Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer built on his buddy-buddy relationship with President Joe Biden on Wednesday, appearing at a roundtable to discuss Biden’s newly-minted $1 trillion infrastructure bill.
The appearance came a few months after talking up Biden’s COVID-19 stimulus plan – the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 – Dyer, a Republican, joined the Democratic president on Wednesday with other local and state luminaries.
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Dyer noted that Republicans and Democrats drive on the same roads and breathe the same air, according to a report from McClatchy.
“We are facing on a weekly basis life-threatening wildfires that not only put our power grid in danger, but our firefighters as well,” Dyer said.
He added that the infrastructure bill will help California deal with rolling blackouts that are caused by fires.
Dyer also called Fresno “ground zero” for high-speed rail and said federal assistance for the project is essential.
“We kind of had Fresno in mind,” Biden said in regards to high-speed rail and air quality issues.
“As the Mayor of Fresno and as a Republican, I am very grateful for your leadership, Mr. President, on this infrastructure package a priority,” Dyer closed.
The mutual admiration was a two-way street on Wednesday.
“I don’t want to get you in trouble out in Fresno, California for letting you know I like a Republican, but you’ve done a helluva job,” Biden said at the outset.
Following the meeting, Dyer took to Twitter to thank Biden for including him in the conversation.
