Tyler Maxwell grew up in east central Fresno, and is the best choice to be its council member

Fresno’s City Council District 4 is home to three local landmarks: Fresno State, Fashion Fair Mall and Fresno Yosemite International Airport. So the right to represent the area carries certain prestige.

The voters in the east central part of the city have the good fortune this year of having two strong candidates to replace outgoing Council member Paul Caprioglio. Running in the March primary are Nathan Alonzo and Tyler Maxwell.

Both are in their late 20s, have compelling life stories and strong educational backgrounds. The district will be well served no matter who wins. The Bee’s Editorial Board gives its nod to Maxwell.

Maxwell background, beliefs

He is no stranger to struggle. The fourth generation of his family to live in District 4, Maxwell spent much of his youth homeless, living with relatives or couch surfing with friends because of his parents’ addiction challenges and resulting poverty.

Despite the rough childhood, Maxwell earned two bachelor’s degrees — legal studies and psychology — at the University of California Berkeley. He returned to Fresno and worked for the county Probation Department, helping domestic violence victims. He then became a crime scene investigator for Fresno police. Today the 28-year-old Maxwell is an assistant to Nelson Esparza, the District 7 council member.

That upbringing gives him a rare insight into the problems facing homeless people. Maxwell supports ongoing efforts of the city and county to provide emergency shelter, and wants to expand the stock of affordable housing. He has been to every park in the district and knows homeless people are camping in almost every one. Getting homeless people who have mental health problems the help they need is key to reducing homelessness, he believes.

Having new and renovated parks is another goal of Maxwell’s. He backed Measure P in 2018, walking to thousands of homes to urge yes votes. The measure got 52 percent of the ballots, short of the two-thirds it needed to pass. Maxwell said any future effort at a sales tax hike to raise money for parks must also include funding for public safety because constituents want more police on patrol, and both police and fire departments have critical needs.

When it comes to jobs, Maxwell sees small businesses as the future, rather than large employers like Amazon, Ulta and Gap, each of which has a distribution center in Fresno. He wants to land companies that offer employees better wages than what is paid by the big-box enterprises.

Rather than allow new growth to go beyond current limits, Maxwell supports the 2014 general plan and its emphasis on in-fill development in existing neighborhoods.

Alonzo background

He grew up in Firebaugh, the youngest of six boys to immigrant farm-worker parents. As a teen he helped in the fields during the hot summers. After high school, Alonzo went to Fresno City College and Fresno State.

Today Alonzo, 27, is external affairs director for Caglia Environmental, a Fresno firms that handles trash, recycling, landfill management and development. Previously he worked at the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, and was on the staff of former state Sen. Andy Vidak.

Recommendation

After graduating from UC Berkeley, Maxwell could have moved anywhere. He chose to return home to Fresno’s District 4, which says much about his commitment to where he grew up. He has its best interests as his goal, and The Bee recommends him for City Council.