," England said. "It's unfortunate. "
Council members were encouraged to submit names for the committee and each was given copies of the applications, England said. Any member - at any time - could have suggested bringing them in for an interview; no one did. "Nobody wanted to take the time to do that. Everything was fine until Kathy made a decision."
The purpose of the marketing committee is to evaluate the annual marketing and branding plan, create an annual budget based on the plan and produce an Identity Manual that will be used for all printed materials.
from The Desert Sun