In an update from our story yesterday, a Fresno County Superior Court judge adopted a tentative ruling, reinstating a lawsuit against the city of Fresno over the Cesar Chavez Boulevard name.

More than 20 supporters of keeping the original street names packed Judge Jonathan Skiles’s courtroom.

Of the original five causes of action, Skiles allowed two to proceed — whether the city council had the power to rename the streets, and whether the action is a “public waste.”

The judge granted the city’s demurer — a legal motion to stop a lawsuit from the start based on the merits of the case — on the remaining three causes, regarding violation of free speech and due process rights.

Both plaintiff 1 Community Compact and defendant city of Fresno asked for a hearing on Thursday afternoon at the civil courthouse before Skiles finalized his ruling.

Skiles got testy with plaintiff attorney Brian Leighton at one point. Skiles asked Leighton four times to answer a hypothetical — would a white supremacist think Martin Luther King Boulevard represented their own personal free speech? Leighton hemmed and hawed, not giving Skiles a satisfactory answer.

The judge said that everyone can get offended at anything. In another hypothetical, Skiles said people could get upset over a road named after George Washington.

Leighton insisted Skiles was wrong on the free speech issue.

“There are so many judges that do not understand all the nuances of free speech,” Leighton said after.

Leighton told Politics 101 the city council should not rename a street after a political figure. He used his own theoretical, naming a street after former President Donald Trump.

“If you take an ideologue or a political candidate, a political figure, and you rename a street, there’s going to be a lot of people upset and a lot of people that aren’t thrilled. The city should stay out of the business,” Leighton said.

The plaintiff, 1 Community Compact, is airing radio ads, heard on stations like KMJ, advocating for the restoration of the original street names.

The case now proceeds to a Feb. 11, 2025 hearing, setting up for a potential trial starting March 17.

City Attorney Andrew Janz did not argue at the hearing. He told Politics 101 after that he wanted to hear arguments from the plaintiff. He does not expect the case to get to trial. The city will file a summary judgment — asking the judge to make a ruling on the merits prior to a trial.

Original story:

In a tentative ruling, a Fresno County Superior Court judge reinstated parts of a community group’s lawsuit, seeking to reversing the naming of several streets as “Cesar Chavez Boulevard.”

Judge Jon Skiles will allow parts of 1 Community Compact’s complaints to proceed — whether the city council had the power to rename the streets, and whether the action is a “public waste.”

However, the judge denied a preliminary injunction, writing that “it is unclear whether Plaintiff will prevail” in the lawsuit moving forward.

Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz offered no comment because of pending litigation.  Skiles will hold a full hearing Thursday afternoon on the demurrer and preliminary injunction.

Two Causes of Action Survive

This is the second attempt by 1 Community Compact to reverse the renaming of an 11-mile stretch that changed Kings Canyon Road, Ventura, and California avenues to honor the late labor leader.

The city finished switching the 100-plus signs last week.

The city successfully secured a demurer — a legal motion to stop a lawsuit from the start based on the merits of the case — in June. 1 Community Compact filed an updated lawsuit, listing five causes of action (down from nine in the prior version of the lawsuit).

The city once again filed a demurer.

Skiles determined “there is an actual controversy as to whether Defendant exceeded its police powers by renaming the Streets that Plaintiff seeks a declaration of its rights as impacted residents.” He also wrote that this ruling does not determine if 1 Community Compact will prevail with that argument, just the argument is enough to proceed.

The public waste complaint can continue, Skiles ruled, as the plaintiffs have a right as taxpayers to question whether the street renaming serves a legitimate purpose.

Skiles upheld the demurer for three of 1 Community Compact’s causes — denial of due process, violation of free speech, and violation of equal protection.

“Nothing in the (complaint) otherwise supports the contention that Plaintiff has a property interest in the street name,” Skiles wrote. He also ruled that street names are “government speech,” and not subject to the First Amendment.

Smittcamp Snaps Back at Bonta Over Measure A Lawsuit

Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp strongly opposes a state lawsuit over when her next election date should be.

Last week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber sued Fresno County — saying that Measure A passed by voters in March — is superseded by state law.

Passing with 55%, Measure A established the election date for the district attorney and sheriff to coincide with the gubernatorial primary. The next scheduled date is 2026.

Bonta and Weber said that conflicts with AB 759, a state law that changed the date of the election for district attorney and sheriff to match the presidential primary. The next scheduled date would be 2028.

“Protecting the integrity of the electoral process, at both the state and local level, is a matter of statewide concern,” stated the lawsuit filed in Fresno County Superior Court.

Smittcamp called the lawsuit “a complete and total slap in the face to every single constituent who voted for Measure A earlier this year.”

“They claim in their press release that the reason for this lawsuit is to ensure we have a democratic system in place for voters.  However, the issue with this entire situation is the State’s failure to respect the democratic process that they claim they’re protecting,” Smittcamp told Politics 101 after the lawsuit was filed.

This is just the latest issue Smittcamp on which has publicly criticized Bonta. She also blasted him over Proposition 47 criminal reform.

The legislature’s motivation for AB 759 was to hold the top two county law enforcement positions in an election with higher turnout. Fresno County voters turn out in higher numbers for presidential primaries than gubernatorial primaries.

Smittcamp said that if turnout was a concern, “then why don’t they have that same concern for the Governor’s election which is on that same cycle?”

Although the court has not assigned a date, it has assigned a judge, Commissioner Daniel Brickey.

TJ Cox Change of Plea Hearing Delayed to Aug. 26

A judge again postponed a change of plea hearing for former Democratic Congressman TJ Cox of Fresno. Cox faces 28 counts for fraud, money laundering, and illegal campaign contributions.

Cox pleaded not guilty in 2022 after federal authorities arrested him.

Federal Magistrate Judge Barbara McAuliffe pushed back a July 29 date to Aug. 26 at 9 a.m. Cox’s attorney Mark Coleman said he had a medical procedure requiring a delay. An alternate Aug. 12 date would not work as well, as Coleman has a case in Sacramento.

Anti-Wage Theft Website Goes Live

Earlier this year, the Fresno City Council gave its city attorney, Andrew Janz, the power to go after companies engaging in wage theft. A $720,000 state grant helped.

Now, Janz announced that victims file a complaint using a new website, link here.

Wage theft can include employers not paying overtime, forcing employees to work through breaks and lunch, or not paying minimum wage.

Read Judge’s Tentative Ruling on Chavez Boulevard