Both candidates in this council race are young. Only one of them scares Fresno’s old guard
Nathan Alonzo is 27, Tyler Maxwell is 28 and neither of them looks old enough to shave.
Both candidates running to represent District 4 in the Fresno City Council give off an innocent, non-threatening vibe. Much more Eagle Scout or choir boy than shrewd, calculating politician. So no matter who wins, the next council will have decidedly more peach fuzz.
Both Alonzo and Maxwell are running for the right reasons. I believe both of them genuinely want to improve the quality of life for residents of central and east Fresno, an area of town that tends to get overlooked.
During recent sit-downs with The Bee’s Editorial Board, both displayed detailed knowledge of the district, a result of many months of canvassing neighborhoods and knocking on doors. On issues such as homelessness and how to goose Fresno’s economic development, they gave similar answers. Both even lamented the losses of Grizzly Fest and the Fresno Foxes, implying city leaders could have done more to prevent the music festival from going dark and pro soccer from leaving town.
Certainly, Alonzo and Maxwell have differences of opinion, as evidenced by their positions on Measure P and whether Fresno’s infill-leaning general plan warrants re-examination. Maxwell supported the 2018 parks measure and stated flat-out he would vote to keep the general plan as is. Alonzo wants parks and public safety funded simultaneously and sounded more open to cracking open the general plan.
But to really discern the contrasts between these fresh-faced millennials, take a look at their disparate bases of support.
When Alonzo announced his candidacy in April, the turnout was practically a who’s who of Fresno’s political and bureaucratic establishment. Mayor Lee Brand, former police chief and mayoral hopeful Jerry Dyer and Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims all spoke on Alonzo’s behalf, as did incumbent Councilmember Paul Caprioglio. Representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and the Fresno Police Officers Association were also on hand.
Pretty heady stuff for a political newbie.
Maxwell didn’t enjoy such a star-studded sendoff but has since garnered endorsements from former Fresno mayors Alan Autry and Karen Humphrey, former county Supervisor Henry R. Perea, District 7 Councilmember Nelson Esparza (Maxwell’s current boss) and Fresno Unified trustees Keshia Thomas, Claudia Cazares and Veva Islas.
Alonzo out-raising Maxwell nearly 2 to 1
Now look at fundraising. At last count, Alonzo has raised about $190,000 in contributions. The largest, a $9,000 donation, came from the police officers union. Alonzo has also been able to garner financial support from a wide swath of local developers, business interests and Republican politicians (i.e. Jim Patterson, Andreas Borgeas and Andy Vidak).
There’s a reason for this. Alonzo works as director of external affairs for Caglia Environmental, a company that blends garbage and recycling collection, landfill management and development. Before that, he worked at the Fresno Chamber of Commerce. Before that, he served as a staffer for Vidak, a former state senator.
Maxwell is also getting some monetary support from developers and politicians. (He and Alonzo each garnered $4,000 from Granville Homes and $4,000 more from The Assemi Group.) However, the bulk of Maxwell’s $101,000 in contributions came from an assortment of trade and labor unions.
Even though City Council races are nonpartisan, political persuasion still plays a big role. The latest voter registration numbers for District 4 show the electorate is 41% Democrat, 26.6% No Party Preference and 26.1% Republican.
These figures seemingly give an edge to Maxwell, a Democrat who works as a council assistant for District 7. Alonzo, meanwhile, switched his affiliation from Republican to No Party Preference in December 2018. Why? The Firebaugh native cited his frustration with the lack of progress on immigration reform.
Will Dems get veto-proof majority?
While the amount of money donated to this race won’t come close to the $700,000 collected by Esparza and opponent Brian Whelan in 2018, the potential impact is just as massive.
If Maxwell wins, the City Council would have five Democrats, four of whom could be considered progressive or at least progressive-ish. (I’m omitting the moderate Luis Chavez.)
Depending on who becomes mayor, that five-member voting block would be enough to form a veto-proof majority against Dyer or provide ample support for Andrew Janz, the other leading mayoral candidate.
But if Alonzo wins, the tectonic plates shift. Dyer would be able to count on unflagging support from Garry Bredefeld, Mike Karbassi, Alonzo and (on some issues) Chavez. And Janz could have a tougher time pushing through his policies.
No wonder so many local politicos are paying rapt attention to what transpires in District 4. It also helps that Bredefeld and Karbassi are running unopposed.
New voting system an X factor
If this were Fresno circa 2000, Alonzo’s political support from conservatives would almost guarantee him victory at the ballot box. Except this is 2020, and things have changed. Just look at 2018, when both City Council candidates backed by Brand and the political establishment lost to progressives.
The other X factor is Fresno County’s new voting system. Neither side can be quite certain how that will work out, though an increase in voter turnout (like Madera County experienced in 2018) typically favors the Democrats.
Alonzo and Maxwell are both strong candidates, and no matter who wins, the residents of District 4 will benefit from their youthful energy. I believe both have bright political futures.
The question for March 3 is whether the progressive wave we witnessed in 2018 will continue, or whether Fresno’s old guard can hit the pause button.
It might just be one of seven seats on the City Council, but there’s a ton at stake.
Correction: This column originally referred to Henry R. Perea as a state Assembly member. His son, Henry T. Perea, served in the Assembly. The elder was a county supervisor, among other offices he has held. The column has been updated to reflect that fact.
This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 9:49 AM.
