Jill Biden stops in Fresno ahead of California primary. She visited a familiar place
Jill Biden stopped in Fresno on Thursday on the presidential campaign trail for her husband, former Vice President Joe Biden, visiting Fresno City College and Los Panchos Mexican Restaurant and Cantina in downtown.
Carole Goldsmith, Fresno City’s president, gave the former second lady a tour of the college campus, including the veterans resource center, library and the dental hygiene clinic.
From there, Biden traveled into the heart of downtown and enjoyed chips and salsa and a margarita at Los Panchos where the restaurant owners and Fresno County Economic Development Corporation leaders discussed downtown revitalization and goals for diversifying the region’s economy.
“This is the beginning of a marathon,” she said about the campaign leading up to Super Tuesday. “We have all 50 states to get to. …We’re asking every voter in the state of California to vote for Joe.”
Biden took a semester off of her job teaching English at Northern Virginia Community College to campaign. She touted Joe Biden’s plan to provide two years of debt-free community college.
“Community colleges are America’s best-kept secret,” she said, standing in front of the Fresno City College library. “And, really, they’re affordable. …They’re a way for students to cut down student debt and then they can transfer right into college if they so choose.”
Biden’s campaign is the third one in a few months to stop at Fresno City College. Bernie Sanders held a rally there in November, and Mike Bloomberg stopped there Feb. 3.
Goldsmith said Fresno City’s legacy as California’s first community college makes it a good stop for candidates, and the college welcomes anyone and everyone – regardless of political party.
“I think it’s because education offers a safe place where people can exchange ideas, and that’s what’s really fundamental about Fresno City College,” Goldsmith said. “Everybody is welcome.”
Pitching Fresno economy
At Los Panchos, Lee Ann Eager and Will Oliver from Fresno EDC discussed how the TIGER grant helped the Fulton Street project and downtown revitalization.
“We depended on the federal government to come in and say, ‘We believe in you,’ and give us that push,” Eager said. “It takes leadership from the federal government.”
The group also discussed the DRIVE initiative, a regional economic plan based on equity. “Fresno is poised to do some amazing things,” Oliver said. “We’re growing fast, and we have the opportunity to grow right.”
Biden said Fresno’s downtown revitalization demonstrates a community rising to a challenge. “People step up,” she said.
She reassured the group that with a Biden presidency, regions that are sometimes forgotten won’t be. “There can be hope again.”