At the Nov. 4 Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting, symbolic proclamations, vulgar humor and self-congratulation shared the dais with weightier matters—from homelessness management to executive salary hikes.
Veterans Day Proclamation Ignores Federal Cuts in Services to Vets
District 2 Supervisor Garry Bredefeld sponsored a proclamation declaring Nov. 11 Veterans Day in Fresno County. Veterans Day is a federal holiday, so it was unclear why this proclamation was necessary, other than to afford Bredefeld the opportunity to boast, as he does regularly, that he worked at the Fresno VA Hospital for 27 years—as a psychologist.
After making patronizing remarks in personal terms rather than on behalf of the County (e.g., “I extend my gratitude for their service”), and following Director of Department of Social Services Sanja Bugay’s comments on the tens of thousands of veterans accessing County services, Bredefeld said that he “urged veterans to find out about services on offer,” failing to mention that the Trump administration has curtailed or plans to curtail such services nationally, including cuts to staffing and funding.
While paying lip service to veterans, Bredefeld managed to focus on himself and ignore the Trump/MAGA Republican threats to veterans’ well-being.
In a related agenda item, the Board voted unanimously to eliminate vehicle-entrance fees for veterans at all county-managed parks. Camping fees are to be reduced as well.
Bredefeld and Supervisor Nathan Magsig (District 5) sponsored this proposal, and again, the spotlight was on Bredefeld, who was effusive about recognizing “the sacrifice and blood” of veterans.
Magsig said that “we have to constantly celebrate veterans for allowing our freedoms and liberties.” Mendes was “totally in favor” of the proposal. Again, no mention of the MAGA Republican cuts to veterans’ services. But now in Fresno County, vets can camp for a reduced fee.
Sikh Heritage Month
District 3 Supervisor Luis Chavez brought a proclamation declaring November “Sikh Heritage Month.” Gurminder Sangha, an administrator at Madera City College, was present along with Sikh colleagues to accept the proclamation. Supervisors Mendes and Magsig made ostensibly flattering comments: Magsig said “you are all leaders, you all lead with humility,” and Mendes said he “had a lot of Sikh friends” and that “the women” are very “elegant.”
Chavez acknowledged the large Sikh community in Fresno, noting that they began immigrating here about 100 years ago, not just in the aftermath of the 1984 genocidal attacks on Sikhs in Punjab and other sites in India, perpetrated by Hindus said to be avenging the murder of Indira Gandhi.
County to Manage Homelessness Programs
The Board unanimously agreed that the County will take over administering the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care (FMCoC) for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) program, currently managed by Poverello House.
The HUD CoC program entails the services of several nonprofits and local government agencies to manage homelessness. The 2024 HUD CoC program grant award of $14,265,782 to the FMCoC is to support a variety of services and programs, such as supportive housing, street outreach and the like; there was no suggestion that this federal funding had been pulled back by Trump.
Joined by Deputy CAO Amina Flores Becker, Dylan McCully, the County’s homelessness manager, gave a presentation and explained that there would be a transition period as duties switched from Poverello House to the County. In answer to a question from District 1 Supervisor Brian Pacheco, Becker said that the change, per a subcommittee that studied the matter, would be “in the interests of the County,” and would entail “strengthened accountability, alignment across systems of care and administrative consistency.” Becker acknowledged risks such as increased workload, exposure to liability and compliance issues.
No one spoke explicitly about issues facing Poverello House, such as the Trump administration’s arbitrary and abrupt termination of its federal funding.
Board comments included Magsig’s, who touted the “many fantastic nonprofits helping with homelessness” (reflecting an anti-government preference for charities in this role) even amid “disappearing resources” (a euphemism for revocation of government funding). Chavez acknowledged “risks” but said that there was “no choice.”
Ag Report for 2024
Agricultural Commissioner Melissa Cregan presented highlights of the 2024 Crop and Livestock Report. Fresno County is again the No. 1 agricultural region in the world, a position determined by revenue generated; this year’s total gross production value was more than $9 billion.
The No. 1 crop was almonds, at $1.45 billion; grapes were second and pistachios third. Top export destinations were Mexico and South Korea.
Many impromptu comments were made about owing much to “farmworkers,” the men and women in the fields who “make it all possible.” But no one broached the subject of ICE abducting workers from the fields. That the comments were impromptu and made by several people seemed to reflect anxiety over workers’ vulnerability to abduction by ICE, but no one explicitly mentioned it.
Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen was present to call Fresno County the “food capital of the nation” and noted that California was home to nine of the 10 top agricultural regions in the world. However, he cautioned that “good numbers” were not a sign of “health,” and said that 2024 had been a “good water year,” while future years were unpredictable.
He and others throughout the discussion expressed a sense of victimization: “Forces outside don’t want us to do ag,” he lamented without offering details. He was likely referring to state attempts to manage severe water shortages, interpreted by agribusiness as an act of hostility.
During the discussion, Mendes delighted in scatological witticisms: prices of some products discussed went from “really shitty” to “kind of shitty,” he said, grinning and looking around to see who else was smiling.
When the subject of manure as an agricultural product came up, Chavez asked if manure was a crop—“Who eats that?” he said. Mendes saw his chance for another riposte: “We are fed a lot of those sandwiches all the time!” Only Chavez laughed, and Mendes grinned, looking pleased with himself.
Self-described “city boy” Bredefeld called the numbers “eye-popping” and made a few patronizing remarks before getting to what he really wanted to talk about: solar farms were “eating up ag land,” something he frowned upon.
The Board got “a lot of requests” for such uses, he told Cregan, asking her if she would like to “address” the issue. Effectively calling out Bredefeld’s rhetorical move, Cregan’s answer was a wry, “Oh, you want to drag me into politics!”
Bredefeld’s disingenuous reply was, “I was just curious,” and he suggested that solar farms would interfere with big crop profits. Cregan explained that water availability is a bigger concern, and “if we had all the water we needed,” she would probably be against solar farms, “but that’s not the case,” and building on land where there is no water lets family farmers stay in business, she said.
Next, Bredefled wanted to tout his copper-wire ordinance, enacted a few months earlier, intended to prevent theft of the wire found on farm equipment—was that having an effect for farmers? Cregan said that it’s not an issue her department gets reports on; those go to the Sheriff’s Office. With that, Bredefeld’s attempt to hijack the discussion was kaput.
Pacheco praised Cregan’s remarks about solar farms and reiterated that they are “going in on those marginal grounds that don’t have the water” and that they provide “another source of revenue” for farmers.
“We’re always No. 1 when we have water,” he said, expressing appreciation of Cregan’s remarks about the volatility of water availability.
Pacheco then broached the subject of Trump’s interference in the ag business, noting that when “the President” said he’d import Argentinian beef, “the beef market plummets for two weeks.” Then Trump “goes to China, and our feed prices go up.” Trump starts a tariff war with Canada, and “our milk price plummets.” To Cregan he said that “you’re accurate” about volatility—it’s not only year to year, it’s “day to day”—but he referred to more than water.
Mendes blamed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) for a lack of water, again interpreting the water-conservation rules as an act of hostility; he resented that farmers are “held to the actual pumping they can do,” per SGMA mandates, which require that local agencies create sustainability plans to stop overdraft and maintain a balance between pumping and replenishment.
“A lot of coastal people don’t want us to even farm!” he complained, whining that “they” don’t care “as long as the grocery store is full of food.”
He droned on, moaning that among his Board colleagues, no one but fellow dairy farmer “Brian” [Pacheco] understands. Pacheco quipped that Mendes was a “Debbie Downer” and reiterated that “we are No. 1.”
Magsig’s coda to the discussion evoked a few chuckles: “I’m really excited that eggplant has shot up in value. I love eggplant.”
Salary Increases for Elected County Officers
The Board unanimously approved salary increases for elected department heads—including the district attorney, the county clerk, the sheriff and others—ranging from 18% to 38%. Riley Talford with SEIU 521 was present to object to the increases, citing recent staffing cuts and the budget deficit, and saying that employee morale would be eroded. Magsig remarked that “we are too poor to afford cheap.”
