Cathedral City’s mayor position rotates every year starting at the first regular council meeting in December. Before family and friends, Councilmember Ernesto Gutierrez was sworn-in as mayor at Wednesday’s council meeting as he will serve in this role until December 2022.
Mayor Gutierrez thanked former Mayor Raymond Gregory for his leadership and service as well as all the previous mayors who served Cathedral City. He proudly thanked his family and friends with special attention to his mother who passed away more than a decade ago. He stated that his mother was his biggest influence in his life as she raised eleven kids. He said he never thought his family was poor because his mother always managed to put food on the table. Mayor Gutierrez immigrated to the United States with his family when he was thirteen years old and not speaking a word of English. He became emotional wishing his mother was in the audience to see him become mayor of his city.
He ended his swearing-in speech stating that he is living proof that the American Dream is still alive and “opportunities often come disguised as hard work.”
Councilmember Rita Lamb has become the next mayor pro tem of Cathedral City and she will be ceremonially sworn-in at the January 12th council meeting.
