In This Newsletter:

Sen. Alex Padilla Headlines Local Fundraiser

Candidate Forum

Lourin Hubbard Advances in Special Election

California Housing and Population

AB 2030: County of Fresno
Citizens Redistricting Commission

Cesar Chavez Boulevard

Fresno Annual Housing Action Plan

Fresno City Employment Still Dominated by Men

Senior Vote Forum

Should Internal Migration Be Subsidized?

California’s Golf Courses Are a Bad Look

Central Valley Ranks Among Worst Air Pollution

Precinct Captains

Trivia Night Thursday

Fellowship Program

Fresno County: Earth Day Cleanup!

Democratic Party Website and HQ

Sen. Alex Padilla Headlines Local Fundraiser

Candidate Forum

Lourin Hubbard Advances in Special Election

The April 5 special election to fill Devin Nunes’ abandoned House seat resulted in Democrat Lourin Hubbard and Republican Connie Conway advancing to a runoff. Connway received the most votes in this historically Republican district, but because no one in the field received more than 50% we will be doing this again in June as the top two face each other.

The soon to be departed Congressional district, doomed to oblivion next January after redistricting, has always heavily leaned Republican but during the last few elections Nunes faced a tougher battle to hold his seat. In the April special election, however, the two Democratic candidates together won only 34.8% of the vote.

Hubbard is an operations manager at the California Department of Water Resources, leading frontline conservation efforts, supporting family farms and combating droughts. Hubbard was born in the Central Valley, the son of a single, Black, working-class mother. He received his political science degree from Fresno State as the first person in his family to attend and graduate from a four-year university. Thereafter, he worked for the Fresno County Department of Social Services before advancing to his current position.

Hubbard campaigned on tackling our water crisis, reforming our broken immigration system and increasing access to healthcare and affordable housing.

Conway is a die-hard Trump supporter and appointee who has consistently championed all the worst aspects of red-hat conservative nationalism. Unfortunately, she is favored to win, even in a district suffering from climate-caused wildfires and industry tainted over-pumped groundwater.

We will fight this contest again in June and support Hubbard with all our efforts. Central Valley Democrats must work hard to steer intelligent and equitable policies toward our region that is so often controlled by selfish conservative factions.

California Housing and Population

There is no shortage of evidence that our current strategy to provide affordable housing is not working, and the effects are showing in our state’s economy. California’s slowing population growth is largely driven by the high cost of living, and that is nearly entirely caused by the price of housing.

California needs to build more housing, and if the state is to provide services efficiently and cost effectively, that housing should be higher density in existing population centers. 

The more spread out California’s housing and businesses, the more cars tug on residents’ cost of living. Low-density housing also makes it far more difficult and expensive for the state to provide services such as utilities and public transportation, which only worsens many of our societal issues.

Excessive zoning is one of many problems facing the California home ecosystem. The issue of single-family detached home zoning is one area that has attracted attention, but there are other issues.

The strict segregation of residential and commercial properties is harmful to our social fabric. It creates “deserts” where people are dependent on owning a car to even get food. But when the zoning protections against industrial and heavy commercial sites are removed, it can couple with lax health and environmental upkeep such that you quickly find areas suffering from fossil fuel and other pollutants.

In many cities across California, we have allowed our downtowns to rot, creating sprawling expanses where it is impossible to live and work cheaply and efficiently. The market is shaped to value this, and with so much individual equity tied up in property, homeowners have wielded their power to fossilize this old order.

Just look at the absurdity of the San Francisco peninsula being filled by two-story houses while holding some of the highest land value in the nation. By reason, the squeezed city should look more like Manhattan.

The housing shortage hurts even homeowners who have seen their assets skyrocket in value. Housing costs cause the cascading cost-of-living crisis that lowers worker mobility or even drives them out of the state, which in turn raises costs for everything in California. Unless you are a property developer, you are being hurt by the current system.

This has shaped our society so thoroughly that private industry cannot help but follow the pattern and continue it. The government has to drive the change that we all intellectually know needs to happen. Fresno has made some efforts toward recentralization and revitalizing the downtown, but much more still needs to happen.

    Across the state, we need to encourage high-density, mixed-use construction, centered when possible on existing public transportation hubs and nodes. Many more people should be able to live where they can walk or take a short transit ride for their daily shopping and place of work.

AB 2030: County of Fresno
Citizens Redistricting Commission

The Fresno County Democratic Party has forwarded a letter to the Assembly Committee on Elections in support of AB 2030, which is legislation introduced by Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula to create an independent redistricting commission for the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. The letter is addressed to the committee chair, Assembly Member Isaac Bryan.

Chair Bryan:

The Fresno County Democratic Party writes to express our support for Assembly Bill 2030 (Arambula), a bill that will establish the County of Fresno Citizens Redistricting Commission. AB 2030 will put Fresno voters first by removing any conflict of interest when drawing district lines for the Board of Supervisors.

Creating fair district lines is a critical tool our communities have to reclaim their voting power. For many communities of color throughout the nation, historical gerrymandering allows their elected representatives to choose their voters in their district, rather than allowing the voters to elect their representatives in fair and lawful elections. This practice of gerrymandering has disenfranchised underrepresented communities and diluted their voting power.

California voters overwhelmingly supported the creation of the Citizens Redistricting Commission with the approval of Proposition 11 in 2008. Local citizen redistricting commissions have proven successful in San Diego and Los Angeles counties. Now is the time to establish a commission for the residents of Fresno County.

By passing AB 2030 to establish a Citizens Redistricting Commission for the County of Fresno, the duties and responsibilities of those redrawing district lines will center on public input and accountability to the community, not political interests of those in power.

Cesar Chavez Boulevard

The Fresno County Democratic Party has forwarded a letter of support for the naming of Cesar Chavez Boulevard to the members of the Fresno City Council. The letter reads as follows.

Fresno City Council Members:

Regarding the resolution submitted by Council Member Luis Chavez, and approved by the City Council, to rename California Avenue, Ventura Street and Kings Canyon Road as Avenida Cesar Chavez, we fully support this long overdue recognition of Hispanic hero and leader Cesar E. Chavez.

We believe that honoring the legacy of Cesar E. Chavez in this powerful way will be a unifying act for the city of Fresno that will promote our shared vision of creating a welcoming environment for all who live here. This aligns with Mayor Jerry Dyer’s vision of One Fresno, which means that we embrace and celebrate our diversity and inclusion.

Cesar E. Chavez advocated for farmworkers by organizing strikes, picketing, boycotts, marches and other nonviolent means to achieve equal rights for farmworkers across this nation.

Our membership, residents of the city of Fresno and surrounding areas in Fresno County, would be proud to drive up and down Avenida Cesar Chavez knowing that his legacy will be honored by generations in the years to come.

Fresno Annual Housing Action Plan

The Housing and Community Development Division has posted its draft 2022–2023 Annual Action Plan for public comment. This is open to comment through April 19.

The City would like your input. The City has published a plan to spend federal funds that will affect homelessness, affordable housing, community services, neighborhood infrastructure and fair housing.

Residents may submit comments at www.surveymonkey.com/r/N6F3T7Z.

A public hearing will be held at 10 a.m. on April 28. Participation instructions will be posted 72 hours before the meeting at https://fresno.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.

Fresno City Employment Still Dominated by Men

Men still account for about 74% of the City of Fresno workforce, according to the Fresno Bee. Furthermore, White men make up nearly 30% of the entire workforce and hold most of the department head positions.

Police, fire, public works, public utilities and transportation are the largest departments, and are all more than 73% male. In some smaller sections of the city government, women are a majority, but that is entirely outweighed by those other areas.

With much lower turnover than the private sector, government often finds itself a lingering snapshot of a previous era. However, this is an explanation rather than an excuse. Fresno needs to do better.

Senior Vote Forum

On April 30, the California Alliance for Retired Americans will host a candidate forum. 

Learn about important Issues affecting seniors, people with disabilities, and our families. Register at: https://bit.ly/fresnobakersfieldforum.

Should Internal Migration Be Subsidized?

Our country is facing two economic constraints: a cost-of-living crisis and a labor-matching struggle. In the big picture, the United States has plenty of workers, but frequently they are trapped away from where they would otherwise live or have to turn down desired careers because they need higher pay. The government could do more to help the labor market behave rationally by helping workers move between employment areas.

Market equilibriums rely on freedom of movement for labor, but moving is expensive. Low cost-of-living areas are a particular trap, as they generally pay less. Someone can move from a high- to a low-cost area only to learn that area-adjusted pay limits future opportunities in an ever-narrowing window.

The federal government should pursue a program that can subsidize the cost of moving long distances in our country. This would lubricate the labor force and allow Americans to follow opportunity, and help supply and demand move more freely.

On the whole, this might seem to hurt California, which is already seeing lessened political influence from lower population growth. However, such a policy could help midsized cities such as Fresno.

California’s Golf Courses Are a Bad Look

Municipal owned golf courses in California lost $61 million in taxpayer funds during 2020, according to a recently released report.

Assembly Member Cristina Garcia recently introduced a bill that would provide grants to local governments to convert municipally owned golf courses into a combination of affordable housing and publicly accessible open space.

Just as there is no surfing in Wyoming and no skiing in Texas, California’s perpetual drought and housing needs might require us to rethink some sports that take vast open spaces and plentiful watering for granted.

Central Valley Ranks Among Worst Air Pollution

Fresno and the surrounding area has the second worst air in California, losing out only to Bakersfield with her oil fields. Visalia is right up there with us, with the international shipping hub of Long Beach rounding out the state’s ignominious podium.

We should remember this whenever we hear the supervisors call for more domestic drilling in west Fresno County and when we are considering the importance of electrified transportation.

Precinct Captains!

Want to help us win in 2022? Be a precinct captain! Join and become a part of our team! Sign up here!

Fellowship Program!

We are helping create the next generation of Democrats in the Central Valley! Are you a student interested in getting involved and learning more about the political world? You would be ideal for our fellowship program!

For more information, e-mail  [email protected]

Fresno County: Earth Day Cleanup!

Democratic Party Website and HQ

Visit Your Democratic Headquarters! Our office is now open, and we can’t wait to see you again! Help us register people to vote or change to vote by mail. Pass out candidate or issue literature and pick up candidate swag too! Sign up to help us around the office!

News and events will alway arise faster than this newsletter can come out. That is why the Fresno County Democratic Party website is the best place to get regular updates on upcoming events in the area, as well as information on ways to get involved. There is also information on scheduled meetings of the many Democratic clubs in Fresno County, so you can find one that most suits you and your interests

https://fresnocountydemocrats.org/

The Democratic Party HQ (1033 U St.) is open 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Monday–Friday. Call 559-495-0606 or e-mail [email protected] for information or to volunteer.

Support your local Democratic Party by donation via ActBlue or by mailing a check to Fresno County Democratic Party, P.O. Box 5795, Fresno, CA 93755.

Our newsletter is prepared by Francis Horan.

Democratic Party Headquarters: 1033 U Street, Fresno, CA 93721

[email protected]
559-495-0606

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