The effort to replace Measure C, Fresno County’s transportation half-cent sales tax expiring next year, has produced weeks of political drama involving county supervisors, state lawmakers, the governor and dueling ballot measures.
The saga seemingly culminated late last week with Gov. Gavin Newsom signing emergency legislation Thursday and Mayor Jerry Dyer reversing course on a city-only tax.
That’s not nearly the end of the story, it seems.
It started with two competing plans
The drama began last year when two groups launched campaigns for competing transportation tax plans to replace Measure C, which is expiring June 30, 2027. It generates about $160 million for roads that all Fresno County cities share and other pots of money for mass transit and other transportation initiatives.
Only one plan, “Better Roads, Safe Streets,” which directs more revenue to mass transit and bike lanes, secured enough voter signatures to be considered for the Nov. 3 ballot. The other plan, “Fix our Roads,” did not get enough signatures.
The final hurdle was to be approval from the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, run by Garry Bredefeld, an anti-tax chairman who doesn’t like expenditures on bike lanes or mass transit.
July 14 — Supervisors delay tax plan: Supervisors do not approve the plan and instead vote 3-2 for a 30-day financial study, with Bredefeld defending the study as a responsible review of a plan that includes 120 miles of bike lanes.
July 14 — Ballot measure filing deadline loomed: The Aug. 7 deadline to place items on the Nov. 3 ballot becomes the pressure point because the 30-day study on the Better Roads, Safe Streets won’t be finished until after that deadline, effectively delaying the ballot measure until at least March 2028.
July 30 — Belt and suspenders: Anticipating the county delay, the Fresno City Council votes 6-1 to place a city-only half-cent general sales tax on the November ballot that would raise an estimated $65 million a year. Mayor Dyer and supporters say the city’s ballot measure is an insurance policy to protect $54 million annually and 217 jobs tied to Measure C funding. The tax would sunset in 10 years, or if a countywide tax plan were to pass.
Aug. 3 — Enter state lawmakers: State Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Merced, and Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, gut and amend AB 1923 to declare that any Fresno County initiative certified with enough signatures by July 8 would automatically go on the Nov. 3 ballot, bypassing the supervisors entirely. The bill still needs legislative approval and the governor’s signature.
(No date) Lobbying: Ashley Swearengin, CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation and former Fresno mayor, personally lobbies in Sacramento, and supporters hire lobbyist Olson Remcho. Mayors from 10 Fresno County cities sent letters urging passage of the state bill, calling the supervisors’ 30-day study a “procedural delay tactic.”
Aug. 5 — Election interference? Former Fresno County Supervisor Henry R. Perea, a Democrat, breaks with his party to oppose AB 1923 as “election tampering” that usurps local control. He warns that the maneuvering puts Gov. Gavin Newsom in a tight spot given his stance against federal election interference, and says litigation is “a possibility.”
Aug. 6 — AB 1923 becomes law: The state Senate elections committee approves the bill 4-1, then it passes the full Assembly 54-16 and Senate 27-8 as an emergency measure. Governor Newsom signs it the next day, placing Better Roads, Safe Streets on the November ballot, despite Fresno County lobbyist Paul Yoder warning senators that litigation would likely follow.
Aug. 6 — Will Fresno County sue? Bredefeld promises at a news conference to call for immediate litigation (VIDEO), describing the state bill as unconstitutional and pointing to potential challenges over state legislative procedure, though a judge in 2023 previously ruled Fresno County lacked standing to sue the state in a separate case. A supervisors closed-session discussion is set for Aug. 11.
Aug. 7 — Dyer reverses course: With the state bill approved, Dyer initially announces he won’t sign the city-only tax plan by the Aug. 7 ballot measure deadline, then reverses course hours later by the 5 p.m. deadline, signing it as a hedge against the county measure being knocked off the ballot by litigation. This means Fresno voters who live in the city could see two competing half-cent sales tax measures on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Original stories by David Taub, Melissa Montalvo and Liliana Fannin
This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media’s AI policy.
This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media’s AI policy.