Holstege denies she moved out of her council district
DA alleges some votes she cast may be invalid
Palm Springs Councilmember Christy Holstege said Thursday she has lived in her district during her entire term. And she decried as false and politically motivated a new investigation by the district attorney that alleges she moved to a different district in violation of city law.
However, records obtained by The Desert Sun show the residence Holstege listed when she filed to run for the city council in 2020 was registered as a vacation rental with the city in 2022. That finding does not prove whether the home is her residence, though, as it is not clear how many days the home was rented each year.
Holstege has previously acknowledged she bought a home outside council District 4, which she represents, intending to move there if she won a bid for state assembly in 2022. But she said Thursday she has not moved. (Holstege lost the assembly race and remained on the city council, although her term is ending this year and she is running for assembly again.)
The finding follows an allegation from Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin, who wrote a letter to officials in Palm Springs on Tuesday saying he had credible evidence Holstege did not live in her district.
In a strongly worded statement Thursday, Holstege’s campaign hit back against the allegation, characterizing Hestrin’s investigation as politically motivated because he is a conservative who has endorsed Republican candidates, while Holstege is a Democrat. The statement alleges Holstege’s opponent in this year’s assembly race, Greg Wallis, played a role in the district attorney’s probe.
“Republican Asm. Greg Wallis got his Republican DA buddy to change the conversation from Christy surging ahead and distract voters from his record of failing the people of AD47,” campaign spokesperson Amelia Matier said in a statement. “How can the guy who endorses Greg Wallis be the one who is supposedly running an independent investigation? He
should recuse himself immediately and refer this matter to the California Attorney General where we have every confidence it will be resolved quickly.”
However, Holstege’s campaign website lists Attorney General Rob Bonta, a fellow Democrat, among those who have endorsed her 2024 assembly race. Her campaign’s statement did not address how she believes Bonta could conduct a fair investigation of a political ally.
In his letter, Hestrin did note referring the issue to the attorney general as one of the steps his office could take if the city does not address the problem within 30 days.
It is not clear whether Hestrin has endorsed Wallis during this campaign season. Wallis’ website does not include Hestrin on its list of endorsements.
Duane Dichiara, a consultant for the Wallis campaign, pushed back against Holstege’s attempt to cast the investigation in a political light.
“Councilmember Holstege’s attempt to undermine the men and women in law enforcement is shameful and beneath the office she holds,” he said in a statement to The Desert Sun.
Wallis’ campaign has called the accusations against Holstege “very concerning.” In a statement, the campaign said the justice system assumes innocence until proven guilty and said the public deserved a thorough investigation. Hestrin’s office is designated as nonpartisan. His office defended the investigation, saying in a statement to The Desert Sun on Thursday evening that the purpose of the office’s public integrity unit is to ensure public officials and their subordinates fulfill their legally mandated duties.
“The District Attorney has the authority to conduct public integrity investigations on behalf of the People of the State of California,” DA spokesperson John Hall wrote. “Generally public integrity investigations are initiated only after we have received a public complaint. We stand by the letter we sent to the Palm Springs City Council and will not make any further comments at this time.”
Also Thursday, City Attorney Jeff Ballinger officially requested to see the DA’s evidence, saying in a letter to Hestrin he could not provide advice to his client, the city, on how to proceed without it.
At issue is whether or not Holstege has unlawfully occupied her seat on the city council since 2022, when the DA says she began renting her District 4 residence on Airbnb. According to the DA’s letter, Holstege’s true residence is in District 3, in violation of the city’s municipal code that requires councilmembers to live in the districts they represent.
Hestrin demanded in the letter the city “cure or correct any illegal action” taken during the time when her seat could be deemed vacant, including votes she participated in while on the council.
The city has determined Holstege voted in the majority five times in 3-2 decisions. Those council actions — which includes the recent approval of an ordinance allowing co-owned homes like those provided by Pacaso — are now being questioned.
But Ballinger said the attorney general should investigate the allegations of Holstege potentially unlawfully holding office.
“With due respect, given that the State Attorney General has not investigated Ms. Holstege’s status, nor has a court ruled on the matter, it seems a bit premature to assume that her votes were illegally cast,” he wrote in the letter.
Sam Morgen covers the city of Palm Springs for The Desert Sun. Reach him at smorgen@gannett.com.