As of November 2021, the city of La Quinta had 1,186 active short-term vacation rental (STVR) permits, according to an article in The Desert Sun. But that number could shrink significantly if, on Nov. 8, voters approve Measure A, a citizen-generated ballot measure that would phase out many short-term rentals in La Quinta.
All five current La Quinta City Council members, it should be noted, oppose Measure A.
The issue of short-term vacation rentals is just one of the topics the Independent recently discussed with each of the three candidates vying to become mayor of La Quinta for the next two years. Those candidates (in alphabetical order) are incumbent Linda Evans, who has held the office since 2014, and two longtime residents, Robert Sylk and Alan Woodruff.
Evans, who serves as the chief strategy officer for community advocacy of the Desert Care Network, received her bachelor’s degree in communications/public relations from Cal State Fullerton, and holds two master’s degrees, in health administration and gerontology, from the University of La Verne. According to her campaign website, she serves as chair of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) Energy and Environmental Committee, and as chair of CVAG’s Conservation Commission. She is also a board member for Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine. She recently celebrated her 27th wedding anniversary with her husband, Tim, whose attention she shares with their dog, Rufus.
Robert Sylk is a United States Army veteran and, as he told the Independent in our recent interview, the recipient of three appointments made by active or aspiring U.S. presidents: President George H.W. Bush selected him as part of a team negotiating an economic aid package with Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin; President Barack Obama appointed him a director of the Selective Service System for Riverside County; and former President Donald Trump selected him as his 2016 campaign chairman for the Coachella Valley. He’s an accomplished amateur golfer with a 3.8-stroke handicap, and has three children.
Alan Woodruff is a triathlon endurance coach. He advises his athletes on nutrition, training, schedules and “a little bit about what goes on between their ears.” He is a passionate animal advocate who frequently rescues animals, and with his wife, Debbie, he cares for three colonies of cats, as well as their four dogs.
The Independent recently asked each of the candidates the same slate of six questions. Below, in alphabetical order, you will find their responses, which have been edited only for clarity and editorial style.
Linda Evans
Why do you think you are the best qualified candidate to be the mayor of La Quinta for the next two years?
I’ve been honored to serve as mayor since 2014, based on the selection by the residents of La Quinta for me to represent them and the community. My goal in continuing for re-election is to keep the momentum that La Quinta has, as we come out of the pandemic, and while we’re still working on financial-recovery efforts, to make sure we are stable going forward. My goal in continuing as mayor (will be) to look at the long-term stability of the city, as well as ensuring that outstanding projects that are in place continue to move forward and get completed, while new opportunities are presented to us and evaluated appropriately for implementation.
What are the top two issues or goals that the city must address for the benefit and well-being of the city’s residents?
Probably the most important issue to residents right now is Measure A, and that is a citizen-driven initiative that proposes to eliminate all non-hosted short-term rentals in our community. We have very few locations that even allow short-term rentals, because of the fact that La Quinta has so many country clubs that have CC&Rs (covenants, conditions and regulations) that already forbid them. However, the goal of Measure A is to either continue the program as we have established it—with rules, regulations, fines and reduced complaints based on the management of the programؙ—or by voting yes, that eliminates them from the residential areas and impacts the service industry, the local businesses and jobs because of the lack of that revenue. That seems to be a top priority, not only for (the city’s voters, but for) the City Council, which in its entirety is opposed to banning short-term-rentals and supports having a balanced program within the community for options for people wanting to visit our lovely paradise.
I would say the second one is looking at our infrastructure—road enhancements, controlled growth and development, the visioning of the Highway 111 corridor, and what we’re looking to do with form-based curbs, some beautification, some retail-tainment and affordable housing. We have purchased land to build affordable-housing units. We’ve got over 1,300 in La Quinta right now, and we’ve got goals to have more built so that we can have entry-level housing for residents who want to live here, work here and play here.
Do you agree or disagree with Measure A, which would severely limit the existence of short-term vacation rentals in La Quinta?
I am opposed to Measure A. I believe that the citizens did not provide the community enough time once the new regulations and a ban was put in place to look at the effectiveness of the measures the City Council took with resident input and feedback. However, because it’s there, we will look at the outcome either way. We will be able to adjust and make whatever changes in expenses to offset the lack of revenue. But more importantly, we’ll have to look at how we assist our local businesses and residents who may not have jobs because of the service industry required to support the upkeep of the short-term rentals that are in our areas.
The one interesting thing about Measure A: While they’re pushing to ban (STVRs), they are allowing home shares or hosted short-term rentals. So, in fact, the argument that they don’t want businesses in residential neighborhoods is actually a misnomer, because part of their measure allows new short-term rental permits, which we have not issued since August 2020. So if it passes, we still issue permits in hosted residential units. I would imagine there may be a slew of new hosted residential units going forward should Measure A pass.
According to the Imperial Irrigation District’s Twitter feed, there were at least three power outages affecting more than 1,200 residents within La Quinta between Aug. 18 and Oct. 7 this year. What, if anything, can the City Council do to improve the reliability of electric power service to its residents?
This is definitely a serious concern for us as a council, for me as mayor, and for our citizens. IID has severe infrastructure-transmission reliability issues, and it takes severe and significant financial investment to enhance those, improve those, and bring new services and new substations onboard. Our residents actually have made underground utilities their highest priority at our annual community workshop, where we get feedback on what they want. That would come at a very high cost, and while we enjoy lower rates in IID than SoCal Edison customers, it has come at a cost to that reliability in service.
I serve on an energy commission with other city mayors as well as IID, and county representatives. We are looking at ways that we can seek funding and/or a model to improve the service level and reliability, as well as enhance the infrastructure. It should not be borne 100% by residents. It should not be borne 100% by developers. There needs to be a medium, and that may result in what IID is saying is increased rates in the near future to help support and fund new equipment and infrastructure to service our area.
Given the positive 2021 financial status report for the city, as detailed by the mayor and the council members at the State of the City event in April 2022, do you believe the city should continue to push for increased growth, even if it’s at the expense of the semi-rural quality of life?
Our council, historically, appreciates the zoning that’s in our general plan, that delineates areas for commercial zones versus residential zones. We’ve planned and built the community with low-density in mind, so that we can enjoy the Santa Rosa vistas and the space that we have (in what) we call paradise and the “Gem of the Desert.” So when you look at future prospects, we have not too many areas that we have to infill. Whether it’s infill land for affordable housing and entry-level housing, or whether it’s infill for smaller commercial pockets in those zoned areas, our goal is not to make it too crowded, because the beauty of it is the space. But there are designated areas where (due to the way) development has gone over the last couple of decades, land has been converted into something. We have made an effort to have lots of open space. There’s no building in the mountains. There’s no building in the Cove trail area. We don’t elevate construction on any type of hillsides. We can preserve what we have and still look at opportunities for vacant land that typically is privately owned. A developer has a right to explore projects and go through the process of consideration (by) the residents, the Planning Commission and ultimately the City Council for a decision.
What is your favorite “me” time activity?
My “me” time activity is hiking on the La Quinta Cove trails, or hiking other trails here in the greater Coachella Valley. I find that dirt under my feet is one of my favorite things. I enjoy hiking with my dog and friends, and sometimes just alone. I typically hike at 5 in the morning during workdays because of my job, and these last few days, under the moonlight, have been fabulous. We haven’t even needed a flashlight. That’s where I count my blessings. I see stars. I get my mind and body set for the day, and I just feel thankful for what our community has, the healthiness of our area, and the prospects of working together with the community for a good, healthy future.
Robert Sylk
Why do you think you are the best qualified candidate to be the mayor of La Quinta for the next two years?
I was thinking about our city of La Quinta, and all the years of delays implementing a reasonable plan, and I do not believe that our future can wait for the future. It all comes down to this: To me, it’s not enough to promise the citizens a future, when you can’t deliver one. You must find it now. And this should be the passion that has driven us since we were formed in 1982, but it’s lacking in our present leaders to discover the crucial answers that do not exist today.
For example, SilverRock Resort by itself should have been the catalyst for a new La Quinta, but the plan has changed. I believe we all have the same goals and ideas, but I was thinking that the city of La Quinta recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, and it’s not moving forward. It’s stuck from a lack of vision, a lack of leadership, and my observations over the past eight years (are that) literally every decision made by our current mayor and council is a reactive position. Rarely do we find the current council leading, or out in front of any issue. They won’t make a decision or lead without consensus. We should be one of the leading cities in the Coachella Valley, but I feel that we are not there.
I have not lost my faith in our great city. I believe in La Quinta, and that’s not just a campaign slogan, but I am using it on one of our ads in The Desert Sun every Sunday. It’s a deep-seated belief that comes from growing up surrounded by the best that La Quinta has to offer, which is strong families, strong community, strong faith and a strong work ethic. On the campaign trail, I’ve met people who have lost their jobs, homes, savings, businesses and even their way of life. But they have not lost their hope. They truly believe, as I do, that if we restore La Quinta’s promise, then things will get better. And I will run for mayor of the city of La Quinta to do just that: restore La Quinta’s promise. And I promise you that I will do this.
Why do you think you are the best qualified candidate to be the mayor of La Quinta for the next two years?
I think one thing that I would bring is a plan for the next decade. La Quinta should begin attracting technology and other new companies (so it) can retain its position as the “Gem of the Desert.” If the city’s policymakers invest in intellectual capital, then we can proceed in the direction that we need. You know, La Quinta grew from a desert stop to one of the top destination resorts in the United States, and that should be a keynote presentation. We can re-emerge as a dominant player if our leaders see the light, and are successful in attracting technology companies that would support the region.
Eight years ago, I brought up to the council that we should annex Vista Santa Rosa, and they laughed at me. They said, “Why would we do that?” I said that we’ve gotten to where we are by three annexations already, and we can be a 100,000-population city, and we could move toward the boundary of the Jacqueline Cochran Airport. I’ve led an effort to increase that from a regional airport to a national (one), which is not done as yet, because the county has to approve it. But we could buy that land for pennies on the dollar, which would be worth billions in a few years. And last month, the city of Coachella announced they want to claim Vista Santa Rosa for them, and now our council is getting onboard. And I said, “Why didn’t you guys do this eight years ago? Now, only because someone else wants it, you want it.” But I think our mayor and council are looking at what I call yesterday’s metrics to look at tomorrow’s productivity, and those are statistics that our grandfathers fell in love with, without paying attention to (the fact that) the world has changed. The new generation of consumers and industry employers are well connected with technology. So focusing on them should benefit La Quinta in the future. I brought this up even during the last election time, and (it fell) on deaf ears. We have the land for development. Let’s not fall further behind by not acting now. So I would bring forward a new plan for La Quinta. I know we have a plan that’s been in existence for 10 years already, and nothing’s been done to it.
I mean, when I drive our streets, which are in bad shape, I think how we were the golf capital of the United States. Let’s get back to that level. Then they approve plans for like a dozen hamburger places, and we’ll have, like, 17 hamburger places. But now I think we’re the pothole capital. I think we’re the only city in the desert (where) if you drive on the major streets, and you take your hands off the steering wheel, the car moves into the next lane automatically because of the ruts on the roads. So, let’s get the city back on track to being No. 1.
My second issue is that, when you enter the city from Indian Wells, a previous administration wanted from Washington (Street) to Jefferson (Street, along Highway 111) to be a beautiful parkway, continuing the way it is in Indian Wells. That’s why all the buildings were built back from Highway 111. Costco is half a block in, along with many others. But this administration has allowed the car dealerships to put the cars right on the street pavement, so when you enter La Quinta, you think it’s a used car lot. It’s not a beautiful parkway with nice trees in the median. I’m very ashamed of that. So the infrastructure is one thing I’d like to improve as well. There are many issues, but those are two that come to mind.
Do you agree or disagree with Measure A, which would severely limit the existence of short-term vacation rentals in La Quinta?
Well, that’s not really true. As passed by voters, the initiative would phase out short-term vacation rentals in residential-1 and residential-2 neighborhoods by the end of December 2024. It would allow them only in home shares where the property owner remains onsite throughout the rental, and in designated areas, such as those zoned tourist-commercial. So, it’s not going to be phased out completely. And in HOAs, like where I live, we allow rentals by the month (or more), and those (renters) act more like neighbors. Really, I’m in favor of STVRs until one moves in next door to you, and then you don’t like it. But you can’t blame people who pay that kind of money, and come here on Friday night to go to Coachella fest or something else, and they don’t get home until 1 a.m., and they’ve had a few drinks, and they want to go out to the pool and turn on the music. But that music bothers maybe eight homes that surround (that STVR). It’s a real pain. We have a noise law that only allows noise from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. But you don’t want to go knocking on their doors, so you have to call the non-emergency number. I think our code compliance (unit) is way understaffed. They only answer about 15% of the calls. So we should bring code compliance up to speed, and fine the owners of the properties. The first warning, there’s no charge, but for the second, it’s $3,000, and for the third, it’s $5,000. And the owners have to collect that money from the tenants. So those tenants have to put up more money in security deposits. So I think there’s a way. I’m for business in La Quinta, and I am in favor of Measure A as it is currently listed.
According to the Imperial Irrigation District’s Twitter feed, there were at least three power outages affecting more than 1,200 residents within La Quinta between Aug. 18 and Oct. 7 this year. What, if anything, can the City Council do to improve the reliability of electric power service to its residents?
I don’t know what they can do, unless they can put some pressure on the IID. I think they’re doing the best that they can. They do put out alerts for you to cut back four to five hours a day when it’s going to be 120 degrees, and they know the power is going to be surging. And when the power has gone out, they’ve repaired it pretty quickly. They’re pretty good about notifying everybody, notifying the news outlets. I think there’s not too much that the city can do, except keep the pressure on IID to be fair and balanced with all of the residents, because that’s who they make their money from—from us.
Given the positive 2021 financial status report for the city, as detailed by the mayor and the council members at the State of the City event in April 2022, do you believe the city should continue to push for increased growth, even if it’s at the expense of the semi-rural quality of life?
Firstly, I strongly believe our city needs a new beginning, and I’m looking forward to a new city administration that remembers above all that the people’s good is the highest law over their own personal wants. And we must take back La Quinta to make La Quinta great again. There’s too much at stake here to let it all go. That is one of the serious questions.
I don’t believe the numbers. I feel that they have fudged a lot of things. There was an East Valley Chamber of Commerce State of the City (event) recently in La Quinta, and, of course, the mayor was the host. She gave a State of the City at that. To tell you the truth, we don’t even listen to it any longer. I said in a speech on Oct. 5 at the La Quinta Resort: Each election cycle marks a time for us to begin again with promise and potential. Over the years, our experience with La Quinta city statements continues to show that we’re not likely to believe something just because it’s what we’re asked to believe, and we find it difficult when someone has fudged the facts or stretched the truth. And the falsity that we detect is that they want us pretending that something is there when nothing is there. That’s why we need a process that would enable voters to focus on candidates’ abilities and potential without being distracted and biased by irrelevant factors such as tenure in office.
I feel that 60% of the voters in La Quinta don’t know what the heck is going on, because they get up, and it’s another nice day. Only 3,000 of the 20,000 homes get the newspaper. The TV (news) doesn’t cover everything, because there are 15 cities to cover. The only way to get their attention is to send those 9-by-12 mailers to their homes. And if you send enough of them, and they read them, then you can get the point across. Sixty percent (of the registered voters) vote for the incumbent, so it’s very hard for non-incumbents like myself to get anywhere.
I think the city is not transparent. They’re telling 100% of the truth of what they’re telling us, but not of the entire picture, only the portion that they want us to know. All of a sudden, they don’t have any money, and they have to raise taxes (because) they need to fix the streets, and do this. Then, all of a sudden, there’s a $50 million surplus, and they didn’t tell you that before. So until we get into office, and really do an audit of everything, and all the secret deals and everything else that might be going on, that’s what I would like to see happen.
What is your favorite “me” time activity?
I’m a semi-classical pianist, and if you look at my website, you’ll see me playing the piano in front of the 86-piece Westchester orchestra, and the 40 Marina choral singers in Marina del Rey in my tux and tails. Also, I’m a good golfer. In fact, I shoot my age on the course all the time, and I played in the California state amateur. My handicap is a 3.8 on the golf course. Plus, I have three kids, two dogs, and I like spend time with the family. And I love to travel, too. Being in the golf capital of the United States, I’m in the perfect place.
Alan Woodruff
Why do you think you are the best qualified candidate to be the mayor of La Quinta for the next two years?
That’s a very simple question. I’m definitely the better candidate simply because I’m involved with the community. My basis for running for mayor has always been predicated on my involvement for the community. I have made the comment—and I will go into November with this—anything that comes across my desk as your mayor that is based strictly on commission and (is) tax-based will be scrutinized very, very deeply.
I do not need to build on every open space in La Quinta, and I believe that the people of La Quinta who live here, and have lived here for years, do not want us annexed by Los Angeles developers. That’s why I believe, very sincerely, that I am the better candidate, because I believe the opposition has got development on their mind, as far as the Travertine development with the bridges across the berm, and Coral Mountain, which I believe will be revisited again. They’ve made noise that they want to annex Vista Santa Rosa and put the wave park in there in its entirety, with its 60 million gallons of water usage a year. So, that’s why I believe I’m the better candidate, hands down.
Why do you think you are the best qualified candidate to be the mayor of La Quinta for the next two years?
They must complete SilverRock. SilverRock does not even have a roof on it after 10 years of construction. I’m going to let that sink in: 10 years of construction, and there’s not a roof on the project. I’ll compare that to the Sidewinder stadium (in Austin, Texas) that was built in less than a year, as (being a) competent construction development. The second part is debatable. SilverRock is definitely the priority. It is time for fresh leadership to take control of SilverRock and complete it, so that it can be occupied by guests.
I think the short-term vacation rental issue will be decided by the voters. So that’s something that is out of my hands as far as control. But the streets of La Quinta need work. There are 4-5 inch cracks across the streets all over the neighborhoods. I know this, because I’m on the streets walking my dogs, riding my bike and running. I probably spend considerably more time on the streets, and I’ve noticed that (at the intersection of) Jefferson (Street) and (Highway) 111, it is almost to the dangerous point. So, those are the priorities right off the top of my head.
Do you agree or disagree with Measure A, which would severely limit the existence of short-term vacation rentals in La Quinta?
I’m very much for yes on A. It comes right back to the community involvement. I’ll tell you a conversation I had just the other day with a gentleman who maintains short-term vacation rentals here in the Cove, a very nice man, and we had a very nice conversation. But he started his conversation, “I work for a guy who’s got 15-20 short-term vacation rentals here in La Quinta. What are you going to do for me as a small business man?” And he really didn’t realize what he was saying, from the aspect of 15-20 STVRs (being) owned by someone who doesn’t live in the valley. That alone right there tells me everything I need to know about short-term vacation rentals. My answer to the gentleman (concerning) what’s the difference (if STVRs stay in La Quinta) is that STVRs are fueled by money. They are fueled by commission. Any of the people who are (in favor of voting) no on A will tell you that they are community involved. They are not. They are commission-sheet-bound people who are making decisions based on commission. I have based every one of my decisions on what I have heard from my people in the community. People in the community do not want them there. They do not want one as a next door neighbor, or one down the street, with partying and strangers in and out. The bottom line to me is this: The people in this community do not want them in their neighborhood. That alone is enough for me. Period.
According to the Imperial Irrigation District’s Twitter feed, there were at least three power outages affecting more than 1,200 residents within La Quinta between Aug. 18 and Oct. 7 this year. What, if anything, can the City Council do to improve the reliability of electric power service to its residents?
You know, that is a great question, and I’m glad you asked it. What the City Council can do to improve the quality of life for its community is put a bug in IID’s ear about solar programs that would benefit the community. IID will not allow a good, strong solar program, because they have shareholders. Any public entity that is owned by shareholders will never give their communities a break, because they’re working for their shareholders. We need to get somebody into the City Council that would get a (solar) program. I mean, for crying out loud, La Quinta can generate an abundance of electricity through solar with a great program that provides the solar, lets the houses use it, (and) gets an abundance of it given back to the company—and then they would actually make money and get free electricity from the people that are generating this abundance of sunshine-created solar in La Quinta. My goodness, if this area can’t produce it, then nobody can.
So, in answer to your question: We need somebody, like the mayor, to go to IID and say, “Look, you have created a problem where people are paying $400 to $600 per month in the summertime for their air conditioning.” What I would do is very simple. Southern California Edison has programs where you can generate electricity through your solar program and sell it back to them. If push came to shove, I would tell IID we’re going to switch over our electricity to Southern California Edison, if they would give us a program that would generate solar for the community. Let’s see what they would say about that. They have never given a seat on their board to the people of La Quinta, and they’ve controlled this area for so long. The entire board of the IID is controlled by the El Centro farmers. There’s not one person from our community who sits on that board, even though we provide them with an abundance of revenue for their company. I think it’s just a travesty.
Given the positive 2021 financial status report for the city, as detailed by the mayor and the council members at the State of the City event in April 2022, do you believe the city should continue to push for increased growth, even if it’s at the expense of the semi-rural quality of life?
I’m going to scream in all (capital letters), NO! Of course the commercialization has to be stopped. To me, this is a very simple equation as far as what is good for the community. When I took on this venture (of running for mayor), I said to myself, “Look, I need to go out and talk to the people of La Quinta, and I need to get the answers to the questions that they want answered”—not what I’m pushing as my agenda, and not what I think we need from my standpoint, etc. I need to listen to what the people of La Quinta want for their quality of life. That’s what it’s all about, the quality of life that you have here in La Quinta.
I’ve talked to maybe 500 residents, and not a soul, not a soul, has said, “I can’t wait for that new whatever to come. I’m just so happy about it.” And they are afraid that all of the development will affect their quality of life. With STVRs, I’ve had people in my driveway crying because they can’t even park their own car, and get into their own house, because the partiers next door are drunker than skunks, and are actually fighting with the people who own the home next door. I’ve had that scenario in my driveway. So the commercialization is the reason that I stood up and said, “If I don’t stand up to this type of development, (then) in five years, I won’t even know my city.” I’ll wake up, and I won’t recognize what La Quinta is, and that’s what I think people are afraid of.
We’re a charter city. A charter city means that you can change the rules in the middle of the game, any time at all. You don’t have to ask for consensus; you don’t have to ask for a vote; all you’ve got to do is have the City Council and the mayor vote on it, and it’s changed. That’s a charter city. There are 480-some cities in California, and 123 of them are charter (cities). So about 25% of cities in the state are charter cities, and that’s a dangerous thing. The City Council changed the zoning for short-term vacation rentals pretty much on the QT sly. They didn’t tell anybody until after the fact. So they have to be reeled in. I’m very afraid, and so are the residents in the southeastern quadrant of La Quinta, of Coral Mountain coming back and being in their backyards still. They don’t want it out there, but everybody and their brother is trying to build out there.
What is your favorite “me” time activity?
Swim, bike, run—but I’m going to hedge that bet. My favorite time is spent with my animals and my family. It’s just my wife, Debbie, and me, so quality time spent with my wife and the animals (doing) the feedings and just being a part of that is very fulfilling. But, right behind that is swim, bike, run. I love all aspects of that. And I love the people that I train. Absolutely.