The flags at City Hall flew at half-staff Thursday, in recognition of the assassination of political commentator Charlie Kirk and to commemorate 9/11.

A bipartisan group of Fresno city and county elected leaders gathered for a news conference to denounce Kirk’s killing and to call for a lowering of the political temperature.

“We live in a divided America. We live an intolerant America. We live a hateful America and unfortunately, we live in the violent America,” Mayor Jerry Dyer said.

Dyer called this a “turning point” in America. He is worried this might turn America for the worse.

“We want you to hold us accountable. No more hate speech. No more name-calling. No more belittling each other. Let us as elected leaders practice civility,” Dyer said.

Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez was alarmed by the negative discourse on his social media page following Kirk’s death. One person posted, “I’m happy this happened.”

“We are now in the space where we are celebrating somebody being violently murdered in front of us. And we can’t have that … I’ve never seen that before,” Chavez said.

Chavez said such reaction cannot be normalized.

Council Veteran Emotional Talking About 9/11

Councilmember Nick Richardson, a Marine reservist, talked about what 9/11 meant to him.

“I don’t think we’re ever going to forget 9/11, and I’m grateful for that. But watching what’s gone on in our country over the past week, I am afraid that we are going to forget September 12,” Richardson said.

Watching the events unfold in 2001 from elementary school, Richardson said that moment motivated him to serve.

“I ask you to serve specifically by explaining to this next generation who was not alive in 2001, who doesn’t understand the gravity of the situation, doesn’t yet understand what it means to really be in love with something that is bigger than yourself,” Richardson said.

Dyer, Nelson Esparza and other councilmembers also shared their 9/11 memories.

Esparza Running For SCCCD Trustee

Nelson Esparza has filed to run for State Center Community College District trustee. It is the third office he has sought in the past two years. His city council term expires in January 2027.

“I’ve reflected a lot about how and where I can best serve our community post-city council. At heart, I’ve always been an educator, one who has served in the classroom at State Center for over a decade and has many thoughts and ideas about how we can continue to deliver a world-class community college district to Fresno and our Valley communities at large,” Esparza said.

He teaches  economics at Fresno City College. If he wins the election, he would have to give up his teaching job — employees cannot serve on the board.

Esparza filed to run for the state Board of Equalization in 2022. In 2024, he pivoted to run for state Senate.

Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, jumped into the Senate race. After Esparza posted poor fundraising numbers for the first six months of 2025, he pivoted again.

“It looks like this is where we’re landing the plane,” he said of his SCCCD run.

Esparza filed papers to run for the Area 5 SCCCD seat held by Robert Fuentes. Fuentes intends to run for Fresno City Council District 1 in 2026.

Other City Council Notes

The city council approved new labor contracts for the management and non-management firefighter units. Raises range between 1% and 3%.

By a 7-0 vote on the consent calendar with no discussion, the city council removed any income requirements for the Eviction Protection Program, which provides taxpayer-funded legal services to city residents experiencing illegal evictions. The city council approved a $1.5 million budget for the program.

In a closed session vote, the city council voted 3-1 to prepare litigation for an unfair bargaining claim before the Public Employment Relations Board against an unnamed defendant. When the city files, the defendant will be revealed. Arias, Richardson, and Brandon Vang voted in favor; Annalisa Perea voted no. Mike Karbassi, Esparza and Tyler Maxwell were absent. Because of the absences, only three voters were needed instead of the usual four. Karbassi said he had a personal matter. Esparza and Maxwell did not respond to Politics 101 explaining their absences.