GV Wire asked Mayor-elect Jerry Dyer and Fresno City Councilmembers for their thoughts on Friday’s extension of the shelter-in-place order through May 31.

Mayor Lee Brand made the announcement, along with a plan to reopen businesses and require masks for most public activities.

Mayor-elect Jerry Dyer

“It is my intent that by May 7th, we will have hundreds of businesses that will be deemed authorized and open in the city of Fresno. That means thousands of employees going back to work. We have people in this community who are out of work, who have lost hope.

“We have businesses who have been forced to close and may never open again and also have lost hope. As a city, as a committee (Fresno Recovery Advisory Committee, which Dyer serves as vice-char), we have a responsibility to get our economy opened up as quickly but as safely as we possibly can. None of us wants to do anything that’s going to be an unnecessary health risk to the public. We do not want a second wave, but we do know there’s some middle ground.”

Council President Miguel Arias

“The decisions that the mayor and the city council have made thus far has saved dozens of lives, compared to our neighbors in Tulare County. Each step of the way, we’ve been thoughtful and proceeded with an abundance of caution. For that, the mayor should be commended. The next natural step, as we get to the end of this order, is to focus on reopening businesses safely and cautiously.”

District 6 Councilman Garry Bredefeld

“The mayor’s actions continue to be unconstitutional based on the 1st, 5th, and 14th Amendments. He and his administration are tyrannical and authoritarian. He is destroying people’s businesses, lives, and livelihoods in real-time. The data regarding COVID-19 in Fresno County do not support his actions. I will not adhere to any of his ‘orders.’ I urge all citizens of Fresno to protest these unconstitutional and tyrannical actions.”

District 7 Councilman Nelson Esparza

“The extension was the right thing to do. The mayor is correctly following our public health indicators as we move toward a reopening. We’re going to continue easing into it unless we see the number of cases begin to spike again. Folks should remember that even without a local order, the statewide order would still apply. This struggle right now in the economy is a shared global experience, this isn’t something happening only to Fresno. We’re in it together and we’re going to emerge from it together.”

District 2 Councilman Mike Karbassi