Fresno City Council hopeful Mike Karbassi wants District 2 to know he is the law and order candidate. At a fundraiser Tuesday night at the Sierra Sport and Racquet Club, having police chief Jerry Dyer and district attorney Lisa Smittcamp in attendance was a good start. Dyer himself is running...
City Council Candidate Garcia Touts Business, Veteran Background
With six candidates in the Aug. 13 special election for the vacant northwest Fresno city council seat, the campaign season is on. Lawrence Garcia welcomed about 50 guests to his fundraiser Thursday at the Elbow Room. I heard more than one attendee, all veterans of such functions, mention they saw...
Six Will Battle for Brandau’s Vacated Seat. Hunsaker Doesn’t File.
Six candidates are officially running in the Aug. 13 special election for the vacant northwest Fresno City Council seat. The deadline passed Friday, and one notable name is not on the list. Debbie Hunsaker, the president of construction support company Alert-O-Lite, did not return the paperwork to run. Â Previously, she...
Who's Out, Who's In, Who's Raised $50K for NW Fresno Special Election?
Phil Arballo is out of the 2019 special election for Fresno City Council District 2. He says, however, he is still in it for the regular 2020 race. Arballo says concerns over election fatigue are the reason for his curious strategy. There could be three elections in a seven-month period....
Black Community Blisters Brandau for 'Reparations' Remark
Leaders of Fresno's black community on Thursday publicly criticized city councilman Steve Brandau's comparison of extra gas tax road repair funding for the city's southern districts to slavery reparations. After they spoke out during the council meeting — and some of his own colleagues suggested that apologize — Brandau only...
Brandau and Bredefeld Deserve to be Read the Riot Act
Can I just call in Jack Nicholson to give Steve Brandau and Garry Bredefeld the full "You Can't Handle the Truth" treatment? If anyone deserves a big-league butt-chewing from the fictional Col. Nathan Jessup, it's the north Fresno councilmen who find themselves buffeted by the city's newly liberal political winds....
After War of Words, Mayor Orders Street Fight Delay
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand on Tuesday pulled a controversial spending plan for the city’s roads off this week’s city council agenda. “In light of recent rhetoric, I have decided to pull the Administration’s proposed SB1 project plan from Thursday’s Council meeting and schedule meetings with Councilmembers as soon as possible...
Council Progressives Draw a Hard Line on Gas Tax Dollars
On a Monday afternoon, Lee Brand and Miguel Arias stood side by side, shoveling dirt at a police station groundbreaking. Hours earlier, Arias was anything but smiles with Fresno’s mayor. He, along with three other council members, criticized Brand’s plan on how to spend $12 million in state funding for...
How Chief Dyer Torpedoed Panhandling Ordinance
Police Chief Jerry Dyer sank a city council proposal Thursday that supporters said was focused on public safety, but opponents criticized as a mean-spirited attack on the poor. After three and a half hours of public comments, council debate, catcalls, and requests for potty breaks, the Safe Transfer of Objects...
Mayor Brand Comes Out Against Anti-Panhandling Proposal
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand is opposed to lame-duck City Councilman Steve Brandau's anti-panhandling proposal. The proposal called STOP for "Safe Transfer of Objects to Pedestrians", which will be taken up at Thursday's council meeting, would forbid drivers from handing anything from their vehicle to pedestrians. “I do not support this...