School Board Passes on Two Former Mayors
DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CA – Applicants aspiring to be appointed to the school board to represent the city included two highly controversial former mayors – one who brought the city to the edge of bankruptcy and another who brought the city bad publicity when his wife robbed a bank.
At last night’s Tuesday meeting of the school board for the Palm Springs Unified School District a decision was reached selecting Donald Aikins to fill the empty seat of Justin Blake who resigned last month. Aikins, a former member of the school board who lives in Palm Springs, will not be running in the November 2014 election as he is ineligible.
Blake resigned 10 months prior to the end of his term concurrent with the school board choosing district elections insuring that the November 2014 election for the five member school board has dedicated one seat to be filled with someone from the district of Desert Hot Springs.
The Baggage of Yvonne Parks
Getting appointed to the school board would have anointed Yvonne Parks to a position of power without the risk of losing another election. Parks was rejected by the voters just two months ago in her bid for reelection.
Parks carried considerable political baggage going into the school board appointment application process that caused even long time political friend and school board member Gary Jeandron to pass her over in favor of a stable candidate to fill out the remainder of the Blake’s term.
It was Parks who championed several money losing gambles with city funds and city employee pay raises, all of which ended up bring the city to the edge of insolvency. A new mayor and city council were forced to cut salaries by 22.5% and take other drastic emergency action to reverse a financial course Parks had plotted for the city.
Parks was also know for extensive travel to social events and banquets at city expense and for volunteering away millions of dollars that otherwise were slated for investment in the city.
It was Parks that voted to provide $17 million in mitigation funds to be used by other Coachella Valley cities to build a golf cart path instead of making acting as the champion for funds rightfully belonging in Desert Hot Springs. The $17 was part of mitigation for a power plant located just outside the city’s border and Parks’ promotion of spending the money for other valley cities made her very popular outside Desert Hot Springs.
Parks bid for appointment was also rejected by Board Member Sherri Stewart, who did not have qualms about appointing someone that would be running for a full term in the upcoming election. Stewart rejected Parks overtures that her political connections were of value to the school board. Instead, Stewart made a pitch for Desert Hot Springs resident John Gerardi, a stalwart member of the city’s Planning Commission.
Parks was not the only former mayor to get passed over.
Bias Rejected Again
The two years the city suffered Alex Bias as mayor (2005-07) were marked with unparalleled rancor. Unable to make peace with fellow council members and too often on the loss end of a 4-1 vote, the tenure of Mayor Bias saw him stripped of his commission and committee assignments as punishment for his political intractability. The council actions of isolating Bias were enjoyed by then councilwoman Yvonne Parks who won points with her posse by attacking Bias.
Bias retaliated against Parks saying to her at a council meeting to “Go play with yourself,” creating another brouhaha when broadcast by The Desert Sun to illustrate the city council’s continuing dysfunction.
As mayor, Alex Bias appeared forever weakened by a disappointing lack of public support and his being assailed by the media identifying him as incompetently out of touch due to lack of public relations know how. Bias wasted his political capital languishing in office accomplishing little of notable significance except his painting his office bright pink and baby blue then losing his seat to Parks.
A few years later the former mayor’s wife was caught robbing the Bank of America in Palm Springs, creating a public relations nightmare for the school district were it to appoint Bias as board member. Over the intervening years since Bias held office he has been twice more rejected by the voters of the city, blocking his attempts at regaining public office with a paltry vote that does not seem to register the message with him.
Alex Bias currently works for the school district as a substitute teacher, a job that he would have had to abandon were he to have been appointed. As a perennial candidate in Desert Hot Springs elections Bias will face a dilemma come November. Will he get rejected a fourth time in the city election or gamble with rejection a second time for the school board election.
As for Yvonne Parks, it is not known where her future lies.
