Candidates for the Fresno County Board of Supervisors participated in two forums this week, pushing their visions for the county’s future.
Supervisor Sal Quintero and Fresno City Councilman Luis Chavez, who are running in District 3, sat down for a forum hosted by GV Wire and CMAC on Thursday, as well as one on Wednesday hosted by McClatchy.
Supervisor Steve Brandau and Fresno City Councilman Garry Bredefeld, who are running in District 2, participated in Wednesday’s McClatchy forum.
District 3
In the GV Wire forum, Quintero said that while he believes in a free market, he thinks there needs to be some form of rent control.
“I think that we do have to have some form of [rent control],” Quintero said. “The property owners that continue to raise rents and that type of thing, I believe they’re going to be out of business pretty soon. And they have no choice but to lower the rents. And at the same time, we as a community and as a county need to work more closely with the property owners.”
Chavez took a hard line against Quintero, saying he does not support rent control and that the county can build its way out of its housing supply issues. Chavez also blamed the California Environmental Quality Act for making it difficult to build affordable housing throughout the state.
“I think when you go down the path of rent control, it just doesn’t work,” Chavez said. “You see other jurisdictions that have struggled with it. But again, the data shows that that’s not the answer. The answer actually is to build more affordable housing.”
When asked during the McClatchy forum about the effort to renew Measure C – Fresno County’s transportation tax – Quintero wants all parties to look at the original intent of Measure C as a starting point to figure out the region’s infrastructure needs.
Chavez said the Fresno Chamber of Commerce dropped the ball on the failed renewal effort in 2022, saying there was not genuine community outreach. While community based organizations often take the heat for the failure two years ago, Chavez said those organizations are flagging the points local communities need.
“I’m hopeful that here in the next year or so we are able to genuinely outreach to people,” Chavez said. “How do I know that that works? I can tell you that that works because I have a budget subcommittee in my district that I use every single budget.”
Chavez said he regularly works with the subcommittee and knows that the desire to focus on the core of Fresno will be the No. 1 topic for the Measure C conversation.
District 2
Brandau and Bredefeld didn’t hold back against each other during the McClatchy forum as they vie to represent north Fresno at the county level.
Bredefeld criticized the county for passing a $5 billion budget without much time set aside for public input, different from the lengthy process that takes place at Fresno City Hall before the final budget is agreed on.
“No longer are they going to pass $5 billion in 15 minutes, because it’s all worked out behind a closed door,” Bredefeld said. “At the City of Fresno it takes us a month. We have department heads come before the public, because it’s the public’s money. And I think Supervisor Brandau is forgetting whose money it is, because it’s all worked out behind a closed door. That is going to change when I get there.”
Bredefeld also went after the county for not providing as many beds for the homeless.
But Brandau fired back that the county’s job is not to provide beds, and that Bredefeld doesn’t know how the county operates.
“For starters, he simply doesn’t know how things are run at the county,” Brandau said. “It’s plain and simple, and quite frankly, I’ve been on both sides of that role in government. So at the county, our task is not to find a bed space for every single person. Instead, it’s to provide the help that they need internally to make their lives to advance to the very next step.”
Bredefeld said the county’s Department of Public Health, Department of Behavioral Health and Department of Social Services needs to partner with the City of Fresno.
Bredefeld went on to criticize the county’s handling of foster children, keeping the Reedley biolab that was operated by a Chinese national out of the public eye for several months, the needle exchange program and how the county limits public comment durings its board meetings.
“At the board I’ve seen several times where they’ve told people, ‘Total of 15 minutes, folks. You’ve got three minutes, and then you’re done.’ That is outrageous,” Bredefeld said. “That’s a disgrace. That will never happen while I’m there. And not one board member has ever said, ‘Excuse me, the people have a right to address us.’ Not once, nor did Steve ever say anything.”
Brandau responded by saying Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba and the state said the county did an excellent job handling the biolab, adding that the city should have done something about the lab when it was previously located in Fresno.
“You live in a glass house,” Brandau said. “You shouldn’t be throwing stones, bro.”
Bredefeld said Brandau is misleading the public because not one elected official ever knew about the lab when it was located in Fresno.
Asked about Measure C, Brandau said it’s simple.
“The surveys are telling us the people want roads fixed and repaired and built,” Brandau said. “The previous Measure C had a lot of bells and whistles, including transit, that many of the citizens and the majority of the citizens in that November vote said no to. So we have got to go back to the drawing board, understand what the citizens truly want, not what the activists want, what the citizens want, and craft a Measure C that will pass in an election.”
Bredefeld called Measure C critical, and said the only way it will pass is if it is focused on neighborhoods and repairing roads.
“Everybody has the same feeling, so I will support Measure C only if it’s fixing neighborhoods. Not continuing the highways, but really repairing neighborhood roads,” Bredefeld said. “In the City of Fresno, we have about $1 billion in deferred maintenance. There’s no money laying around to repair that. It’s got to come from Measure C. So I’ve already done the survey by talking to thousands and thousands of people.”
