Fresno’s TikTok mayor: How Jerry Dyer connects with young people and shares his personality
Since taking office as Fresno’s mayor in January, Jerry Dyer has been extra active and extra visible.
You may see him even where you least expect it — on TikTok, the short-form, video-sharing social network that is popular with teens and Gen Z.
For decades, Dyer has been a regular on local news stations, billboards and other PSAs in his former position as Fresno’s police chief. Now, you also can find him on TikTok @mayorjerrydyer.
There, you’ll see him cleaning up graffiti, training with the Fresno State Bulldogs football team, touring motels renovated for unhoused residents, dancing at community events and suiting up in firefighting gear.
One of Dyer’s “One Fresno” platforms is youth. He’s using TikTok to connect with the city’s younger population.
Dyer said he recognizes that the older one gets, the harder it is to relate to the younger generation.
“We needed to meet them at the platform that they use most, and so that’s kind of where the idea was born,” said Sontaya Rose, director of communications for Dyer’s administration. “When you think about young people and getting your message to reach young people, they’re typically not the ones turning on the evening news, but they’re all over TikTok. It’s been such a great way to educate young people and also to get them involved in civic engagement, public service, things like that.”
It seems to be working.
When Dyer hosts his youth forums and asks young people what they want from him as mayor and from the city, some responses have been “more TikToks,” he said.
Dyer and city staff also have used the platform to rally volunteers for his Beautify Fresno effort. For the citywide cleanup, nearly 1,700 volunteers helped. TikTok helped spread the word among younger volunteers, he said.
A number of Dyer’s videos have gone viral, including one about a local motel that was renovated into a shelter for people without a home. Nearly 600,000 users viewed the TikTok, and over 78,000 “liked” it.
“It resonated with people, and it demonstrated the fact that we as a city have a plan, and it involves compassion,” Dyer said.
Plus, the TikToks have helped bring solutions for some of the city’s problems, Dyer said. In one video, Dyer paints over a wall covered in graffiti. People, particularly young people, responded.
“A lot of folks wanted to see us have more outlets for artwork in our city – for folks that are maybe going out and tagging things illegally – a canvas, or a platform for demonstrating their art, which is what we’re working on,” Dyer said.
While some city councilmembers may poke fun at Dyer for his TikTok account, the content resonates with young people, Rose said. Plus, it’s a way to share his charismatic personality with people who don’t know him “irl” (in real life).
“Being on TikTok and doing these videos really shows who he is. As a police chief, he wasn’t really able to convey that like he is as a mayor,” Rose said. “So what we’re really trying to do is just show his authenticity through what we’re sharing.”
Rose joked that when she first mentioned the TikTok idea, Dyer probably had to Google it.
“I thought they were offering me a Tic Tac,” Dyer said, laughing.
But now, he has his own video ideas. Together, Dyer, Rose and Fabiola Ramirez, assistant communications director, review the mayor’s calendar to brainstorm TikTok ideas.
When asked about which video he had the most fun with, Dyer had his own question: “Do you mean the most fun, or the most painful?”
It turns out he tore a hamstring when running a passing route with the Fresno State football team — all for the TikTok views.
“It was well worth it because of the number of viewers on TikTok,” he said.