A MESSAGE FROM TED
I am honored to have served on your City Council for 12 years, working alongside individuals who have built an incredible foundation for our city.
Since my first election in 2012, I have promised to protect Rancho Mirage’s unique quality of life, and my track record demonstrates that commitment. As Mayor, I remain fully dedicated to leading Rancho Mirage by:
I work hard every day to serve as an accountable, accessible, responsive, and effective advocate for our residents and businesses. My experiences in business, real estate, finance, and local government make me uniquely qualified to DELIVER RESULTS FOR OUR COMMUNITY. I am proud of what we have accomplished together.
MEET TED
I graduated from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and received my MBA from Pepperdine University with honors. I am a proud Navy veteran, having served aboard the U.S.S. Randolph, CVA 15, assigned to the Sixth Fleet and deployed to the Persian Gulf. After completing my service, I moved to California and joined an executive training program with ABC Television. However, my true passion was real estate, which ultimately led to the founding of Weill Financial Corporation. We developed master-planned communities in California and Nevada, as well as recreational vehicle parks.
As a 26-year resident of Coachella Valley, I was appointed Chairman of the Rancho Mirage Planning Commission in 2008, where I served for six years. I was also Co-Chairman of the Redevelopment Successor Agency Oversight Board.
On December 20, 2012, I was appointed to the Rancho Mirage City Council. I was elected in 2014 receiving 73% of the vote, and re-elected again in 2016 and 2020. I am honored to have served as Mayor in 2016 and 2021. As a Council Member, I currently represent our residents and businesses on the following Committees:
-
Chairman of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) Executive Committee
-
CVAG Transportation Committee – Alternate
-
Special Assistance Fund (SAF) Subcommittee
-
Cotino Subcommittee
-
Section 19 Subcommittee
-
Eisenhower Medical Center Subcommittee
-
Rancho Mirage City Golf Subcommittee
-
Chairman of the Cove Communities Services Commission, which oversees the Joslyn Senior Center
-
McCallum Theatre - Laison
-
Palm Springs Unified School District Delegate
MEET MY WIFE, JENNY
The life story of Jenny Chin-Yu Weill of Rancho Mirage is truly one brimming with success and human perseverance.
The journey of Jenny Chin-Yu Weill dramatically reflects the fortitude and the will to overcome adversity. Jenny's parents left Canton, China in 1954 to escape from Communism and emigrated to Vietnam where she was born. Her father became a successful developer building houses for the Chinese community in Saigon. They lived well, had a large home and were well respected in the community.
In 1974 the Communists invaded Saigon, changing the name to Ho Chi Minh City. The Communists immediately replaced the currency and overnight the family (Chinese name Hsu) were penniless. Jenny sold items in the street of anything she could find of value to survive. They scraped together enough money to pay for their escape via a boat overloaded with others seeking freedom. The boat sank after several hours at sea. Jenny and her family were captured and returned to shore. They were placed in detention camps separating the men from the women. Jenny did not see her father again for two years.
The Communists allowed them to emigrate to Taiwan in 1978. Jenny went to school during the day and worked in a factory at night. Eventually she got a job working at The Ritz Carlton in Taiwan and was promoted to Assistant Manager.
TED IN ACTION
My extensive record of community involvement includes serving on the Board of Directors of the Hereditary Disease Foundation and as a founding family member of United Cerebral Palsy. I have been a strong supporter of The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Other charitable interests include the Rancho Mirage Public Library Foundation, United Cerebral Palsy, McCallum Theatre, Eisenhower Health Foundation, The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, The Living Desert Zoo and Garden, The Joslyn Center, Cedars Sinai Foundation, Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert, King School’s, Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital Foundation, The Family YMCA of the Desert, Barbara Sinatra Children's Center, Palm Springs Art Museum, and Tolerance Education Center.
My wife, Jenny, and I have two children and five grandchildren.
In 1990 the Ritz had an opening at their hotel here in Rancho Mirage. Jenny came to Rancho Mirage all alone, with little money and not fluent in English. Her college degree from Taiwan was not recognized in California, so she enrolled at Cal State San Bernardino that had a satellite campus at College of the Desert in Palm Desert. She had no car so rode her bicycle to college each day. If you have ever been to the Ritz in Rancho Mirage you know it sits atop a very steep hill here.
Fast forward, today Jenny is a successful CPA (certified public accountant) with her husband, Ted Weill, a member of the Rancho Mirage City Council, she invested over the years in real estate. The couple have two children and five grandchildren.
People like Jenny Chin-Yu Weill are shining examples of the opportunities available in our great country and make us grateful for the freedom we enjoy.
