DYER’S PD CAREER: FAIR GAME IN POLITICS
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Two offices on opposite sides of town are key to understanding the 2016 mayor’s race.
The first is the headquarters on Shaw Avenue near Fresno State of Westco, Council Member Brand’s property management company. It’s here that Brand makes political decisions in his campaign to succeed Swearengin.
“I play to win,” Brand told me.
Anyone who has followed Brand’s council career knows he wins far more than he loses.
Brand, too, hears the talk about a Dyer mayoral run. Brand said they’ve progressed far beyond the rumor stage.
Brand points to a recent chat he had with Dyer. Brand was asking for Dyer’s endorsement in the mayor’s race. Brand didn’t get it.
Instead, Brand said, Dyer bent his ear about how he, Dyer, was actually the best person for the job.
“He said he was the guy,” Brand said.
Brand said he’s not afraid of the competition. But, Brand added, Dyer shouldn’t be campaigning with “police chief” next to his name.
“If he decides to run, he needs to resign,” Brand said. “You can’t be chief of police and be on the campaign trail. And taking a leave of absence isn’t enough.”
The other key office is the Fresno County Democratic Party headquarters on U Street, a short walk from City Hall. This is where party Chairman Michael Evans holds down the fort and analyzes all things political.
It’s no secret that Brand, Dyer and H. Spees (another announced candidate) tend to appeal more to the political right than the left. Yet, as Evans’ vast treasure trove of political research shows, far more of Fresno is blue (Democrat) than red (Republican).
Evans and his allies are waiting to see whether Supervisor Henry R. Perea, a former council member who has never lost his intense interest in City Hall affairs, decides to run for mayor.
All that is for another day.
As to Fresno’s police chief as mayor candidate, Evans told me only that 1.) Dyer’s polling numbers are very strong, and 2.) anyone who has been a Fresno cop for 35 years and the chief for 14 years inevitably acquires a track record that could pose challenges in the heat of a bitter political campaign.
