Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

1 hour ago

US Senate Republicans Struggling to Unite on Trump’s $3.3 Trillion Tax-Cut Bill

1 hour ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

17 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

17 hours ago

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

19 hours ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

20 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

23 hours ago
Another Harry Armstrong? If We Could Only Be That Lucky
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 7 years ago on
February 14, 2018

Share

They teach you right away in the news business to never say “never.”
But I write with complete confidence that there will never be another politician like William “Harry” Armstrong.
Most of that is because of Harry. A little of it is because of changing times.


Opinion
Bill McEwen
Armstrong took the long view. He knew that you built freeways and strengthened downtowns inch by inch. Not overnight. And certainly not with elusive silver bullets. He believed that facts mattered. Policy mattered. And so did relationships.

Thank Goodness Clovis Doesn’t Have Term Limits

He began his public service to Clovis long before Twitter, Facebook and the popularity of term limits. Can you imagine Clovis thriving the way it is today if term limits had forced Harry Armstrong into two terms and done?
Armstrong could have climbed the political ladder — Board of Supervisors, state Assembly or Senate — but his heart belonged to Clovis (and to the surrounding communities, even that much-bigger, more-challenged place he called “the city to the west.”

Armstrong took the long view. He knew that you built freeways and strengthened downtowns inch by inch. Not overnight. And certainly not with elusive silver bullets. He believed that facts mattered. Policy mattered. And so did relationships.
And yet Harry was something of an anomaly in the conservative cowboy town that grew into a prosperous suburb while keeping its rugged identity. He was a union member and a Democrat.
What should that teach all of us, Republican and Democrat alike? Judge a person by his or her accomplishments, not by labels.

His Handprints Are All Over Clovis — and Beyond

When you serve four years on a planning commission and 46 years on a city council like Armstrong did, with five stints as mayor, your handprints are all over town.
“He touched everything in the city of Clovis that we enjoy today,” Councilmember Lynne Ashbeck said at a Jan. 23 council meeting five days after Armstrong’s death at age 87.
“I don’t think the regular person has an appreciation for why these freeways show up and why Old Town looks the way it does. All of that was empowered by Harry. There will never be another person in the city like that. We were lucky to call him a friend and a colleague.”

“I don’t think the regular person has an appreciation for why these freeways show up and why Old Town looks the way it does. All of that was empowered by Harry.” — Clovis City Councilmember Lynne Ashbeck
But people should know that Armstrong’s vision, tenacity and professionalism benefited more than Clovis.
“Harry was a force to reckon with, when you start messing with things that were important,” said Assemblyman Jim Patterson, who as the mayor of Fresno worked closely with Armstrong on Highway 41 and Highway 168.
“I remember a fun wrestling match with (Councilman) Bob Lung, who was on the warpath to kill 168. Harry was instrumental in helping me to put a little sense in Bob Lung. Lung was going around saying, ‘This is an escape freeway from Fresno.’ Harry’s line was, ‘Bob, in case you haven’t noticed, that freeway goes both ways.’ ”

Armstrong’s ‘Side Was Going To Prevail’

Former Fresno County Supervisor Henry R. Perea got to know Armstrong during the effort to complete Highway 180.
“The guy was so solid in his resolve to get it done,” Perea said. “He had his vision, always did homework, always had his support lined up before a vote. Always very nice. He let every side be heard, but as far as he was concerned, his side was going to prevail.”
Neither Clovis nor Fresno is perfect. No city is. But one of the great things about our area is that you can get from Point A to Point B a lot faster than in other big places.
“That’s a testament to Harry,” Patterson said. “He had a bigger vision than just Clovis. His whole goal was to do precisely what we have now.”

Remembering Harry Armstrong Public Ceremony
When: 11:30 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 15
Where: Clovis Veterans Memorial District
Afterward: Announcement that Highway 168/Herndon Avenue interchange will be named in Armstrong’s honor.
I first met Harry in the mid-1970s. He was on the Clovis City Council. I had a journalism instructor at Fresno State that would send us out to cover the meetings. We would write up stories that got graded but not printed. Harry treated all of us cub reporters with respect. He answered our questions and told us where to find additional information.

Leader’s Work Is Never Done

He was a mentor to many politicians but didn’t suffer fools or attention-seekers gladly. In Clovis, city council work is considered a part-time position. Armstrong never treated it as such. He was always working, gathering bits of information he would use to his advantage. Maybe not that day or tomorrow. But someday.
Armstrong understood that you don’t get big things done by yelling or stomping your foot. You arm yourself with the facts, recruit others to your side and clear the obstacles. And if you don’t prevail the first time, well, you will the next.
His nose-to-the-grindstone ethic made Clovis, Fresno and other communities better.
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand said it perfectly after Harry’s passing:
“Politicians came and went. Fashions changed. But one thing remained constant — Harry Armstrong. He was truly one of a kind and he will be missed.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Homeland Security Secretary Noem Says CNN May Be Prosecuted Over Report on Migration App

DON'T MISS

Musk Promises a New Political Party if the GOP Bill Passes

DON'T MISS

Dollar Gains Ground Against Major Peers After Better-Than-Expected US Jobs Data

DON'T MISS

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

DON'T MISS

France Shuts Schools, Italy Limits Outdoor Work as Heatwave Grips Europe

DON'T MISS

Powell Reiterates Fed Will Wait for More Data Before Cutting Rates

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Investigate Morning Shooting Outside Bethlehem Center

DON'T MISS

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

DON'T MISS

US Senate Republicans Struggling to Unite on Trump’s $3.3 Trillion Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

Trump Escalates Feud With Musk, Threatens Tesla, SpaceX Support

UP NEXT

Musk Promises a New Political Party if the GOP Bill Passes

UP NEXT

Dollar Gains Ground Against Major Peers After Better-Than-Expected US Jobs Data

UP NEXT

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

UP NEXT

France Shuts Schools, Italy Limits Outdoor Work as Heatwave Grips Europe

UP NEXT

Powell Reiterates Fed Will Wait for More Data Before Cutting Rates

UP NEXT

Visalia Police Investigate Morning Shooting Outside Bethlehem Center

UP NEXT

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

UP NEXT

US Senate Republicans Struggling to Unite on Trump’s $3.3 Trillion Tax-Cut Bill

UP NEXT

Trump Escalates Feud With Musk, Threatens Tesla, SpaceX Support

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

21 minutes ago

France Shuts Schools, Italy Limits Outdoor Work as Heatwave Grips Europe

21 minutes ago

Powell Reiterates Fed Will Wait for More Data Before Cutting Rates

29 minutes ago

Visalia Police Investigate Morning Shooting Outside Bethlehem Center

43 minutes ago

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

1 hour ago

US Senate Republicans Struggling to Unite on Trump’s $3.3 Trillion Tax-Cut Bill

1 hour ago

Trump Escalates Feud With Musk, Threatens Tesla, SpaceX Support

1 hour ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

16 hours ago

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

16 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

17 hours ago

Homeland Security Secretary Noem Says CNN May Be Prosecuted Over Report on Migration App

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Tuesday that she is working with the Justice Department to see if CNN can be prosecuted for ...

32 seconds ago

President Donald Trump and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speak with the media at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on the day of the opening of a temporary migrant detention center informally known as "Alligator Alcatraz" in Ochopee, Florida, U.S., July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
32 seconds ago

Homeland Security Secretary Noem Says CNN May Be Prosecuted Over Report on Migration App

Tesla CEO Elon Musk greets U.S. President Donald Trump as they attend the NCAA men's wrestling championships in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., March 22, 2025. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo)
4 minutes ago

Musk Promises a New Political Party if the GOP Bill Passes

U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken March 19, 2025. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
19 minutes ago

Dollar Gains Ground Against Major Peers After Better-Than-Expected US Jobs Data

21 minutes ago

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

A tourist cools off in the Trocadero Fountain next to the Eiffel Tower as an early summer heatwave hits Paris, France, July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Tom Nicholson)
21 minutes ago

France Shuts Schools, Italy Limits Outdoor Work as Heatwave Grips Europe

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on "The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress," on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 24, 2025. (Reuters File)
29 minutes ago

Powell Reiterates Fed Will Wait for More Data Before Cutting Rates

A man was shot Tuesday, July 1, 2025, morning outside the Bethlehem Center in Visalia, and police are investigating the incident. (Visalia PD)
43 minutes ago

Visalia Police Investigate Morning Shooting Outside Bethlehem Center

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house that took place on Monday, in Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip, July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Ramadan Abed)
1 hour ago

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend