Fresno Mayor Dyer 100% certain to seek re-election. ‘I need to be here a second term’
This story is part of the Central Valley News Collaborative — a bilingual, community journalism project funded by the Central Valley Community Foundation and with technology and training support from Microsoft Corp. The collaboration includes The Fresno Bee, Valley Public Radio, Vida en el Valle, Radio Bilingüe and the Institute for Media & Public Trust at Fresno State.
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer says he no longer has any doubts — he plans to seek a second term at the helm of California’s fifth-largest city.
In an interview Wednesday with The Fresno Bee, the 63-year-old former police chief-turned-politician confirmed plans to seek re-election in 2024.
“I’m 100% certain that I need to be here a second term to be able to carry out the initiatives and the vision that we’ve started,” Dyer said.
Dyer said he’s proud of the work done during his first two years as mayor but also acknowledged early missteps and uncertainty. He said that if someone had asked him during his first six months in office whether taking the job was the right decision, he “would have hesitated” to answer.
“Anybody that gets into office, there’s always going to be reservations or doubts about whether or not you want to go for a second term,” Dyer said. “All of those reservations and doubts have been erased from my mind.”
Dyer was elected in 2020 with 51% of the vote, after defeating Andrew Janz, a Democrat and former prosecutor who now leads the city attorney’s office. Dyer earned the primary victory despite a well-funded campaign to defeat him.
During his interview with The Bee on Wednesday, Dyer acknowledged strategic missteps introducing his One Fresno housing strategy last spring.
“I think the roll-out of the One Fresno housing strategy could have been better,” Dyer said. “If I had it to do over again, the One Fresno housing strategy, I wouldn’t have brought forth any strategies without having at least two to three council members sponsoring those strategies.”
Other areas he said his administration wants to improve upon these next two years are economic development and housing in downtown Fresno.
Dyer also cited several accomplishments, including:
- Camp Fresno, where children ages 8 to 17 can participate in one-, two- or three-day camps free of charge. Transportation, food and activities were provided for 529 kids through the partnership between the city and the mayor’s One Fresno Foundation.
- The Youth Job Corps Fellowship in partnership with the state. The city has hired 122 fellows ages 16 through 30 across 14 city departments while providing support services like child care, transportation and clothes since its start in 2022.
- Project Off-Ramp, aimed to help unhoused community members find housing and services to create the life they want.
“In my opinion, we’ve had two great years … I’m 100% convinced that it was the right thing for me to do — to run for mayor, to be the mayor,” Dyer said. “I’m even more convinced that it’s the right thing to do a second term.”
This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 7:15 PM.