He rides in a helicopter at Millerton Lake and in a patrol boat at Shaver Lake. In another scene, he\u2019s in a side-by-side ATV on a dirt road with Supervisor Nathan Magsig, whose district includes the foothill communities. In another, Bredefeld is in the turret of an armored vehicle aiming a SWAT-issued rifle at the camera. A following scene shows him firing the LWRC M6.<\/p>\n
The video\u2019s style is a departure from previous years that highlighted the employees, residents, businesses, agricultural, natural landscape<\/a> and employees<\/a> of Fresno County \u2014 though not the supervisors themselves. Bredefeld and county officials are defending its production and message.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to make this exciting,\u201d Bredefeld told The Bee. \u201cWe wanted it to be something that people were really interested in. So we wanted to highlight law enforcement and all the great things that they do.\u201d<\/p>\n Several commenters on Bredefeld\u2019s Facebook page celebrated the video: \u201cThis is great! A true leader. Looking forward to it,\u201d one said.<\/p>\n Not everyone saw it that way. Dozens of commenters on Facebook and Instagram criticized Bredefeld, the County and the Chamber of Commerce over the video. Some questioned the use of taxpayer funds, others questioned the use of the Sheriff Office\u2019s equipment to make a humorous video.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen have you ever seen first responders pull up like this?\u201d one Facebook user asked of the scene in which Bredefeld is aiming his rifle at the camera.<\/p>\n \u201cThis video may have had more impact if it showed Fresno County law enforcement doing their jobs instead of Garry Bredefeld\u2019s cosplay,\u201d another critic said.<\/p>\n Fresno County spokesperson Sonja Dosti said in a statement that the county does not pay for the State of the County video \u2014 the Chamber of Commerce does \u2014 and no staff overtime was used. Every year, each Chairman of the Board of Supervisors is the keynote speaker at the State of the County luncheon and some have used videos to represent their chosen theme of the event, while others did not, Dosti said.<\/p>\n Bredefeld\u2019s office coordinated the staff availability to film the video, and a county communications staffer shot and provided additional B-roll that is used for the State of the County teaser, Dosti said. The footage will be used throughout the year for Annual Report photos and other county videos including board meeting recaps, education, outreach, and PSAs, she said.<\/p>\n Sheriff\u2019s Office spokesperson Tony Botti said deputies involved were already performing regular duties or assigned to do training with the equipment involved. Those deputies, he added, were still available for service calls. No calls for those requirements came in during the video shoots, Botti said.<\/p>\n Like the county, the Sheriff\u2019s Office could use the footage in other official media, he said, such as recruitment videos.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important to note,\u201d Botti said, \u201cthat this video was created with a county supervisor and the experiences allowed him to become better informed of how we do our jobs. The video ultimately highlights the type of work we do on a daily basis for our residents to see.\u201d<\/p>\n Others criticized the Chamber of Commerce for \u201cpromoting\u201d Bredefeld, though it is customary for the board chair to host the event. Bredefeld has made waves since he joined the Board of Supervisors in January 2025, in part for stamping personal ideology on policies and board decisions.<\/p>\n He called for the removal of diversity, equity and inclusion language from county job postings<\/a>. The Board adopted new spending limits on public events last year after he expressed outrage that the county had spent about $6,000 for a June 2025 Pride Month parade and event<\/a>, where Department of Health employees passed out condoms, lube and informational materials. Last month, Fresno County passed a resolution in favor of \u201cTraditional Nuclear Family Month<\/a>,\u201d also promoted by Bredefeld, which appeared to be an observance to replace Pride Month and referred to indoctrination of children \u201cto the LGBTQ lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n Fresno Chamber of Commerce CEO Scott Miller said in a statement the video \u201cdoes not represent any support or opposition to any elected official or position taken by the Board of Supervisor.\u201d<\/p>\n The video \u2014 which ABC30 reported cost $7,000<\/a> to produce \u2014 is paid for through event sponsorship and chamber staff is not directly involved in its production or content, Miller said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe event is never intended to be political,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n Critics need \u2018sense of humor\u2019<\/p>\n Bredefeld said he has received \u201ctremendously positive\u201d feedback since the video published Wednesday. He\u2019s also read the comments on Facebook that are more critical of the video.<\/p>\n He attributed the criticism to people who don\u2019t like guns, don\u2019t support law enforcement or don\u2019t like him.<\/p>\n \u201cWe certainly understood criticism would come,\u201d Bredefeld said. \u201cI just think people need to have a sense of humor about things.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked what the video represents about Fresno County or himself, Bredefeld said the message is meant to honor law enforcement and the county\u2019s work.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the whole purpose of a State of the County address. And so we wanted to highlight that, but we wanted to do it in a fun, creative, interesting way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Magsig, who also appears briefly in the promotional teaser, didn\u2019t think the video was political in nature: \u201cWas there something I\u2019m missing where there was maybe a partisan message that that went out? Because I\u2019m not aware of that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n And the video achieved its goal, which was to get attention and generate awareness about the work of the county.<\/p>\n \u201cLooking at it through that lens,\u201d Magsig said, \u201che definitely has done that.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 5:14 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n Fresno County Board Chair Garry Bredefeld points a firearm in a promotion video for the State of the County event hosted with the Fresno Chamber of Commerce. Screenshot County of Fresno <\/p>\n
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