Who does Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer support in city, county, gubernatorial races?
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer is throwing his support behind several contenders in local races — including city council candidates he said align with his values on public safety, housing and “smart growth.”
In an interview with The Bee on Wednesday, Dyer said he’s supporting three city council candidates who each align with his views on strong public safety, homelessness, downtown revitalization, business policy, fiscal management and the importance of infill development and smart housing.
“One of the things that I also look at for city council races is their ability to work well with other council members and the administration,” he said. “The last thing we need is a council member to come in and disrupt the sweet spirit that we have at City Hall right now.”
There are 20 candidates vying for four open seats on the Fresno City Council in the upcoming June 2 primary elections. There’s only incumbent in the race — Councilmember Brandon Vang, who is running to keep his District 5 seat — meaning the council will have at least three new faces, and potentially up to five if Vang doesn’t keep his seat and if District 2 Councilmember Mike Karbassi, wins his bid for a seat on the Board of Supervisors.
Dyer’s also supporting two sitting council members in their bids for higher office: Karbassi and Annalisa Perea in her bid for the 31st Assembly District seat.
Dyer has ambitious plans for the remaining two years of his second and last mayoral term: Ramping up downtown development, bringing a professional soccer team and new stadium to downtown, and repairing Fresno’s roads and sidewalks with a $100 million investment. He also hopes to secure the Council’s support for the Southeast Development Area specific plan, a proposed large-scale expansion to add 9,000 acres and an estimated 45,000 homes in southeast Fresno.
In particular, Dyer is focused on passing “South SEDA” before the end of the year: a 1,547 acre chunk of the overall plan that would allow for some residential development and flexible research and development, that he said will attract good-paying advanced manufacturing jobs.
“There is a very good working relationship between the city council and my administration, and we’re not just colleagues, we’re friends, and I want to make sure whoever comes in there doesn’t disrupt that,” Dyer said.
Though he stopped shy of endorsing a candidate in the gubernatorial primaries, Dyer is supporting three candidates for Fresno City Council, as well as two for Fresno County Board of Supervisors, six judicial races and one for a state seat.
Dyer supports these Fresno Council Candidates
Fresno City Council District 1: Rob Fuentes, a State Center Community College District trustee and federal prosecutor
Read Dyer’s endorsement message here.
The Fresno City Council’s District 1 covers a large portion of northwest and west-central Fresno, including Tower District, the Fresno High area, parts of Fig Garden, and areas west of Highway 99. Other candidates include: city of Fresno’s Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator Joe Hinojosa, former campaign coordinator Monte Forkas and Singh.
Fresno City Council District 3: No endorsement
Dyer said because there are many candidates running in the District 3 race, he’s not making an endorsement yet but will consider making an endorsement in the November general elections.
The district, whose current council member, Miguel Arias, will term out at the end of the year, covers the southwest areas of Fresno, including downtown, Chinatown, the Tower District, and Edison and Lowell neighborhoods. It also includes most of the city’s industrial parks in south Fresno.
The slate of candidates includes: crisis response manager Tiffany Apodaca, Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula, Fresno County School Board Trustee Fernando Alvarez, real estate broker and contractor Larry Burrus, tradesman Charles Montoya, Fresno County Department of Health administrative caseworker Jalen Swank and Fresno Unified Trustee Keshia Thomas.
Fresno Council District 5: Danielle Parra, State Center Community College District trustee and vice president of communications at Vista Consulting Inc., a Valley-based public affairs firm
Read his 11th hour endorsement message here.
The district encompasses a large portion of southeast Fresno, including neighborhoods like Sunnyside, Roosevelt, and Fancher Creek. Other candidates include Vang, entrepreneur Nickolas Wildstar and former Fresno County Director of Economic Development Jose Leon Barraza.
Fresno Council District 7: Nav Gurm, attorney and political consultant
Read Dyer’s endorsement messages for Gurm here and here.
Three other candidates vying for the spot include: retired paralegal Jason Keomanee, community organizer and consultant Ariana Martinez Lott, and Blackstone Merchants Association founder AJ Rassamni.
The district includes east-central Fresno and parts of southeast Fresno, including the Manchester, Radio Park, Romain Park and parts of the Blackstone Avenue corridor.
Dyer endorsement tied to SEDA support?
Some think Dyer’s endorsement for council candidates is hedged on their support for SEDA. Read what council candidates say about SEDA here.
During The Bee’s District 1 Candidate Forum, Naindeep Singh, executive director of the nonprofit Jakara Movement and a Central Unified board trustee, said SEDA is “the issue” on the June ballot.
“If you’re being endorsed by Jerry Dyer, ultimately it’s about the question of SEDA,” he said.
Dyer pushed back on this categorization.
“SEDA will more than likely be decided before they ever get into office,” he said.
Dyer endorsements for Fresno County races
Board of Supervisor
- Karbassi, business owner & two-time councilmember, District 1 Board of Supervisor seat
- Margaret Mims, former Fresno County Sheriff, District 4 Board of Supervisors seat
Of Mims, Dyer said: “We have a long time friendship and relationship, dating back to when I was a chief and she was the sheriff, and even before that.”
Fresno County Superior Court judge seats
- Marc Kapetan, attorney, Office No. 3
- Jennifer L. Hamilton, Fresno County Superior Court commissioner, Office No. 4
- Ashley Paulson, chief prosecuting attorney, city of Fresno, Office No. 6
- Jeff Hammerschmidt, governments investigations attorney, Office No. 7
- Noelle Elyse Pebet, Fresno County Superior Court commissioner, Office No. 9
- Jennifer Smith, Fresno County, senior deputy district attorney, Office No. 12
Click here for more on the candidates in the race for six open judge seats here.
Dyer’s undecided on the governor’s race
“I have several folks that are running that are kind of near and dear to me. One of them is Matt Mahan from San Jose. He’s a longtime friend and mayor. But, I’ve also been friends with Antonio Villaraigosa for many years. I know Hector [sic] Becerra. So, there’s a number of them that I know that are running, and we’ll see when June 2 happens,” Dyer told The Bee Tuesday afternoon.
Fresno Bee reporter David Taub contributed to this report.
