May 11—Fresnans congregated in front of the Hall of Records for a press conference in support of the County library’s request to participate in the annual Rainbow Pride celebrations and in condemnation of a “distorted and assaultive” Facebook post made by Supervisor Garry Bredefeld. Among attendees and speakers were faith leaders and community organizers.
“Our public libraries should be beacons for all members of our community,” said Tracie Cisneros of Fresno Rainbow Pride. “They should be inclusive and affirming spaces that welcome and celebrate every person who walks through their doors.”
Organizers urged community members to show up to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting on May 12 in support of the library’s request. Owners of local bookstore Judging by the Cover encouraged folks to bring their favorite LGBTQ+ books to show solidarity.
The room at the BOS meeting overflowed into the foyer where attendees watched from a screen poised above the entrance to the Hall of Records. Most were there for Agenda Item 8, which read:
“Approve and authorize the Library to contribute funds for participation in the Fresno Rainbow Pride Festival for fiscal year 2025–26, in compliance with Administrative Policy No. 80; and approve and authorize the Library to recognize and celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month annually, for five years or until approval is rescinded by the Board, in compliance with Administrative Policy No. 81.”
About 50 community members showed up in support and around 20 in opposition. Chair Bredefeld limited each side to 15 minutes, allowing 15 people one minute each to speak.
Of the attendees in opposition, they had 12 speakers.
Community Alliance Editor Enrique Little cited the BOS to be in violation of California Government Code 54954.3 Section C, which states that “the legislative body of a local agency shall not prohibit public criticism of the policies, procedures, programs or services of the agency.”
Little requested that the time be extended to accommodate the people who did not get a chance to speak, however, the request was not acknowledged by the Board.
Public Comment
Highlights from the public comments:
- “It’s the largest single day event in the Central Valley…having had 16,000 attendees in the past…[and there is] no better way for organizations to provide outreach, visibility and connection to our community.” Tracie Cisneroes, volunteer coordinator for Pride
- “Queerness is not new. We’ve been here since the colonizer, and we will always be here. You can never erase queer history because queer history is American history. And if you erase indigenous queer history, then you’re erasing a history that you choose not to have.” Ronnie, an activist and native Yokut community member
- “Some may read these library books and for the first time see themselves as reflected back with positivity and that experience can save their lives.” Madison Nield, PFLAG Fresno Board member
- “When an LGBTQ youth walks into a Fresno County library and sees a pride display, it’s not about politics. It’s a lifeline. It tells them you are seen.” Lady Diana, founder and CEO, Casita Feliz
- “We have always existed, and our families and our people will continue to exist and thrive despite what you may decide today. You can write all the laws you want and prohibit all the celebrations you want.” Drew Harbo, co-chair, PFLAG Fresno
One speaker, Sahasawaddy Somsacksy, a genderqueer Fresno State student and community organizer born and raised in Fresno, said, “One of the things that Black and Brown trans elders of the ballroom scene have passed down to later generations of queer people to learn early on their journey is that reading is fundamental. It’s the very act of educating yourself and standing up for yourself to keep you and your community safe.
“In approving and authorizing Item 8, this provides an opportunity for the library and activity extension of a governing body of Fresno County to educate the larger community on the resources that exist and to foster connection and educate yourselves on the diverse intersectional and marginalized communities that have been put down by the systems that exist into [the] present day.”
During the opposing side’s argument, Somsacksy was one of two people to be ordered to leave the room by Bredefeld.
“I could not stop laughing because to be honest, the arguments that they were presenting were pretty ridiculous: ‘protecting children, waste of taxpayer money, why don’t they put them up when they celebrate Christmas?’ That kind of stuff.
“And so Bredefeld got mad at it. He gave me a warning, which I was like, ‘All right.’ And then he was like, ‘All right, you get out.’”
As Somsacksy was gathering their things, officers surrounded them.
“I look up and I see three 5’8″ to 5’10” security guards. And I’m like, wow, this guy’s kind of delusional. You’re sending 5’8″ to 5’10” tall security guards who probably weighed 230 pounds after a five-foot quarter-inch, 94-pound Asian genderqueer person to make yourself feel like you have power in the room.
“And I kind of just wear that like a badge now. I made a horrible white man feel insecure about the power that he holds in a room.”
“Disappointed, but Not Surprised”
In a 3-2 vote, and much to the dismay of a majority of attendees at the meeting, the supervisors blocked the County library’s request in a 3-2 vote. Brian Pacheco and Luis Chavez supported the library. Nathan Magsig, Buddy Mendes and Bredefeld voted to oppose the County’s participation.
Libraries can still create displays in the library for pride; the BOS cannot legally regulate that.
(Note: For a thorough review of the supervisors’ arguments, see Rachel Youdelman’s “Bredefeld’s Wild Tongue Won’t Be Tamed” in the June issue of the Community Alliance.)
While library and LGBTQ+ advocates were displeased with the results, supervisors voted in line with their historic voting records.
“This is how it has been the past few years and with the whole Facebook post that Bredefeld had put out, I wasn’t expecting anything to change and I did not have my hopes up to be honest,” said Somsacksy. “I’m disappointed but not surprised really.”
The conversation continued on Instagram in the comment section of a post made by the activist group Fresno Resistance. Several people echoed the same message—”vote them out.”
“AGAIN…vote OUT THE MEDIOCRE WHITE MEN!!!”
“We need to get rid of Bredefeld, he is bad for Fresno.”
“I can’t believe this shi is happening in Fresno, yikes…hopefully all the bigots get voted out.”
“Time to vote them all tf out. Thank you to all who spoke up for our community.”
“I have started looking into what it takes to Recall Garry Bredefeld.”
(Note: All quotes are the original, unedited text and anonymous because the user profiles are set to private.)
Alicia Rodriguez, a longtime community organizer, attended the meeting to support the library.
“I’ve been at [city council] chambers, I’ve been at Board of Supervisors [meetings] numerous times over the past few years,” noted Rodriguez. “I was really involved in the Tower fight, a lot of the strategy and the background and against policing.
“I’m very focused these days on my activism. It is very important to voice concern and to voice opposition and to, well, in this case, it was to voice in favor of the item on the table.”
Regarding a possible recall of Bredefeld, Rodriguez said she has not “run a recall process before. I’ve helped with them. I haven’t done it in such a long time that I wouldn’t say I’m super versed in it.
“The reason I point that out is because I would love to see folks feel more empowered to familiarize themselves with processes that they’re not familiar with.”
She shared a brief outline of the recall process:
- Must be initiated by someone in the district of the supervisor to be recalled
- 100 signatures required to submit the paperwork
- Enough signatures must be collected to get the recall on the ballot
- At least 10% of the registered voters in the supervisorial district must sign the recall petition
To initiate a recall of Bredefeld would require 12,538 signatures.
Visit the Fresno County Registrar of Voters website to learn more about the process.
Nay
Nathan Magsig
District 5 200,000 population, 132,003 voters
Buddy Mendes
District 4 201,666 population, 94,808 voters
Garry Bredefeld (chair)
District 2 202,684 population, 125,388 voters
Yay
Luis Chavez (vice chair)
District 3 202,929 population, 84,274 voters
Brian Pacheco
District 1 200,978 population, 92,664 voters
District Lines
While Bredefeld has been the the center of most people’s attention, one Instagram user made the point:
“But this thing passed with three votes. That’s two other men who are idiotic enough to think libraries can be a source of indoctrination toward anything besides active learning and acceptance.
“These three supervisors aren’t representing their constituents—just themselves. How awful.”
This begs the question—who are their constituents?
The BOS has been accused of gerrymandering district lines to uphold a conservative majority.
AB 849, or the Fair Maps Act, passed in 2019, established standardized criteria for local redistricting in California, aimed at preventing gerrymandering and ensuring fair representation.
The law also requires cities and counties to “engage communities in the redistricting process by holding public hearings and/or workshops and doing public outreach, including to non-English-speaking communities.”
The redistricting process in 2021, following the completion of the 2020 Census, was the first to which the Act applied.
In January 2022, Community Alliance reported on a Board meeting early in the redistricting discussion, writing,
”Several speakers asked the Board to ensure a fair and transparent process for redistricting. Magsig responded by asking those speakers if they had invited persons with the opposing view to speak at the meeting.
On a previous agenda item at the same meeting several anti-maskers spoke, yet Magsig did not ask them if they had invited pro-maskers to speak.”
The BOS voted 4-1 (Sal Quintero the lone nay) to approve a map that critics argue upholds the status quo—an unfair map that safeguards the likelihood of future elections prioritizing a conservative majority.
In response to the new map, Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula (D–Fresno), backed by the Dolores Huerta Foundation, introduced AB 2030, a bill that intends to put the power of redistricting into the hands of the people.
“The redistricting process in Fresno proved that if left to their own devices, they will sacrifice community needs for their own power,” Huerta stated in a press release introducing the bill.
Governor Gavin Newsom quickly approved the bill. In 2030, Fresno County supervisors will not have the final vote on the new redistricting map. Instead, a committee of 14 community members will have this responsibility.
“When we look at ‘positive steps in progress,’ like getting that bill to require the committee, we need to look at that committee,” Rodriguez said.
“Our folks need to be on those committees…it’s viewed initially as a positive and it can be, but only if it’s executed in the way it is intended, the spirit of it.
“So if this committee is meant to uphold equitable processes and redistricting, then folks on that committee need to be strategically placed because if the committee’s just as bad as the Board of Supervisors, then you’re still fucked.”
Redistricting won’t start until 2031, and the likelihood of there being a shift in the majority until then is minimal.
“Pacheco and Mendes, a Democrat and a Republican, respectively, are likely to have their seats replaced by like-minded political candidates in this year’s elections,” Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela reported.
“Magsig, a Republican who could relinquish his seat pending his bid for [the] State Senate, would also likely be replaced by a conservative.”
The potential of a fair map is that it could lead to fair representation, increasing the likelihood of a progressive majority.
What might feel far off to some is a signal to start organizing proactively to others.
“Oh, it’s around the corner,” says Rodriguez, “What I tell people is look at the long game and look at the mechanism because that’s where it falls off. What we need to get used to is proactive versus reactive activism.
“Also, feel empowered like these processes are…like when’s the last time we’ve heard of somebody doing a recall? That does not mean it is impossible.”
“Effort Does Not Betray“
For disheartened community members, Somsacksy shares these words of hope:
“There’s a quote that I have pretty much lived by for the past four years. It comes from my favorite pro League of Legends player of all time, Deft.
“He said this in a press conference prior to the League of Legends World Finals, and that quote in Korean is 중요한 것은 꺾이지 않는 마음.
“There’s a very common translation, but I have a translation of my own. The most important thing is the unwavering heart. Shit is fucking bleak right now. Everything fucking sucks. And there’s no turning away from it.
“But so long as you’re able to recognize that, that’s the first step. What matters after is that you hold on to your most authentic self. Try to look for those (who align) and hold onto them as strongly as you can.
“Effort does not betray. The time and effort that you put into yourself will eventually show its results.“
