File photo.

This story was originally published by Fresnoland, a nonprofit news organization.

Fresnans gathered Tuesday to watch political forums for two of the most competitive political races ahead of the March primary elections.

Fresnoland joined with KVPR, CMAC and the League of Women Voters to host two political forums for the Fresno County Board of Supervisors District 2 and Fresno City Council District 6 races at the Hyatt Place Fresno hotel.

Affordable housing, homelessness, labor and transportation were among the most discussed topics between the candidates.

The forums can be streamed in their entirety. You can find the link at the bottom of this story.

Candidates Garry Bredefeld and Roger Bonakdar were absent from their respective races. Bredefeld said he would be out “walking the district” on the night of the event while Bonakdar did not respond to multiple invites.

Fresno County Board of Supervisors, District 2

Candidates were asked about their position on future planning and development for the county. With the city and county’s tax sharing agreement expired, the Fresno Board of Supervisors will be free to pursue a new agreement with the city or get back into the development business, as it did up until 1991.

Paul Dictos, Fresno County’s assessor-recorder since 2011, said he’d like to pursue development of Fresno’s downtown area, which he believes would double as an investment to combat emissions. 

“This valley has a lot of pollution… leapfrogging and building up there is good for some people but not for everybody,” Dictos said. “The solution to the pollution may be building high rise apartment buildings or condominiums…I believe it’d cut down on driving, pollution, bad air and all those things.”

Candidates were also asked how they would address the city’s affordable housing crisis on top of their proposed development plans.

In 2022, the most recent data available, only about 3% of homes in Fresno County were priced for people less than median income according to data from the California Housing And Community Development’s Annual Progress Report. Fresno County’s current median income is about $79,400, according to data from Fannie Mae

Dion Bourdase, a Fresno County social services worker, noted what he said is the difference in the city and county’s responsibility toward affordable housing.

“Most of the concerns regarding housing come down to things that the city controls, not the county,” Bourdase said. “How can we come to a system where all of our needs are thought of…so that it actually works for us? Why aren’t we building upwards? Why do we have all this urban sprawl that creates all this lack of infrastructure? 

“It’s because we don’t have affordable housing,” Bourdase added. “For too long, we’ve only focused on the people that have the money to play the game, and it’s time for that to change.”

Candidates were then asked about what the relationship between the city and county should be when addressing one the region’s biggest problems: homelessness.  Though Fresno continues to gain funds to solve the issue, the homeless count continues to grow — a problem some feel is a consequence of the frayed relationship between Fresno’s city council and board of supervisors. 

Incumbent Steve Brandau highlighted what he said are the clearly outlined responsibilities of the Board Of Supervisors when it comes to solving homelessness. Brandau cited an agreement made between the state’s League of Cities and League of counties, where he feels it was decided that the county would be responsible for providing wraparound services for at-risk residents, while the city would be responsible for providing beds. 

Brandau feels the county has held their end of the bargain, and it’s time for the city to do theirs.

“They are blaming the county for not doing more but the truth is, our task is not to do more,” Brandau said. “I want you to understand, our task is to support the people with the actual services they need to improve their lives so that they can sustain their own home and we do a very good job of that.…our role is to take our Department of Social Services, our Department of Behavioral Health, our Department of Public Health, Mental Health and help the people meet the needs that they have in their body and and in their mind.”

Candidates were also asked about the poor retention rate of the county’s social workers. The issue has given the county headaches, with money constantly needing to be funneled toward the training of new staff, all while criticism grows over the available services being centralized in areas like Clovis, a city critics feel is too far from the people who need those services the most.

Bryce Herrera, a small business owner, acknowledges the “terrible” conditions at the county’s department of social services. He hopes to find a solution that boosts retention rates among the department’s ranks. 

“We need to flatten the hierarchy at the department of social services,” Herrera said. “We need to look at every possible option that there is to retain workers. To make it so that once you come in the door, you want to stay and continue the job of a social worker…Why are we not doing that? It’s so simple, right?”

Finally, candidates were asked about Measure C — a tax on Fresnans intended to accrue funds for transportation services in the area that was first approved in 1986. When recently put up on the ballot for renewal, however, the measure was notably voted down. 

The winning candidate will be tasked with voting on key decisions regarding the potential renewal of the measure before it expires in 2027. 

All candidates committed to approving Measure C except Herrera — who said not enough community input was taken into account to create the measure’s previous iteration. 

Brandau feels the community is largely in favor of the measure, and only shot the previous iteration down for not emphasizing road and highway maintenance. 

“The focus was not enough on roads,” Brandau said. “Transportation is way down here. The voters want the roads they travel on to be smooth and not damaging to their vehicles. Focus on the roadways to make it clear to the voters to make it clear…I would be supportive of Measure C when it is about roads. If it’s about a bunch of stuff where people are going to disagree with the tax, I can be supportive of that.” 

Fresno City Council, District 6

Candidates were first asked about their position toward future city development. Should the city consider continuing its urban sprawl or consider building within current city limits — either by building vertically on already existing buildings, or on the remaining vacant lots.

Banker Raj Sodhi-Layne was in favor of development inside of city limits. 

“I’m all for development in southeast Fresno in southwest Fresno, but I do believe in District 6 we also have some opportunities with some vacant lots,” Sodhi-Layne said. “I would also look at some of the vacant large commercial real estate offices…and perhaps look at some of those as interim housing until our new housing is built.”

Marine Reserve Officer Nick Richardson drew attention to the city’s low affordable housing stock — a problem he hopes to fix. Richardson sees solutions in a new tax sharing agreement between the county and amending current PLA, as opposed to rent control across the city. 

“Do I think rent control is the answer, just writ large? No, I don’t,” Richardson said. “I think that’s painting with too large of a brush and we’re going to see more …builders and developers who want to provide affordable apartments for people, leave town.”

Candidates also tackled questions about the region’s unhoused residents.

Molly Fagundes-Johnson, a local small business owner, mourned what she feels is the loss of state funds toward addressing the issue. She said constant collaboration between local nonprofits and faith-based organizations can help alleviate the city’s homelessness rate.

“Reality, we’re not going to get a lot of resources from the state budget. I’m sure most of you are familiar with what that looks like,” Fagundes-Johnson said. “Fresno recently lost $100 million for downtown. And so in order to combat homelessness, I see nonprofits, I see faith based groups working collaboratively together…and then utilizing those in the mental health space to work with this population.”

Candidates were then asked which, if any, services could candidates commit to expanding and funding with less money expected to come from the state this year.

Richardson committed to keeping funding available to first responders, a service he feels Fresnans “need to feel safe.” Fagundes-Johnson also believes that public safety services should maintain priority with the city’s available funds. 

Sodhi-Layne believes the city should pivot to a business model when making budget decisions, as opposed to a model she feels evaluates funds on a year-by-year basis. She also feels that the city has lost too many businesses to neighboring cities like Clovis and Visalia, leading to a loss in tax revenues. 

Candidates were then asked how they would address the road safety crisis. Though the city has introduced different solutions, candidates were asked how they would address the issue. 

Fagundes-Johnson and Sodhi-Layne believe that a speed limit reduction is key to increasing safety. Fagundes-Johnson added the need for speed bumps in high traffic areas.

Richardson believes that a reduction in the police force is a reason for increased risk on the road. He also criticized the city council for ignoring requests by the city, citing a constituent he spoke with who said he was denied a speed bump.

Candidates were asked what they would do to boost the local economy. 

Fagundes-Johnson drew attention to Amazon, who she believes has done a good job of investing in the Fresno community. She believes the city should vet companies to make sure they want to invest in the city in the same way. She also thinks more should be done to drive young workers toward vocational training programs, which she believes are an accessible path toward a stable job.

Richardson agreed with Fagundes-Johnson. He believes the city should be more judicious about the jobs it attracts. However, he feels that the current Project Labor Agreement is a roadblock toward this policy. 

“As long as our city has the deal — the Project Labor Agreement — stating that anything over $1 million has to be farmed out to the unions…they refuse the opportunity for the mom and pop shops…to do their job and compete for those same jobs,” Richardson said. “Are we really doing ourselves any favors as long as we allow the unions to just import seasonal work…and then leave? No, I don’t think we are.”

Fresnoland and KVPR will host another forum for the Fresno County Board Of Supervisors District 3 race on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at the theatre at 700 Van Ness Ave. Fresnans hoping to attend the event can RSVP here. 

You can watch both forums in their entirety here

Correction: In an earlier version of this story, an incorrect first name was attributed to candidate Dion Bourdase. The story has been corrected.