The Bee’s Editorial Board was skeptical about Jerry Dyer as mayor. He’s proving us wrong

Just over a year ago, as Jerry Dyer was campaigning to become Fresno’s next mayor, The Bee’s Editorial Board offered this opinion about the former police chief:

“Dyer’s orientation continues to be a police-chief mindset, not that of a mayor. Let the police handle the gangs; the mayor must think more broadly.” The Editorial Board was concerned with how Dyer would break free from the job he had held for nearly 20 years.

The Bee endorsed another candidate. Dyer went on to capture the mayorship in the primary from a field of seven candidates, which was no small feat. He officially took office in early January. Now two months into being mayor, it is clear Dyer is thinking, talking and acting like the chief executive of California’s fifth-largest city.

Several things brought this about.

First, Dyer had the benefit of nine months of prep time before taking office. During that period he talked with Fresnans from throughout the city to hear their concerns, including critics who had grievances with him when he was police chief. This process enlightened him to residents’ concerns.

Second, Dyer helped choose the next chief, Paco Balderrama, who was sworn in Jan. 11. He came after a solid career in Oklahoma City, which has a population of 640,000, about 100,000 more people than Fresno. Dyer expressed his confidence in Balderrama at the swearing in: “He has what it takes to be a great police chief.”

With that matter checked off the list, Dyer was able to get fully under way with his agenda, and he outlined it to the Editorial Board this week.

Helping the homeless, getting rid of trash

Shortly after taking office Dyer launched “Project Off-ramp,” an effort to move about 250 homeless people from tent camps alongside Fresno highways and into safer housing. In the first few weeks of cleaning up along Highway 41 near downtown, the city has relocated 100 people from atop freeway embankments to local motels. Those people are told about mental health, substance abuse and other services available to help them.

Dyer noted that the fire department responded to more than 600 blazes last year caused by homeless people; earlier this year three homeless people were struck and killed along Fresno freeways. He is right that people living at freeways is a health and safety issue.

A second goal is to clean up Fresno’s overall appearance by literally picking up trash — a priority that residents made clear to Dyer during his campaign. “I heard from people that the city had become ugly. It had lost curb appeal; there was less pride in neighborhoods.” The result: Beautify Fresno.

In its first two months there have been cleanup events at six spots around the city that involved nearly 500 volunteers. They put in 940 hours and picked up nearly 4,000 pounds of trash. Events are planned from now into April; anyone interested in being a volunteer can call Mark Standriff, 559-621-8626, sign up online at https://www.beautifyfresno.org/volunteers/ or email info@beautifyfresno.org.

Living in downtown, making economy stronger

Dyer’s next goals are also worthy: For one thing, he wants to have 10,000 people living downtown as the means to create a dynamic night life there.

The mayor disfavors Fresno’s past practice of granting exclusive development agreements that let an owner sit on property for years, hoping the land or existing structure appreciates in value before development starts.

Rather, he believes downtown Fresno is getting attention from Bay Area and Southern California developers who are willing to create the mixed-use projects he wants built — retailers or restaurants at ground level with housing above.

Similarly, he wants to appeal to industries that do more than just provide entry-level jobs. “We need businesses willing to hire the right people from the right neighborhoods for the right pay,” Dyer said. “Not the 25-mile radius like we have had; I am talking about hiring people from the city of Fresno.”

Challenges ahead

Dyer made national news when he told The Washington Post he supported President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief proposal. Without the funding that would come to Fresno, Dyer forecasts having to lay off 250 city staff, the result of the budget losses caused by the pandemic.

Dyer is a Republican, and he joins a list of GOP city and county leaders around the nation who support Biden’s proposal, in contrast to Republican members in the House and Senate.

Then there are the longstanding challenges that are formidable for any mayor. The metropolitan area ranks among the worst cities in America for income inequality. The city ranks second in a listing of the top 20 American cities with extreme poverty. Fresno tops big cities in California for its rate of domestic violence calls. People living in the city’s poorer neighborhoods have drastically worse health than those in more affluent areas. And the city has remained at the bottom tier of large cities in the U.S. for its parks, both in quality and number.

The board offered its congratulations to Dyer upon his victory last March and wished him good success because then Fresno would be successful. That remains true today.