Fresno council president withdraws defamation suit against colleague; says he would have won

Fresno City Council President Nelson Esparza is withdrawing a defamation suit he filed against a fellow councilmember, saying the decision protects the city from potential liability in a lawsuit he believes he would win.

“It has come to my attention that the City of Fresno will defend Garry Bredefeld in my defamation lawsuit against him as an individual,” Esparza wrote in a statement released Monday.

“I love our city and will not sue the City of Fresno over my colleague’s defamatory remarks. His antics have already cost enough taxpayer dollars. For this reason, I am making the responsible decision to withdraw my suit so that we as a body can heal and move forward. “

UPDATE: Garry Bredefeld responds

This is the latest in a back and forth between Esparza and Bredefeld, following a news conference in May in which Bredefeld accused the council president of extorting then-City Attorney Doug Sloan.

Bredefeld said Esparza had threatened Sloan in a private meeting the month before and had ultimately caused him to leave his position with the city.

“This was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Bredefeld said at the time.

“This is why he left the city and sought another job.”

Sloan has shared details of a conversation he had with Esparza in which the council president said he was standing between Sloan and losing his job and that Sloan was to “work only for the Council majority.” That message had been relayed to several people, but never intended to become public, Sloan said.

For his part, Esparza denied the allegations, eventually filing the defamation suit, which accused Bredefeld of “knowingly making false allegations.”

The Bee reached out to Bredefeld’s office for comment. The councilmember scheduled a news conference for 2 p.m. Monday to address the situation.

This story was originally published June 27, 2022 at 10:58 AM.