City and County Leadership?
One wonders what is wrong with Fresno—with the “leaders” of the city and the county.
The City of Fresno closed its three warming centers on the morning of March 21 in a downpour at 6 a.m. The “atmospheric river” rain continued that evening, through the night and into the next day. Bad weather, including low temperatures, continued the following days, too.
More than 150 people using the centers were thrown onto the wet streets of Fresno, many with little or no survival gear. It is “shameful for the mayor and [the] entire [City] Council to be so inhumane,” wrote our colleague Bob McCloskey.
Homeless activists and supportive organizations have provided City Council members with ideas to tackle the situation of the unhoused, however, the City hasn’t implemented any plan.
Let’s be clear: This is a nationwide problem based on the inequality of income and opportunities for millions—including housing access. However, something could be done but the City of Fresno is doing it all wrong. (See “Fresno: A Tale of Two Cities.”)
If you think the leadership situation at Fresno City Hall is bad, look at the Fresno County Board of Supervisors (BOS). By a 3-2 vote, they decided to spend thousands of your taxpayer dollars to sue the State over the name change of “S— Valley” to Yokuts Valley. It’s like the BOS is competing with the City Council on ineptitude. (See “Fresno Supervisors File Frivolous Lawsuit Using Public Dollars.”)
The name change will not roll back, and it’s perfectly legal. So, as this is a lost cause for the supervisors, why are they suing the State? Just to “send a message.” About what? A message that they are not only conservatives but also backward, old-fashioned males. Old-fashioned machos with no other interest but their own, and their chums.
Most of the supervisors brag about their backward ideology, blast “liberals” for anything and do nothing positive for the county. For instance, with the money they are going to spend on this frivolous lawsuit, they could help renters for at least one year.
But they won’t. Same with the unspent (yes, unspent!) money the State sent the County for Covid prevention and relief. The supervisors refused to act because they just don’t care about people.
They feel safe due to the conservative ideology that keeps them in power through gerrymandered districts. But the good news is that the situation won’t last forever. The Valley is changing, albeit slowly. One day, we’ll see intelligent, educated people leading the county—and the city. It all depends on us—and our votes.
Till next month.