Call it “El Dedazo Americano” (The American Finger), a Mexican export that local politicians seem to enjoy much more than avocados or low-cost workers. When Fresno County Supervisor Buddy Mendes announced last week that he would not seek reelection to a fourth term, he quickly pivoted at a press conference and endorsed former County Sheriff Margaret Mims as his replacement.
Surprisingly, Mims was there with campaign signs already prepared to accept his blessing.
That is the definition of the dedazo, a system outgoing Mexican presidents used to handpick their successors. This helped the Partido Revolucionario Institucional to hold the presidency for 71 years, until 2000, when Vicente Fox won. The system worked because it would clear the field of any other party candidate without a public process.
This happens all too often from both Republicans and Democrats. Mexico did away with “El Dedazo” — a term that describes a process in which the outgoing president would point their finger (dedo) at his preferred successor. And voilà, that candidate would win.
This is a terrible way to choose our public officials.
When Mendes, a farmer from Riverdale, announced his decision not to run again and immediately named Mims as his preferred successor, he essentially cleared the Republican field for Mims in the nonpartisan race. Of the other three candidates, only Parlier Mayor Alma Beltrán is a Republican. The other candidates are State Center Community College Trustee Danielle Parra and Huron Mayor Rey León.
Mendes said he made the announcement to give Mims enough time to fundraise and properly campaign for the Fourth District. The filing deadline for the June 2, 2026 primary is March 11, now that Mendes is not running.
“I am fully endorsing her, … and I think she’ll do a wonderful job,” said Mendes, 69. “She knows the county. Most people, when they come into this office, they don’t have a clue what to do.”
And there you have it, straight from Mendes’ mouth. Might as well cancel the election and give Mims the keys to the office at 2821 Fresno St.
I’m not questioning Mims’ ability to parlay her four decades in local law enforcement — which includes 16 years as county sheriff— into becoming an efficient supervisor. I’m concerned when an elective office gets passed down like an heirloom to the “chosen” one.
Why can’t an elected official announce their retirement and let the voters determine who is best qualified as a successor? Or, at least, wait for a separate occasion to announce an endorsement? When Mims announced her retirement in 2022, she revealed at the same press conference that she was endorsing current Sheriff John Zanoni.
A history of picking successors
In February 2022, a press release from Fresno County Superintendent Jim Yovino announced that he would not seek reelection a year in advance of his retirement after three terms. I quickly posted on social media that a certain experienced, local educator would be right for the job.
Apparently not. Within an hour, Yovino’s office told me an endorsement of Deputy Superintendent Michele Cantwell-Copher had been made.
The superintendent’s office has been ripe for such moves: Yovino was deputy superintendent in May 2013 when then-Superintendent Larry Powell retired early and recommended Yovino get the interim tag. Yovino was in the driver’s seat when he sought election a year later.
Call it a delayed dedazo.
It’s a bit more complicated in the 2026 superintendent’s race. Yovino has endorsed former Clovis Unified Superintendent Eimer O’Brien over Cantwell-Copher.
“I would say in (local) Republican politics (the dedazo) is standard operating procedure,” Fresno Councilmember Miguel Arias told me. “It’s been going on for about 40 years, where every superintendent in the county has announced they’re running for reelection and the year before they suddenly retire and ask that the person they recruited to be successor to become interim for the year. That person gets automatically elected because he’s the incumbent.”
Asked why Democrats don’t do the same, Arias said “the Democratic Party is way too large for any one group to keep anybody out of a race.”
Let’s follow México’s lead and throw the dedazo into the bin of history.
Juan Esparza Loera