Fresno City Council announces firing of city clerk on split vote
The Fresno City Council announced Monday morning the dismissal of the city clerk on a split vote.
Yvonne Spence was sworn in as city clerk in 2012. The City Council voted to dismiss her on a 4-3 vote, with Councilmembers Luis Chavez, Mike Karbassi and Tyler Maxwell voting no.
Councilmembers Miguel Arias, Garry Bredefeld, Nelson Esparza and Esmeralda Soria voted in favor of dismissal.
Assistant City Clerk Briana Parra was named interim clerk.
Because it’s a personnel issue, no reason was given for the dismissal, and most councilmembers declined to comment for this story.
Karbassi did not comment on the reason for the dismissal but said he did not support the firing.
“I enjoyed working with the clerk and have never experienced any issues worth termination,” Karbassi said.
Spence’s total pay was $122,096, including health and retirement benefits, as of 2019, the most recent available salary number reported to the California State Controller.
The City Clerk’s Office is one of the smallest city departments. It’s also one of two department director positions the City Council hires, with the other being the city attorney. The clerk’s office is responsible for managing political and campaign filings, public record archives and preservation and producing public meeting agendas and minutes. The clerk is also the city’s elections official.
Spence for years was the only Black woman in a city leadership position. She came to work for the city of Fresno from Austin, Texas.
Spence was one of a few city employees who took offense a few years ago to Bredefeld’s comments castigating NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem at football games.
The Bee reached out to Spence for comment and will update this story if she responds.
This story was originally published June 14, 2021 at 11:40 AM.