Mike Karbassi's special election victory Tuesday is particularly notable. Not only did he win, but he crushed a crowded field. With six names on the ballot, and four of them running serious campaigns, the odds weren't on Karbassi's side for avoiding a November runoff. Yet he did. As of the...
Dyer Outlines Plans for Final Months as Chief
Jerry Dyer is on the final sprint to his Oct. 15 retirement date after 18 years as Fresno's police chief. He'll spend most of it on his hammock, metaphorically speaking. Politics 101 asked Dyer about the end of his term, as he transitions into a full-time candidate for mayor. What...
Police Chief Dyer Looms Large in NW Fresno Council Race
Fresno's police force is entering a period of significant change, with the man who led the department for 18 years stepping down. That makes the issue of public safety even more pivotal for candidates vying to represent northwest Fresno on the city council. Jerry Dyer will officially retire as chief...
Karbassi Keeps Fundraising Lead in NW Fresno Council Race
Less than two weeks from now, voters in northwest Fresno head to the polls to elect a new councilmember. Four of the five candidates campaigning met during a GV Wire debate, which can be viewed here. And the latest financials show that businessman Mike Karbassi has done well for himself...
Dyer is Money Leader in 2020 Fresno Mayoral Race
Fresno police chief Jerry Dyer has amassed more money for his 2020 mayoral run than the rest of the field combined. In numbers released Wednesday that cover the first six months of 2019, Dyer raised $262,834. His closest fundraising competitor, Fresno County prosecutor Andrew Janz, collected $70,109. Elliott Balch, the...
Oscar Sandoval Hopes Progressive Views Resonate in Council Race
Oscar Sandoval believes the traditionally conservative northwest Fresno voters will accept his progressive ideas. “We are about community, people power,” Sandoval said in describing his campaign for the area's District 2 seat on the city council. Last week, around 30 people attended an intimate setting at Intimo Cocktail Lounge in...
What Is Advance Peace? Group's Founder Explains.
On Monday, Fresno Mayor Lee Brand vetoed $200,000 earmarked by the city council in the 2019-20 budget for Advance Peace, an anti-gun violence initiative. Council members now have 30 days to attempt an override of the mayor's veto pen. The Advance Peace proposal has sparked controversy with opponents describing it...
Baby Critical After Being Shot in Head in Fresno
A 10-month-old baby girl is in critical condition after she was shot in the head in Fresno early Sunday morning, police said. The baby, Fayth Percy, underwent surgery to remove bullet fragments from her head, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said at a news conference Sunday. She is in critical...
Advance Peace Isn't About Paying Gang Members Not to Shoot People
A renewed effort to convince gang members to become law-abiding citizens is coming Fresno's way. What that initiative looks like, how much it costs, and who funds it, however, will be decided over the next three months. That was the compromise hammered out by the Fresno City Council at Thursday's...
Is Mayor Brand Free to Lead, a Lame Duck, or Both?
Last year produced the election that knocked City Hall off of its right-leaning political axis, propelled it sharply left, and made "patience" a word for a bygone era. Deliberative, consensus-building Mayor Lee Brand saw the handwriting on the wall and decided not to seek a second term. His thinking? By taking...