Review note: Joseph Erndt for Desert Hot Springs City Council, District 3 -- campaign site: a District 3 resident and self-described operations professional with a background in hospitality/spa operations, construction and project coordination, budgeting, marketing, vendor management, and business development; platform priorities are infrastructure, fiscal accountability, and local economic development and Jan Pye for Desert Hot Springs City Council, District 3 -- campaign site: a 30+ year city resident and the sitting District 3 councilmember seeking reelection; platform priorities are wellness tourism built around the city's mineral-water and spa assets, expanding local retail/entertainment/dining, and continuing in-progress projects (the BLVD and downtown plans, the Pierson Blvd./Highway 62 gateway) may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides 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")
- electjoe.org (opens in a new tab)Joseph Erndt for Desert Hot Springs City Council, District 3 -- campaign site: a District 3 resident and self-described operations professional with a background in hospitality/spa operations, construction and project coordination, budgeting, marketing, vendor management, and business development; platform priorities are infrastructure ("Better Basics"), fiscal accountability ("Responsible Government"), and local economic development ("Stronger Local Opportunity").
- janfordistrict3.com (opens in a new tab)Jan Pye for Desert Hot Springs City Council, District 3 -- campaign site: a 30+ year city resident and the sitting District 3 councilmember seeking reelection; platform priorities are wellness tourism built around the city's mineral-water and spa assets, expanding local retail/entertainment/dining so residents don't have to leave the city for them, and continuing in-progress projects (the BLVD and downtown plans, the Pierson Blvd./Highway 62 gateway).
- 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 3
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. They are running for Desert Hot Springs's District 3 council seat. The candidates are Joseph Erndt and incumbent Jan Pye. 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.
Pye's incumbency is confirmed by the city's own certified candidate roster, which marks her with an asterisk. Both candidates maintain their own campaign sites, discovered from the reply-to addresses on their filed nomination papers: Erndt (electjoe.org) is a first-time candidate describing themselves as an operations professional; Pye (janfordistrict3.com) describes over three decades living in the city. No independent news coverage beyond each candidate's own site was found for either.
Joseph Erndt
Joseph Erndt is a first-time candidate and District 3 resident challenging for the seat. They describe themselves as an operations professional. They say their background covers hospitality, spa work, construction, budgeting, marketing, and business development. They run on roads, drainage, street safety, lighting, fiscal accountability, and support for local businesses.
Jan Pye
Jan Pye is the incumbent District 3 councilmember, seeking reelection. She has lived in Desert Hot Springs for more than three decades. She runs on wellness tourism built around the city's mineral water and spas. She also runs on more local retail and entertainment. She wants to continue the BLVD and downtown plans. She also wants to continue the Pierson Boulevard and Highway 62 gateway project.
Your pick
A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.