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RANCHO MIRAGE, CA (May 14, 2020) – On May 7, 2020, G. Dana Hobart was handed the gavel for the fifth time as Mayor for the City of Rancho Mirage. Hobart previously served as Mayor in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015. He was first elected to City Council in 2002 and was reelected by substantial margins in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018.
Over his many years on the Rancho Mirage City Council, Dana Hobart initiated a number of meaningful projects for the City. In his first year on the City Council, Hobart initiated the move to eliminate all overhead electrical power lines throughout the City; He led the efforts to defeat the County’s plan to eventually extend the City’s borders by 4,000 acres north of I-10, adjacent to Thousand Palms; He was instrumental in solidifying the agreement with the Agua Caliente Tribe to annex their Casino and Hotel into the City, resulting in about $400,000 per year flowing to the City; He eliminated employee “pension spiking” practices and reforming other pension and related benefits which continues to save the City significant sums in pension and other costs; He led the efforts to completely discharge the City’s unfunded pension liability, which cost the City in excess of $500,000 per year in avoidable interest; Hobart initiated the Rancho Mirage Observatory project after a Rancho Mirage resident brought the idea to the table during a Tourism Advisory Committee meeting; and brought his 2002 vision of a dog park in Rancho Mirage to life!
During his last term as Mayor, Hobart and his fellow Council Members, proudly dedicated the City’s Amphitheater, which was part of the Rancho Mirage Community Park three-acre expansion; Hobart was the driving force in exposing some of the deficiencies in the CV Link project and how it could have substantial financial impacts on our city.
Dana Hobart established the Rancho Mirage Speaker Series and Historic Preservation Commissions, the City’s Golf Club Membership Program, and the Animal Adoption & Pet Care Incentive Program, just to name a few.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Dana and his wife, Vicki, have lived in Rancho Mirage since 1993. They have four children and three dogs. After serving in the US Air Force from 1950 to 1954, Dana attended local colleges, graduating from California State University in 1959, and received his Juris Doctorate from USC School of Law in 1963. As an attorney, Dana achieved a variety of honors and achievements. He was President of the Consumers Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, he has been identified annually in “Best Lawyers in America” from 1987 to 2020 and was conferred the highest rating from Martindale-Hubbell since the mid-1970s. Dana also taught civil trial law at a Los Angeles law school. He has pleaded and won precedent-setting cases, including one before the United States Supreme Court.
Over this next year, and the especially now during the challenges we are facing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Hobart will proceed as he always does, in the best interests of our city and its residents. |
