Two City Council candidates hear the same demands as they knock on doors in west-central Fresno: take care of proud old neighborhoods, wipe out graffiti and stay closely connected to the area.
Scott Miller and Blong Xiong have been canvassing neighborhoods for a year during a District 1 City Council race that is eyelash close — Miller led Xiong by only seven votes in the June primary.
Miller and Xiong defeated three other candidates in the primary and entered a runoff that will be decided Nov. 7.
Their differences on many issues are as narrow as the votes that separated them in the primary. The runoff has been cordial, and the two candidates frequently chat with each other about the rigors of campaigning.
Beyond neighborhood issues, they're bracing for important citywide decisions that the winner will face shortly after a January swearing-in ceremony. Those include:
The magnitude of utility rate increases: Both men agree a rate increase is necessary. Miller said increases should have been made long ago and the council must approve higher rates soon. Fees for garbage, water, sewer and community sanitation should then be examined every three to four years, he said.
Xiong wants increases phased in over four to five years.
The direction of downtown revitalization efforts: Xiong wants downtown developers to move through the city approval process faster. This can be done, he said, by streamlining the permit process.
Miller said the city should help broker deals between entrepreneurs and owners of vacant downtown buildings.
The role of eminent domain in the development of downtown and neighboring Chinatown: The council this year gave the Redevelopment Agency power to buy land in Chinatown, even from unwilling sellers.
But every time eminent domain is used, the council, sitting as the Redevelopment Agency board, must give its approval.
Miller opposes use of eminent domain for economic development.
Xiong said he would use eminent domain, but only if a vast majority of nearby property owners agreed with the decision.
Miller and Xiong continue to research looming citywide issues. But during frequent door-to-door campaign walks, the candidates are quizzed on their solutions to neighborhood problems.
District 1 neighborhoods — including the Fresno High area and the Tower District — are among Fresno's oldest. And residents say preserving the west-central swath of the city — by filling potholes, replacing buckled sidewalks and gutters — is high on their list of priorities.
"The neighborhoods really need tending to," Leslie Biedermann told Xiong during one of his precinct walks last month.
Xiong and Miller have different ideas about how to maintain District 1's aging neighborhoods.
Xiong said the city's budget should include more money to improve infrastructure in older neighborhoods. And if voters approve an extension of Measure C, the county's half-cent transportation sales tax, some of that money should go to repave neglected streets in older neighborhoods, Xiong said.
Miller also wants more city money to fill potholes and fix streets. But he believes putting tree pruning and root trimming on a five-year cycle — trees currently get pruned every 15 years — would protect sidewalks and curbs and save the city money in the long run.
One of the most common complaints among District 1 residents is the area's graffiti problem.
"Right now the graffiti has just exploded," said Biedermann, who lives near Fresno High.
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