Joe Camareno
603 Via Firenze, Cathedral City, CA 92234
December 15, 2025
Tracey R. Hermosillo
City Clerk
City of Cathedral City
68700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero
Cathedral City, CA 92234
Re: District 3 City Council Seat
Dear Ms. Hermosillo:
First and foremost, please accept my condolences for the passing of City Councilmember Mark Carnevale. From everything I am reading about him, he was a highly respected and esteemed public servant for the city.
I am writing regarding the vacant seat left by Mr. Carnevale in District 3. I am currently a resident of the district and am very interested in filling the seat for the remaining months of Mr. Carnevale’s term. While I am a recent transplant to the Coachella Valley and originally from Los Angeles, I have purchased a home here in Cathedral City and have started to put down roots. I do not have any plans to leave at this point and have been very happy here, making this my permanent home.
I hope this letter of interest serves as a means of being considered for the District 3 City Council Member seat and, later, a potential election to that position. My interest in serving is to attain a better knowledge of the inner workings of my new city and how policy here affects its residents and businesses. There is no better way to serve as a conduit for that than by serving on the city council, allowing me to connect with my fellow residents. “Be the change” is something I’ve followed for much of my adult life.
This has led me to do the things I’ve done in my career and to be proactive in that regard.
I’ve always been a self-motivated individual, leading me to operate a non-profit for 6 years in the black and to run several businesses successfully.
My background is in entertainment. I am a producer, filmmaker, screenwriter, and still sometimes actor. Yet, after 33 years and amid the overall contraction of the entertainment business, opportunities have diminished significantly, even before the 2020 pandemic.
Entire productions, including commercials, which were my mainstay of employment, are going non-union or moving out of state, and sometimes out of the country altogether.
Notwithstanding all of this, I am still actively pursuing work in that field, but with a more
discerning eye, as fewer options are presented to me. This downturn offered me the welcome possibility of a self-induced early retirement of sorts, leading to a better quality of life here in the desert. The Coachella Valley was always a place I looked to for future retirement; having the luxury of this at my age is a huge boon. I have found myself entirely at peace with the decision, and even my blood pressure is better!
Thank you, and yours, for the consideration, and I look forward to hearing about the next steps in this process.
My Sincerest Regards,
Joe Camareno