At Thursday’s Fresno City Council meeting, Miguel Arias used his comment period to call out a member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. Fellow councilmembers later rebuked Arias.

He accused an unnamed supervisor of yelling at an assistant city manager during a recent meeting, creating a hostile work environment to “send a message.”

“If you want to send a message to us, you know how to get a hold of us. But our professional staff is off limits,” Arias said.

The second-term councilmember is well known for being a political provocateur. He once infamously gave then-Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer the middle finger at a news conference in 2019. Arias has also publicly called out and insulted Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp during his public comment time.

A Fresno County spokesperson confirmed that supervisors Brian Pacheco and Buddy Mendes recently held a meeting with city councilmembers Mike Karbassi and Annalisa Perea about finally securing a county-city tax sharing agreement.

Sources tell Politics 101 that assistant city manager Ruthie Quinto attended as well, and Arias referred to Pacheco in his remarks from the dais.

Later at the council meeting, Karbassi refuted Arias’ accusations.

“If it is alluding to what I think it’s alluding to, I can tell you that I was in the room,” Karbassi said. “And I think what was said, as it was said, does mischaracterize what actually happened. I think it’s just a really, really bad case of telephone. And if it’s referring to the individual, I think it’s referring to, it goes completely against his character or demeanor.”

Perea said she, too, was in the room and concurred with Karbassi’s recollection of the meeting.

“It is questionable why Councilmember Arias would make false allegations about a meeting he didn’t attend when his fellow councilmembers did,” county spokesperson Sonja Dosti told Politics 101.

When contacted, Arias declined to elaborate on his comments.

City Sues Retirement Fund System

The city of Fresno filed a counter-lawsuit against the city’s pension system. At issue is how much the city should pay into the retirement system for police and firefighters.

The retirement system says the city is $4.3 million short in its contributions to the system in this budget cycle.

During budget votes in June, the city council approved keeping the city’s contribution at the previous year’s level, saying the pension was “overfunded.”

Court documents show the pension was funded at 111% as of 2023 and has in excess of $1.5 billion.

The retirement system cites a law that allows it to set the rates of contribution, not the city council. The City of Fresno Retirement Systems filed a writ of mandate on Sept. 6, asking the court to correct the underpayments.

On Monday, the city responded with its lawsuit, accusing the pension system of breaching its fiduciary duty, violating the state Constitution, and negligence.

“We believe the Retirement Board has acted negligently and is violating California’s constitution by breaching its fiduciary duty to minimize employer contributions to the retirement plans. It continues to be the position of the City that the City has fully funded these plans,” City Attorney Andrew Janz told Politics 101.

The retirement system responded.

“In this lawsuit, the retirement systems are demanding that the City pay what’s needed to fund the retirement benefits owed to the City’s current and former employees,” retirement administrator Robert Theller said.

No court date has been set to hear the writ or the counter-lawsuit.

Champion Golfer For Measure A

Radio ads supporting a Clovis Unified school bond feature a famous alumnus — championship golfer Bryson DeChambeau.

Measure A — on the Nov. 5 ballot — would raise $400 million through a school bond paid by property taxes.

DeChambeau graduated from Clovis East High School in 2012. He is a two-time U.S. Open champion. In the ad, he talked about how his Clovis Unified education prepared him to be a professional athlete.

Souls to the Polls Event in Fresno

Several community groups are holding a “Souls to the Polls” event Sunday at the Cecil Hinton Center— 2383 S. Fairview Ave. in Fresno. The event is part of Vice President Kamala Harris’ strategy to turnout Black churchgoers.

The event will “assist local voters with casting ballots,” and feature speakers, food and “lots of fun,” according to an ad in the California Advocate.

The event runs 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs or blankets.