Fresno Mayor Dyer’s new dance: Letters to the editor, July 11, 2021

Mayor Dyer does ‘wokey pokey’

Politics always does strange things to otherwise decent people. It seems that most elected politicians rapidly depart from their own previously stated bedrock beliefs and distance themselves from those not-so-discerning supporters who have, once again, put their faith in a politician. This should not surprise us, but it does.

Take for example, Fresno’s mayor, a hard-core law-and-order advocate, an individual of proven ability, a personable example of an evangelical Christian who is passionately involved in his community — and then he decides to needlessly insert himself and the city into a church/private party real estate deal. Controversy ensued. Anti-Christian protesters hit the streets in a messy confrontation.

Furthermore, rejecting community standards, common sense and the beliefs of many of his Christian supporters, he has become an advocate for a non-traditional lifestyles, i.e. the LGBTQ+ Pride flag flying over City Hall.

Too many politicians, these days, are doing the wokey pokey.

Postal Service need not slow delivery

 In regard to the plan to slow mail delivery (June 24), I have delivered mail for almost 30 years. I’ve never had a customer tell me, “Yeah, I want my mail to take three days longer to arrive!” Under the proposed 10-year plan, that’s what will happen. I never heard of a company staying in business by gutting service standards. And it’s unnecessary.

The USPS is operationally profitable. The main reasons for its losses are a prefunding mandate to pay for future retiree health benefits 80 years in advance, which caused most of its losses since 2006, and the USPS and its employees paying into programs like Medicare but not getting the full benefit.

HR 3076 helps by repealing the aforementioned mandate and provides for Medicare integration for postal retirees when they turn 65. This will save the USPS tens of billions of dollars. If your congressperson hasn’t signed on as a co-sponsor, please ask him or her to do so.

Another idea would be to diversify how the USPS invests its $330 billion in retirement fund assets. Instead of solely investing in Treasury securities, which only gain 2-3% a year, it could move a portion to a fund which makes three times that.

Clovis school rules equal assault

To verify the “one inch below the buttcrack” measurement, assault must occur.

Who will protect the Clovis students from the invasive techniques of “measurement assault?”

Lawmakers, get real about hit and runs

 On May 20 Assembly Bill 582, Gavin’s Law, failed to move forward in Assembly Appropriations Committee. No explanation was given. AB 582 had passed the entire Assembly in 2020, but fell one vote short in the Senate Public Safety Committee, thus failing. 

Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, authored AB 582, seeking to increase penalties for committing hit-and-run felonies, going from two to four years in prison, to four to six years.

Gavin Gladding was a victim of hit-and-run driver on Sept. 16, 2018. While he was abandoned on Friant Road, Rogelio Alverez Maravilla sped away, hid for five days, sobered up and lawyered up as Crime Stoppers answered a tip to find the repaired truck attached to his father’s home. Glass shards covered with my son’s blood were still inside.

Maravilla was incarcerated 13 months. He’s back driving in your neighborhood.

Reintroduced in April, 2021 AB 582 passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee. Assessment from Appropriations Committee cites raising prison time for hit-and-run accidents would increase incarceration costs “in the millions of dollars.” Innocent Californians are at risk. The criminals find protection while the innocents become the victims. What will it take for our assemblymembers and senators to understand the fact that this dangerous situation needs resolving?

Look out for GOP scare tactics

 Republicans like to utilize scare tactics to gain political traction with voters. During the 2020 presidential campaign, they said that Black Lives Matter and Antifa would swarm the suburbs and terrorize inhabitants. They put forth the claim that the stock market and economy would crash if Joe Biden was elected president. Further they warned that Democrats would defund police departments across the nation. Of course, none of these things ever happened.

Now Republicans want us to believe that Democrats are a party of socialists, which is just another scare tactic. Although there are a handful of socialists in the Democratic party, the party itself is not socialist.

Wanting the ultra-rich to pay their fair share of taxes, aggressively attacking climate change and ensuring that citizens from all levels of our society have access to affordable health care does not make someone a socialist. Saying that Democrats are a party of socialists is like saying Republicans are a party of Q-Anon believers and conspiracy theorists. Although some of their members identify with those groups, it doesn’t accurately portray the party as a whole. 

We must beware of scare tactics when making our voting decisions.

Night classes to help students

A humble “thank you” to The Fresno Bee Editorial Board for recognizing the socioeconomic inequalities that have only been exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic, and yet another for reminding Fresnans that the struggle to beat COVID-19 is not over merely because California lifted economic restrictions and the mask mandate. I take issue, however, with the June 16 opinion, “As CA economy reopens, we must learn from COVID-19 mistakes.”

The Bee criticizes Gavin Newsom’s K-12 investment plan for the four years that our students will have to wait for school reforms to be implemented. You suggest that our “State leaders must enact immediate measures that aid students this fall,” but fail to suggest any quicker, substantive proposals. So here is one.

A new generation of prospective teachers did not get hands-on experience with pupils this last year. Students who have fallen behind need more in-person instruction. California should pass immediate legislation to fund evening classes in our most vulnerable communities and offer scholarships to students who finish an extra semester or two of coursework. Let’s keep it simple: Hire some new teachers and leave the classroom doors open a few nights a week.

Better criteria for new building

Regarding Mayor Dyer’s plan for expediting the building process with an “express development team.” EDT is indeed a PTP (pay to play) or a BAU (business as usual), which will most certainly benefit those with money, possibly rewarding those who contributed to the mayor’s or council member’s campaigns.

As an alternative I propose that expediting a permit for a project should be based on the following: Does it benefit underserved communities; does it infill vacant and unsightly areas of the city; does it address climate concerns.

This story was originally published July 11, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Fresno Mayor Dyer’s new dance: Letters to the editor, July 11, 2021."