Who’s Republican enough to represent Fresno’s only Republican council district? | Opinion
Two Republicans, both first-time candidates for public office, are vying to replace Garry Bredefeld as the lone Republican on the Fresno City Council.
The winner of the District 6 contest, the sole city council race on the November ballot, will represent the only part of town that remains staunchly Republican.
But between Roger Bonakdar and Nick Richardson, who has the GOP bonafides to garner the lion’s share of endorsements and campaign donations from local Republicans?
That’s where things get curious.
Richardson, a Marine reservist who spent 10 years on active duty as a helicopter pilot and language specialist, is an unabashed conservative with a libertarian streak. The 33-year-old has been a registered Republican for as long as he’s been old enough to vote.
Yet when it comes to political and financial support from local Republican figures and groups, Richardson lags far behind Bonakdar.
Even though Bonakdar, a 43-year-old criminal defense attorney, has been a Republican for mere months after switching his voter registration from No Party Preference following the March primary.
Why does the GOP establishment prefer a Republican-come-lately over a lifer for the only city council seat that will be occupied by one of their own? (Yes, city council races are considered nonpartisan. But party politics are eternal.)
Maybe it’s because they believe Bonakdar is the stronger candidate. Or perhaps it’s something else.
Until mid August, Bonakdar and Richardson were both endorsed by the Fresno County Republican Party to represent northeast Fresno. But following an executive session, the group jettisoned Richardson and is only endorsing Bonakdar.
Why the change of heart?
Party Chair Liz Kolstad told GV Wire there were concerns that Richardson “made false representations to the committee in order to secure an endorsement” but didn’t elaborate.
Richardson’s answers found ‘disturbing’
Then allow me. Days before county Republicans dropped their endorsement of Richardson, Kolstad was tagged in a Facebook post by former council member Jerry Duncan that featured an image of Richardson’s responses to two questions from a LGBTQ Fresno survey.
“As a conservative Republican, I find them very disturbing,” Duncan wrote in the post.
What exactly did Duncan, who represented District 6 during the 2000s, find so disturbing?
The first question asked candidates for their thoughts on legislation prohibiting drag shows. Richardson replied that he himself “actively seek(s) out a good drag brunch from time to time” and “people should be able to enjoy any type of legal entertainment they like.”
A conservative who isn’t uptight and thinks government should keep its nose out of people’s personal lives? Well, that’s new. I mean old.
The second question involved school policies for students that identify as transgender. Richardson, a former substitute teacher, replied that “using a kid’s preferred pronouns, nickname or whatever will allow them to say ‘here’ during attendance isn’t really in the school’s jurisdiction.”
Richardson was the only candidate in the original District 6 field that responded to LGBTQ Fresno. Likewise, he was the only candidate from his race to participate in a candidate forum organized by local Palestinians.
Days after that December event, a local chapter of the California Republican Assembly notified him they were pulling its endorsement.
“Losing those two endorsements was probably the best thing that’s happened to the campaign. That says more about those groups that it does about me,” Richardson said.
“Neither of them unendorsed me because of my answers or anything I said. It was the fact that I talked to them in the first place.”
Bonakdar gets big backing
In addition to the backing of the Fresno County GOP, Bonakdar boasts several endorsements from prominent Republicans: Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni, retired sheriff Margaret Mims, former Fresno Mayor Lee Brand and Michael Der Manouel, Jr. Bredefeld, who is termed out and running for county supervisor, is not endorsing either candidate.
Bonakdar has also amassed a huge (i.e. at least 5 to 1) fundraising edge over Richardson with his largest contributions coming from donors that typically save their deepest pockets for Republicans: developers and the city’s police and fire unions.
Despite the fact that Bonakdar, unlike Richardson, is barely a Republican.
Bonakdar told me he switched from No Party Preference because “voters expect you to pick a camp” and that the Republican party better reflects his current views.
Until April, Bonakdar said he had been an NPP voter “my whole life” – though he may have requested a Democratic ballot. (In California, only registered Republicans can vote for president in a primary election. Democrats allow NPP voters to participate in their primary, but only if they request a ballot.)
“People have endorsed and supported me because I’m clearly the most qualified person for the job,” Bonakdar said. “They know that I’m going to be able to go in there and do the job on day one.”
That may be true. It may also be true that the only real Republican in this race to represent Fresno’s only Republican stronghold has been too truthful for his own good.
