Fresno County’s Democratic party is looking to distance itself from a vocal progressive activist who has routinely thrown barbs at some of the region’s top Democrats.
The Fresno County Democratic Central Committee will consider a resolution condemning local climate activist Kevin Hall at its meeting Wednesday.
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Hall is a contributor to the Community Alliance Newspaper, which is the self-proclaimed voice of the progressive movement in Fresno.
He also runs the Twitter accounts @airfrezno and @SJValleyClimate. Hall also blogs at valleyclimate.org.
According to the proposed resolution, Hall is accused of regularly defaming and falsifying information about members of the local Democratic Party and its endorsed candidates.
Examples include Hall incorrectly claiming Fresno City Council President Nelson Esparza endorsed Sheriff Margaret Mims and spreading “libelous conspiracy theories” about Annalisa Perea’s run for city council.
A source of the contention centers around Hall’s advocacy related to oil production.
Hall is an avowed opponent of the state’s oil industry and production, yet Democratic Party officials point to the fact that he has publicly disclosed holding between $30,000 and $300,000 in oil firms.
The resolution also states that Hall has used his position with the Community Alliance to promote racist rhetoric.
“Kevin Hall has used the Community Alliance as a vehicle for his slander, racial targeting, and most recently, Islamophic rhetoric,” the resolution reads.
The allegation that Hall has used Islamophic rhetoric came regarding an article he wrote in the Community Alliance that tied the local Islamic Center to the events in the nation’s capital on Jan. 6, 2020.
If the resolution passes, the Fresno County Democratic Party would call on the Community Alliance to bar Hall from contributing and withhold support for the progressive pub.
“Be it Further Resolved: The Fresno County Democratic Party will no longer engage with the Community Alliance Newspaper, which includes but is not limited to sharing its content on our online platforms as well as displaying print copies of the Community Alliance Newspaper at the Fresno County Democratic Party Headquarters and events until concerns regarding Kevin Hall are adequately addressed,” the resolution reads.
Fresno County Democrats Bryan Beltran, Navkaran Gurm, and Nabil Kherfan sponsored the resolution, per a copy obtained by The Sun.
The Sun reached out to a representative of the trio drafting the resolution. They declined to comment.
