The eleventh-hour push to place four \u201cgood governance\u201d measures on the Nov. 3 general election ballot<\/a> came as a surprise to some councilmembers as well as the public last week. Even Fresno County\u2019s top elections official called the package of measures \u201crelatively rare.<\/a>\u201d With little time for public input, the proposals garnered scrutiny<\/a>, swift criticism and pushback.<\/p>\n The term-limit proposal was indefinitely tabled Thursday evening after around a dozen people spoke in opposition<\/a>.<\/p>\n During a Rotary Club of Fresno meeting on Monday at the Cornerstone Convention Center, Dyer made light of the issue and criticized the media coverage of the proposal.<\/p>\n Dyer said Monday that if the Council had approved the term limit change idea, it would have gone before the voters for approval. If it passed, he would still have had to be reelected, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou would have thought by what people were saying, including the media (and the Fresno Bee), that we were just going to get some type of an anointing and get an automatic third (term), and that wasn\u2019t the case,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n Political science experts who spoke with The Bee said there\u2019s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to term limits and cities across California have varying rules. Some cities, such as Los Angeles, allow councilmembers to serve three consecutive terms. But the some local officials, experts and a government watchdog agreed the timeframe in which the bill\u2019s authors attempted to push the proposals was \u201cclearly not enough time\u201d<\/a> for ballot measures and reforms of this magnitude.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a 14-hour council meeting last Thursday, and people lined up \u2014 I don\u2019t know where they all came from \u2014 but they lined up to bash me and say what a horrible person I was, and why we shouldn\u2019t have third terms,\u201d Dyer said to laughs.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so they tabled the motion. Rightly so, I wanted to get home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I leave in January of \u201829 \u2014 I\u2019ll be happy to do so. Just kidding,\u201d Dyer said. \u201cSo that\u2019s it. No more four-more-years talk.\u201d<\/p>\n Even before the Council voted on the item, Dyer started to distance himself from the term limit proposal.<\/p>\n In an interview with The Bee Thursday afternoon<\/a>, hours before the Council voted to table the term limit proposal, Dyer said he made a \u201cmistake\u201d in supporting the item. He said the proposal wasn\u2019t his idea and that he was approached two weeks ago asking if he\u2019d consider a third term and support the proposed charter change measure.<\/p>\n Dyer said he got a call from a councilmember when he was home one evening with his wife. Dyer declined to name the councilmember, citing their ongoing professional relationship.<\/p>\n Dyer said he initially was not interested in serving a third term, but after talking it over with is wife and others, he told the councilmember he\u2019d consider a third term if he still had the passion and energy for the job when his term ends in 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mistake I made was agreeing to attend the press conference and the mistake I made was agreeing to be a co-sponsor of it,\u201d Dyer said. \u201cIf I had it to do over again, I would say, I don\u2019t want anything to do with it,\u201d he said. \u201cIf Council wants to bring this forward, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n Councilmember Miguel Arias \u2014 who criticized the process in which these proposals were introduced<\/a> \u2014 said Dyer\u2019s comments were important.<\/p>\n \u201cI give him credit for acknowledging that there were mistakes and missteps in the rollout of this proposal,\u201d Arias said.<\/p>\n Council president defends proposal<\/p>\n Esparza, the other sponsor of this item, still stands by the proposal idea.<\/p>\n He said during Thursday\u2019s meeting that the question of term limits had been on his mind for some time. He said that the current charter allows for a \u201cloophole\u201d where people could in theory cycle through their seats indefinitely.<\/p>\n Critics pointed out that only a handful of politicians have served again in city positions after serving two terms. Esparza said he \u201cresented\u201d the criticism that this could have been self-serving, since he will no longer be at City Hall after his term ends in January. Esparza will face Bakersfield Republican Shannon Grove for a seat on the Board of Equalization in November.<\/p>\n He defended how the proposals were brought forth 72 hours before they were to be voted on.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is very straightforward. This is not a complicated proposition,\u201d Esparza said at a July 27 news conference announcing the term limit proposal. \u201cFolks have the week here to review and ask questions.\u201d<\/p>\n He also told The Bee that once he knew the city would be asking voters to weigh in on the half-cent sales tax this November \u2014 a stopgap measure in light of the uncertainty of a Measure C transportation tax renewal \u2014 he “felt these governance questions belonged in front of them in the same election since we as the City would already be occupying their ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n Esparza also said voters would have had three months before the item would have gone to voters in November.<\/p>\n The deadline to place items on the November ballot is Aug. 7.<\/p>\n Fresno Bee Reporter David Taub contributed to this report.<\/p>\n![\"Krista](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/FRS_EPZ_CITYCOUNCIL_05.JPG\" "\\"FRS_EPZ_CITYCOUNCIL_05.JPG\\"")
Krista Aranda with stickers against a third term for Mayor Jerry Dyer listens closely during a Fresno City Council meeting Thursday, July 30, 2026 in downtown Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com Dyer said supporting three-term proposal was a \u2018mistake\u2019<\/p>\n![\"Fresno](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FRS_EPZ_CITYCOUNCIL_04.JPG\" "\\"FRS_EPZ_CITYCOUNCIL_04.JPG\\"")
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer listens closely during a Fresno City Council meeting Thursday, July 30, 2026 in downtown Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n
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