Hear ye, hear ye!

I, the “False Prophet,” do humbly address the good people of Fresno, having been so anointed, not by divine hand, but by the royal decree of the King of Commercial Expansion, his grace, Edward Cash-in.

It has been proclaimed that I spread heresy across the land: that I question whether great promises of prosperity shall indeed deliver fair wages, affordable housing and burdens not borne by the common folk. For this, I am cast as deceiver, and urged to relinquish my post.

And yet, one must ask, “who truly speaks in prophecy?”

Is it the one who raises inconvenient questions on behalf of working people? Or is it the court of the ruling class who assures the kingdom that all shall be well, so long as we build ever outward, commit vast sums of taxpayer coin and trust that riches will trickle down from the towers of speculation?

For in this royal court, it seems dissent is not merely unwelcome, it must be mocked, dismissed and cast out. King Cash-in, it would appear, writes not only to defend his legacy of sprawl, but to shield his court jester, Georgeanne White and his hand of the king, Mayor Jerry, of House Dyer.

Rumors and reports now swirl throughout the kingdom that even school board trustees who attempt to shield their district from unwarranted harm have felt the weight of pressure for their dissent.

For what kingdom thrives when questions are silenced?

We are told this grand expansion shall bring prosperity. Yet there are greater minds of economic fortune who warn it will instead bring terrible strain upon the public purse, continued hollowing of existing communities and even the closure of neighborhood schools as growth is pushed ever outward.

All the while, lands within the West Area Neighborhoods Specific Plan lie with capacity enough to house decades of future growth, should we choose to invest wisely in the communities we already possess.

Let it be known: We do not oppose growth. We oppose folly disguised as inevitability, and exploitation in the royal court.

For a city is not strengthened by decree alone, nor by flattery of kings, but by the honest compensation of our workforce, steady coin for future infrastructure that we may build with skilled labor and the reinvestment in our existing neighborhoods.

If this be false prophecy, then let it be known that I alone am not the false prophet, for our coalition is ironclad and made of many shields. But I will carry forward that title as we defend the 500,000 people of this realm, both now and in the years yet unwritten.

We remain faithfully in service to those people.

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Dillon Savory is executive director of the Fresno Madera Tulare Kings Central Labor Council. He wrote this in response to a commentary by Fresno developer Ed Kashian.