Community activist and church leader throws hat into Fresno mayoral race

The Reverend Dr. Floyd Harris Jr., a leader in Fresno’s black community, said he has filed the paperwork and intends run for mayor in 2020.

Harris made the announcement Monday to a group of protesters outside the federal courthouse downtown Fresno where organizers called for an investigation into the police department following the shooting death of 16-year-old Isiah Murrietta-Golding by an officer in 2017 and the release earlier this month of a video of the incident.

The video, helped prod Harris in his decision to enter the mayoral race.

“We’ve been on this corner many, may times,” Harris told the crowd of about 100. “We’ve been in front of the police department many many times, had candlelight vigils many, many times. Time is up now.”

“I am tired of being sick and tired,” he added, quoting civil rights heroine Fannie Lou Hamer.

“I’ll go to my grave now,” Harris said, “standing for this community.”

Harris said he filed the paper Friday and is collecting signatures to get on the ballot.

Harris, a church and civil rights leader in southwest Fresno, has been a longtime critic of the police department and former chief Jerry Dyer, who announced his candidacy for mayor in May. Also in the field are Fresno County prosecutor Andrew Janz and homeless advocate Brian Jefferson.

Other candidates have already left the race. Fresno City Councilmember Luis Chavez dropped out in August, as did Central Valley Community Foundation chief operations officer Elliot Balch.

The primary election is March 3, with a runoff in November if no candidate receives a majority of votes.

This story was originally published October 29, 2019 at 10:53 AM.