Coachella Mayor Indicted for Conflict of Interest

The longtime mayor of Coachella has been indicted in a conflict of interest case that revolves around real estate developments and comes with charges of perjury.

Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez was indicted on nine counts, including five felony charges, involving votes for projects in which he allegedly held financial interests, the Los Angeles Times reported. Hernandez, who has served on the Coachella City Council for nearly two decades, faces more than seven years in state prison and a lifetime ban from public office if convicted as charged.

The indictment from a Riverside County criminal grand jury accuses Hernandez of several misdemeanors for leveraging his job as a public official to influence governmental decisions where he could receive financial gain. Some of those instances include votes cast between 2021 and 2023 to use funds from the pandemic-related American Rescue Plan Act to renovate Coachella’s downtown fire station. Hernandez is additionally accused of pushing votes on a commercial project known as Fountainhead Plaza, an affordable apartment community called the Tripoli Mixed-Use project and a transit hub near downtown.

The mayor has also been charged with a felony for “willfully and unlawfully” approving a contract in which he had a financial interest. The charge stems from when he voted for an agreement between the City of Coachella and the Coachella Valley Association of Governments’ Housing First program aimed to serve homeless people.

He also faces four felony counts of perjury related to claims he made on his Statement of Economic Interests public disclosure forms, also known as Form 700, which makes public any potential financial interests in projects. In total, the indictment named 13 witnesses who testified in front of the grand jury, including a sitting City Council member, the city’s economic development director, a former council member and a former city manager.

The Coachella Valley Association of Governments is fully cooperating with the district attorney’s office and grand jury. “There has never been an implication from investigators that the investigation had anything to do with actions by elected officials serving in their [Coachella Valley Association of Governments] capacity,” a spokesperson told the Times.

Hernandez’s attorney, A. Alexander Lowder of the law firm Larson, confirmed that he and his client are seeking to remedy the issue. “We recognize the serious nature of these charges and will be working with our client to resolve the matter,” Lowder said following the indictment coming down.

— Chris Malone Méndez