Candidate Sonny Bono isn't sure how he'll do in this desert resort's mayoral election Tuesday, but just ask him about his ex-wife's chances for an Oscar. ``I had this vision,'' Bono said. ``This incredible thought occurred to me. `Cher's going to win the Academy Award.' I called her yesterday. I said, `Cher, you're going to win.' ``She said, `From your mouth to God's ear.''' Cher is a nominee for Best Actress in Monday night's Academy Awards for her performance in ``Moonstruck.'' And her former singing and marriage partner is on the ballot for mayor the next day in this celebrity desert resort. ``Wouldn't it be fun if she won the Academy Award and I was elected mayor?'' Bono said in a recent interview at his lavish mansion here. `It would be unprecedented in that Sonny and Cher stays alive in so many ways, years later.'' It's been 23 years since the bell-bottomed, fur-vested couple hit the top of the record charts singing ``I've Got You Babe,'' and 14 years since both their television show and marriage ended. Bono, who recently appeared in offbeat movie ``Hairspray'' and also runs a restaurant, announced his candidacy a year ago, drawing hoots and howls from people who remembered him as the long-haired butt of Cher's jokes and whose career bottomed out after guest spots on ``Love Boat'' and ``Fantasy Island.'' ``They thought it was a joke,'' Bono said of townspeople's reaction to his candidacy. ``They came around because I put my body out there for people to start shooting at. And people came around. They now take me very seriously.'' Show business, he says, was never as tough as running for office. ``Not even close!'' The pressure and anxiety reached major proportions March 31 when he burst into a televised candidates' forum and exploded at the moderator for not explaining that he wasn't participating because his pregnant fourth wife, Mary, 26, was hospitalized with the flu. The couple's first child is due April 17. ``I shouldn't have gotten that emotional or let it affect me that much. But it did,'' he said apologetically. Although there are seven candidates for mayor, the media spotlight is on Bono. ``We got calls from Europe, an Australian television station. ABC is coming in tomorrow. It's just crazy,'' said campaign worker Glenn Symonds. Bono is fueling his campaign by selling $15 ``Sonny Bono for Mayor'' T-shirts. The sales of shirts, buttons and bumper stickers account for $37,000 of his $53,000 campaign war chest, the largest of the candidates. Bono's opponents are Vice Mayor Eli Birer, businesswoman Deyna Hodges, accountant Lloyd Maryanov, Agua Caliente Indian Tribe Secretary Ray Patencio, real estate agent Neil Beatty and retired dentist Lewis Friedman. ``I've never run against a celebrity before. It's really tough,'' Birer said. Bono moved to the desert four years ago to escape Los Angeles. The tranquility relaxed him, and he enjoyed the small-town atmosphere. But he soon had run-ins with city officials over the size of a sign for his Italian restaurant, ``Bono,'' and about a retaining wall he was building at his home. So, like Carmel's Clint Eastwood, he decided to run for mayor. ``It was very dictatorial, very controlled, very hostile,'' Bono said of the city government. ``I have a big investment in this city. I don't want to see it deteriorate or decline.'' Incumbent Frank Bogert, 76, is stepping down after two two-year terms. The new mayor will serve a four-year term and be paid $15,000 a year. The part-time, non-partisan official presides over the City Council, while a city manager handles daily operations and makes recommendations to the council. Whatever townspeople think of Bono's candidacy, most agree that Palm Springs needs revitalization. It has lost business, clout and tourists to other nearby desert communities such as Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage, where Frank Sinatra lives. If he's elected, Bono has plans to draw tourists to this town 120 miles southeast of Los Angeles, including a film festival with big-name celebrities, a sporting event such as a marathon or triathalon and concerts. But win or lose, Bono knows he made a difference by getting the issues discussed and people interested. An election in this community of 38,000 residents usually draws about 6,000 of its 18,000 registered voters. That's expected to double Tuesday. ``At least I added excitement to the race,'' he said. ``It would have been a yawn without me.''
