Review note: Gary Gardner for Desert Hot Springs City Council, District 1 -- campaign site: roughly eight years on the council seeking reelection, describes District 1 as the area south of Pierson Boulevard and west of Palm Drive, cites a rental-registration ordinance he sponsored that the council adopted unanimously in early July 2026, and lists endorsements including Mayor Scott Matas, Rep. Raul Ruiz, and County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.
- cityofdhs.org (opens in a new tab)City of Desert Hot Springs -- City Clerk "General Municipal Election -- November 3, 2026" page: nomination period (July 13-Aug. 6, 2026) and requirements, plus two embedded images -- an office-count table ("FOR CITY COUNCIL": District 1 and District 3, each a 4-year term, each "Currently held by incumbent") and the City Clerk's own "08-10-2026 Final Roster of Candidates," naming all four qualified candidates (District 1: Edouard Boumendil, and incumbent Gary Gardner; District 3: Joseph Erndt, and incumbent Jan Pye) with each one's nomination-paper issued/filed/qualified dates. No Mayor, District 2, or District 4 race appears anywhere on the page.
- cityofdhs.org (opens in a new tab)City of Desert Hot Springs -- City Council department page: current roster (Mayor Scott Matas; Mayor Pro Tem Dirk Voss, District 4; Gary Gardner, District 1; Daniel Pitts, District 2; Jan Pye, District 3), confirming by-district council elections since November 2022, staggered 4-year terms, an at-large 4-year Mayor limited to two terms, and an annually rotating Mayor Pro Tem selected by the council each December.
- cityofdhs.org (opens in a new tab)City of Desert Hot Springs -- "District Elections" page: the council adopted Ordinance 754 on April 5, 2022 establishing by-district elections; Districts 1 and 3 were first elected November 2022 and recur every four years (i.e. 2026), while Districts 2 and 4 and the at-large Mayor were first elected November 2024 and recur every four years (i.e. 2028) -- the source for why no Mayor, District 2, or District 4 race is on the November 2026 ballot.
- voteinfo.net (opens in a new tab)Riverside County Registrar of Voters — 2026 Annual Election Calendar (lists every November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election office by city, including "City of Cathedral City: City Council District 3 / District 4 / District 5 / City Treasurer")
- gardnerfordhs.com (opens in a new tab)Gary Gardner for Desert Hot Springs City Council, District 1 -- campaign site: roughly eight years on the council seeking reelection, describes District 1 as the area south of Pierson Boulevard and west of Palm Drive, cites a rental-registration ordinance he sponsored that the council adopted unanimously in early July 2026, and lists endorsements including Mayor Scott Matas, Rep. Raul Ruiz, and County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez.
- netfile.com (opens in a new tab)City of Desert Hot Springs NetFile public campaign-disclosure portal — candidate and committee filing search
Last updated September 3, 2026.
City of Desert Hot Springs
Desert Hot Springs City Council, District 1
This person holds your district's seat on Desert Hot Springs's City Council. The council has four district seats. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is four years. Desert Hot Springs also directly elects a citywide Mayor. The Mayor serves a separate four year term, limited to two terms. That Mayor's seat is not up this cycle. Districts 2 and 4 are also not up this cycle. They were last elected in November 2024. They are next up in 2028, on a staggered schedule. Districts 1 and 3 share that schedule.
Two candidates are on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Desert Hot Springs's District 1 council seat. They are Edouard Boumendil and incumbent Gary Gardner. Whoever gets the most votes wins a four-year term, with no primary or runoff.
This person holds your district's seat on Desert Hot Springs's 4-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is four years. Desert Hot Springs also directly elects a citywide Mayor to a separate 4-year term, limited to two terms -- but that seat, along with Districts 2 and 4, is not up this cycle. Districts 1 and 3 were first elected by district in November 2022 and recur every four years; the Mayor and Districts 2/4 were first elected in November 2024 and recur on their own four-year cycle starting 2028.
Gardner's incumbency is confirmed by the city's own certified candidate roster, which marks them with an asterisk. Their own campaign site describes roughly eight years on the council and a rental-registration ordinance Gardner sponsored that the council adopted unanimously in early July 2026. No independent news coverage, campaign site, or biographical detail of any kind was found for Boumendil despite a genuine attempt, including guessing their own campaign-domain pattern and a targeted name search.
Edouard Boumendil
Edouard Boumendil is a challenger for Desert Hot Springs's District 1 council seat. No biography, occupation, campaign site, or platform was found for them beyond their name and filing dates.
Gary Gardner
Gary Gardner is the incumbent District 1 councilmember, seeking reelection after about eight years on the council. They run on keeping the city safe, business-friendly, and fiscally responsible. They sponsored a rental registration rule for renters that the council passed unanimously in early July 2026.
Your pick
A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.