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Will It Be a Grand Old Party? State Republicans to Decide if Future Is With Trump.
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By David Taub, Senior Reporter
Published 5 years ago on
February 22, 2019

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Much has been written and previewed regarding this weekend’s state Republican Party convention in Sacramento. Party delegates will choose a new chairperson. Three candidates pose two different points of view — former Assemblyman Travis Allen, party activist and writer Steve Frank, and the head of the California Trailblazers program, Jessica Patterson.

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Allen and Frank just announced they are supporting one another, in the event the ballot goes to a second round, in an effort to defeat Patterson. Allen and Frank say that the party is not Trump enough, and are calling for better outreach to register more Republicans.
“Jessica Patterson is a career staffer bought and paid for by the special interests that protect themselves, not the GOP or our candidate,” the two said in a joint news release.
GV Wire interviewed Allen and Frank when they spoke last month at a Fresno County & City Republican Women Federated event. You can watch those segments in the video above. Patterson did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.
Fred Vanderhoof, chairman of the Fresno County Republican Party, echoes the views of Allen and Frank that Trump isn’t hurting California GOP candidates.
“I don’t think it’s Trump. I think we have a big push from the Democrats in this state,” Vanderhoof said.
The Fresno County party chose not to endorse a candidate in the party contest. However, much of the Valley Republican delegation in Sacramento is supporting Patterson, including state Sen. Andreas Borgeas and assemblymen Jim Patterson (no relation), Frank Bigelow, and Devon Mathis.
Vanderhoof pointed to possible voter fraud as another reason why Republicans did poorly last November, citing a recent settlement between Los Angeles County and a voter rights group.
“Voter fraud is one of the major issues. As time goes by, the truth will come out,” Vanderhoof predicted.

Fresno’s Meter Maid of the Future

A parking meter in front of Fresno City Hall (GV Wire Photo/David Taub)
Early 21st-century technology could finally hit the streets of Fresno. The city is requesting proposals to upgrade at least 200 downtown parking meters.
Here are some of the city’s requirements for so-called “smart” meters:
— Meters must accept credit cards, city parking cards, cash, and coins. Any costs to use a credit card cannot be passed on to the city.
— Meters should have a sensor to determine when a car leaves its space.
— “Integration with online payment app providers to provide occupancy sensor information when app-based parking sessions are purchased.”
— Software must be able to send notifications (like texts) to meter enforcers when time expires.
— The meters must operate in temperatures from -10F to 185F.
— Meters must be at least 4G LTE compliant
The requests went out Feb. 14 and are due back March 19.

Fresno Unified Looking for Lawyers

Fresno Unified is opening the door to changing attorneys.
The district is soliciting requests for proposals from legal firms to represent the district and the school board. It is the first time in at least 15 years such a request has been made, according to a district memo.
For Trustee Carol Mills, herself an attorney for the California Court of Appeal, seeking a new attorney contract is long overdue.
“Just like we do for other professional services, we post for a request for proposal. We reassess every five years or so. For the entire time, I don’t ever remember a post for legal counsel,” Mills said.
She added that the board in the past relied on the superintendent’s recommendation to retain legal services. While the district utilizes many different firms, depending on the specialty, general legal services are provided by Fresno-based Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo.
School district chief of staff David Chavez said the California School Boards Association recommends putting a legal services contract up for bid every three to five years.
Mills said that AALRR is welcome to bid on continuing its relationship with the district. Proposals are due March 8.

Bill of the Week — Charter School Accountability

Charter schools are public schools. And, the boards that run them should be transparent and accountable.
That’s what SB 126, authored by Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) and Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach) hopes to achieve. Their bill would require charter school board meetings to operate under the same state open meeting laws (Brown Act, Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act) as the governing bodies of school districts.
“This bicameral response will ensure that charter school governing boards, in accepting public funds, meet the same requirements as other public schools,” Leyva said in a news release.
The bill passed on the Senate floor 34-2 on Thursday (Feb. 21) and heads to the Assembly. Valley senators Andreas Borgeas (R-Fresno) and Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) voted in favor.
Fresno County has 37 charter schools, according to the California Department of Education.

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David Taub,
Senior Reporter
Curiosity drives David Taub. The award-winning journalist might be shy, but feels mighty with a recorder in his hand. He doesn't see it his job to "hold public officials accountable," but does see it to provide readers (and voters) the information needed to make intelligent choices. Taub has been honored with several writing awards from the California News Publishers Association. He's just happy to have his stories read. Joining GV Wire in 2016, Taub covers politics, government and elections, mainly in the Fresno/Clovis area. He also writes columns about local eateries (Appetite for Fresno), pro wrestling (Off the Bottom Rope), and media (Media Man). Prior to joining the online news source, Taub worked as a radio producer for KMJ and PowerTalk 96.7 in Fresno. He also worked as an assignment editor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, California, and KSEE-TV in Fresno. He has also worked behind the scenes for several sports broadcasts, including the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Super Bowl. When not spending time with his family, Taub loves to officially score Fresno Grizzlies games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue! You can contact David at 559-492-4037 or at Send an Email

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