Four good candidates seek Fresno Council District 1, but one is clearly the best choice

Of the four races for Fresno City Council on the June primary ballot, the contest for District 1 is the most interesting because it does not feature an incumbent.

Esmeralda Soria is leaving office at year’s end because she is termed out, and is now campaigning for state Assembly. A quartet of hopefuls are on the ballot hoping to replace her.

The council district sprawls from the Fresno High School area to Grantland Avenune, west of Highway 99. It includes much of the the Tower District, including the iconic theater, and runs north to shopping areas along West Shaw Avenue.

Running for the seat are Annalisa Perea, an urban planner who is on the State Center Community College District board; Cary Catalano, who owns a government affairs-marketing firm and formerly served on the city Planning Commission; Mike Briggs, a former council member, state Assembly member and president of a real estate firm; and Jeremy Preis, a former Fresno police officer who has also been a teacher and now sells insurance.

Of the candidates, The Bee Editorial Board recommends Annalisa Perea because she offers interesting ideas combined with the political savvy to get things accomplished.

Perea’s proposals

Perea is no stranger to politics: Her father is Henry R. Perea, a former council member, Fresno County school board member and county supervisor. Her brother, Henry T. Perea, was also a former council member and state Assembly member.

A Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduate, Annalisa Perea is a city planner who has focused on park development, improving traffic flow on roads and making communities more pedestrian friendly — all of which Fresno needs.

As former president of the State Center Community College District board, Perea helped lead the effort to build a Fresno City College satellite campus in southwest Fresno, as well as a campus for first-responder training in the southeast part of the city. She was also instrumental in guiding the college through the COVID pandemic.

When it comes to infusing Fresno’s economy, Perea says the first place to start is overhauling the review process in the city’s planning department. Liberals and conservatives alike have complained that the effort to get a project through the city is much too hard. Perea wants to “roll out the red carpet and cut the red tape” to attract new businesses. She also pledges to extend any expiring business permits by another three years.

One of the citizens who served on the police reform commission, Perea wants to hire more community service officers — an non-sworn position below a regular cop — who would handle the lower-priority calls the Police Department receives. She also wants more dispatchers. “It is not OK to call 9-1-1 and be put on hold.”

Most importantly, Perea proposes diverting teens from a path toward criminal behavior by instead offering them internships at local companies and organizations.

To help homeless people living on the streets, Perea says tiny homes — small, single-room domiciles — should be tried. She’d support more day centers where homeless people could shower and get critical services like counseling and employment help.

Other candidates

▪ Catalano has a wealth of community involvement. Besides serving on the Planning Commission, he has been involved with the committee that updated the city’s General Plan; is on the board of Fresno Housing (formerly the Housing Authority); was on the mayor’s advisory panel during the COVID pandemic; and is a director at the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.

He recognizes crime as an ongoing problem, and says prevention measures are as important as enforcement. He wants to coordinate with local schools for programs after school to give kids something positive to do.

▪ Briggs is direct when it comes to addressing homelessness: “I want to dispatch the homeless from neighborhoods to somewhere else ... we need to re-stigmatize being homeless.” Mentally ill people should be housed in a safe space where treatment is provided, he says; those down on their luck should also get a safe place to rest; and those who want to have a camping lifestyle should be afforded showers.

▪ Preis wants to hire more police officers so they can be proactive in heading off crime, rather than simple reacting when it occurs. He too wants young people to have positive activities, like sports after school. He would look for ways to make athletics more affordable.

Upcoming election

Ballots will arrive in the mail to registered voters starting May 9. The primary is June 7. If no candidate gets 50 percent plus one in the primary, the top-two finishers will go to a runoff in November.

It is an asset of Perea’s that she is a woman. Such perspective is needed on an otherwise all-male council. That came through in the interview with the Editorial Board, as Perea offered ideas that were not identified by the other candidates. District 1 voters are fortunate to have a group of good candidates. The Bee Editorial Board recommends a yes vote for Perea.

This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 5:00 AM.