Former Palm Springs Mayor and Current Councilmember Receives State Democratic Party Backing in Assembly District 47 Race

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PALM SPRINGS, CA -- In a testament to her widespread grassroots progressive support, former Palm Springs Mayor and current Councilmember Christy Holstege announced she received the official California Democratic Party endorsement over the weekend. Just weeks before, Holstege secured a tremendous 97.44 percent share of the vote in the pre-endorsement conference.

Holstege reiterated her gratitude for her supporters in a statement below:

“I’m honored to receive the official California Democratic Party endorsement and that the people of Assembly District 47 have put their faith in this campaign to bring progress, hope and change to our region. I look forward to continuing to build our incredible grassroots coalition.”

This news comes on the heels of Holstege's announcement that her campaign raised more than $300,000 since launching. Holstege was also the top fundraiser out of any red-to-blue flip race for the California State Assembly during the last filing period.

A list of Holstege's endorsements can be found below:

Organizations:

• California Democratic Party

• California Democratic Legislative Women’s Caucus

• California Legislative Jewish Caucus

• California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus

• Equality California (EQCA)

• Sierra Club California

• Planned Parenthood Action Fund of the Pacific Southwest

• LGBTQ Victory Fund

• California Federation of Teachers (CFT)

• California Faculty Association (CFA)

• California Nurses Association (CNA)

• Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California State Council

• AFSCME Local 206

• AFSCME Local 1902

• AFSCME UDW Local 3930

• UNITE HERE Local 11

• International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 12

• International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 36

• Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1277

• California Women's List

• Desert Stonewall Democrats

• Run for Something

• Vote Mama
   

Elected & Community Leaders:

• U.S. Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D.

• U.S. Congressmember Mark Takano

• California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis

• California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, CPA

• California President pro Tempore Toni Atkins

• California State Senator John Laird

• California State Senator Connie Leyva

• California State Senator Scott Wiener

• California State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon

• California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus Chair, State Assemblymember Evan Low

• California State Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes

• California State Assemblymember Laura Friedman

• California State Assemblymember Alex Lee

• California State Assemblymember Luz Rivas

• California State Assemblymember Chris Ward

• California State Assemblymember Buffy Wicks

• Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez

• Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia

• Palm Springs Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Middleton

• Palm Springs City Councilmember Dennis Woods

• Palm Springs City Councilmember Geoff Kors

• Palm Springs Unified School District President Tim Wood

• Riverside County Board of Education Member Elizabeth Romero

• Riverside Unified School District Board of Education Member Dr. Angelo Farooq

• Coachella Valley Unified School District President Joey Acuña Jr.

• Coachella Valley Unified School District Vice President Silvia Paz

• Coachella Valley Unified School District Trustee Jocelyn Vargas

• Coachella Valley Unified School District Trustee Trinidad Arredondo

• College of the Desert Board Trustee Area 2 Bea González

• San Bernardino City Unified School District Board of Education Member Abigail Rosales-Medina

• Corona Mayor Jacqueline Casillas

• Indio Mayor Pro Tem Waymond Fermon

• Cathedral City Councilmember Nancy Ross

• Coachella City Councilmember Megan Beaman Jacinto

• Coachella City Councilmember Denise Delgado

• Desert Hot Springs City Councilmember Gary Gardner

• Jurupa Valley City Councilmember Leslie Altamirano

• Palm Desert City Councilmember Karina Quintanilla

• Redlands City Councilmember Denise Davis

• Riverside City Councilmember Erin Edwards

• Riverside County Board of Education Member Elizabeth Romero

• Riverside Community College District Board Member Jose Alcala

• Desert Healthcare District Board Member Dr. Les Zendle

• Western Municipal Water District Vice President Gracie Torres

• San Diego Supervisor Nora Vargas

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Christy Holstege works as a civil rights attorney and community leader and currently serves as the Outgoing Mayor of Palm Springs. She was first elected to serve on Palm Springs City Council in 2017 as part of the first all-LGBTQ city council in the country. Christy was re-elected in a landslide in 2020, serving as the city’s first-ever female mayor, the city’s first millennial mayor, and the first openly bisexual mayor in America.

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As the Mayor of Palm Springs, Christy led the city safely through the COVID-19 crisis, addressed homelessness with innovative solutions, passed pro-housing policies to build more housing at all income levels, invested in green energy and worked to protect the environment, supported small businesses and created jobs with living wages, expanded healthcare and social services, and enhanced economic development to build an equitable economy that works for everyone.

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During the pandemic, Christy led the charge in enacting strong worker protections, supporting small business relief, and providing healthcare and other critical social services to the community. Christy led the way in approving hero pay for essential workers, providing $1 million in small business relief, and converting the Palm Springs Convention Center to a COVID-19 testing site, a mass food bank with the national guard, and later a vaccination site that administered 42,000 vaccines and hundreds of thousands of free meals for residents most in need.

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Christy has worked to address the housing crisis by securing $10 million in state resources for housing and homelessness services specifically for the city of Palm Springs, spearheaded new programs to house over 200 formerly homeless people, and approved the first affordable housing developments in the city in 10 years, using city land to build housing and investing millions of dollars to create hundreds of new affordable units for seniors, families, and low-income residents.

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As an attorney, Christy has represented hundreds of local residents, often helping people facing the most serious issues of their lives: tenants facing eviction, victims of discrimination losing their livelihoods, disabled clients thrust into poverty, domestic violence and sexual assault survivors, low-income workers, local non-profits and businesses, homeless clients, LGBTQ clients, seniors, veterans, Spanish-speakers, and minority groups seeking legal advice and assistance.

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In 2012, Christy earned a Stanford Law School-Stanford Public Interest Foundation Fellowship and secured funding to establish a legal aid clinic for domestic violence survivors within the Coachella Valley’s only domestic violence shelter, Shelter From The Storm. Christy has also represented farmworkers in civil rights, housing, and employment litigation at California Rural Legal Assistance.

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Christy has a wealth of experience as a community organizer and community leader, including serving on the board of directors for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest and Eastern Coachella Valley (ECV) for Change. She also served on the Palm Springs Human Rights Commission and the City of Palm Springs Homelessness Task Force.  Previously, Christy organized the No on Proposition 8 and No on Proposition 4 campaigns in 2008 at Planned Parenthood, and served on the board of directors for Democratic Women of the Desert, the Human Rights Campaign, Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, Well in the Desert, a resident-owned mobile home park, and Women Leader’s Forum.

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Christy earned a Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School and a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from UC Santa Barbara. Christy is proud to live in Palm Springs with her husband Adam Gilbert, a small business owner and third-generation resident of Palm Springs, their new baby Aden born in October 2020, and their dogs Ollie and Layla in a home that their family has resided in for over 50 years.

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For more information please visit: christyholstege.com.

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