Disillusionment

I learned the hard way
That they all say
Things you want to hear
And my heavy heart sinks deep down under you and
Your twisted words,
Your help just hurts
You are not what I thought you were
Hello to high and dry

Great Minds

Think alike. Sound familiar?

Fresno voters say no to another baby boomer mayor

By Jim Boren / The Fresno Bee
June 8, 2008

There was a generational change that occurred in Tuesday's mayoral election that didn't get a lot of attention. The next mayor -- Henry T. Perea or Ashley Swearengin -- will be in his or her 30s. Fresno voters rejected several baby boomers in favor of Perea, who will be 31 at the end of the month, and Swearengin, who turned 36 last month.

Both ran strong campaigns that appealed to voters on traditional issues, such as public safety and protecting neighborhoods. But they also talked about air quality, making the city greener and bringing young creative people into the political process.

City Hall will change, no matter who gets elected in November. If I were a bureaucrat working out of the spaceship on P Street, I'd be very nervous to be fingered as someone standing in the way of progress. The old ways of doing things just might get outsourced to young minds working on their home computers.

Perea, a two-term council member, was an early advocate of getting Fresno's creative community and young professionals involved in city issues. That spawned a group that took on issues such as revitalizing downtown and creating a 21st century economy that would be a magnet for bringing bright minds to the city. They pushed plans that would reverse the "brain drain" and getting "boomerangs" to return to Fresno.

Swearengin talked often about creating a knowledge-based economy that's much more entrepreneurial than the ways Fresno has done things in the past. Problem-solving would be focused on getting results rather than using traditional methods that seldom attacked problems head-on. Process is important, she says, but not if it's an excuse not to move forward.

You didn't hear that kind of talk from most of the aging baby boomers on Tuesday's ballot. They got crushed by the 30-somethings because the newbies beat the old-school politicians at their own game, while adding supporters who had never been involved in the system before.

Perea and Swearengin also consider technology their friends. Crucial information is carried on tiny flash drives to plug into computers when it's needed. Baby boomers still thumb through files in manila folders looking for talking points.

What struck me most about Perea and Swearengin winning the top two spots in the mayoral race is they got to the runoff by reaching voters in non-traditional ways. But they also raised all the money they needed the old-fashioned way -- getting supporters to write checks.

They took the best of traditional politicking and married it with technology.

Over the next five months, we will find out how this new generation of leaders will battle for the mayor's job, the most visible local office in the San Joaquin Valley.

There is no doubt that the special interests will have their hands in these campaigns. They already do. The public employee unions and business interests aren't about to let an election pass without making sure their interests are protected.

They adapt to the candidates because there's too much money at stake for them not to be malleable.

The Perea and Swearengin campaigns have brought new people into the mayor's race, just as Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, has brought new voters into presidential politics. All talk about the need for change -- the political buzzword of 2008.

The danger here, of course, is that whoever gets elected mayor in November defaults to Fresno's tired old ways of doing things. You know what I'm talking about: public works problems across the city, a permitting process at City Hall that's been the subject of complaints for three decades, out-of-town landowners on the Fulton Mall being coddled by bureaucrats, high-salaried jobs being given to the mayor's pals, developers and public employee unions having too much influence over policy.

If Perea or Swearengin continue that pattern, then this new generation of leaders will just be a continuation of the past -- the good-enough-for-Fresno crowd.

But if they build on the best of the past, and bring real change to City Hall, Fresno can be something special.

Sour Grapes

Tom Boyajian, long time city councilman and mullet/foo man choo combo sporter (who finished 5th in the race for Fresno mayor this week), as quoted in the Fresno Bee:

"Fresno deserves better. We all deserve better. Neither Ashley Swearengin, nor Henry T. Perea has the integrity or the capacity to bring Fresno forward and this is why neither of them will receive my vote in November despite the inevitable outcome."

This wasn't a letter to the editor or a statement from his campaign. It was posted on his MySpace page. Yes, that's right. His MySpace page. And that, Mr. Boyajian, is why you will not now nor ever be mayor of Fresno.

In With the New

Congratulations, Fresno. It looks like the voters there have finally seen fit to usher in a new generation of politicians.

They did so by narrowing the mayor's race down to Henry T. Perea and Ashley Swearengin - two candidates who are anything but status quo - to compete in the November runoff.

And not a moment too soon.

Fresno is at a tipping point, as Ashley Swearengin has so articulately stated.



It's true. The old, tried, and failed Fresno has been running things for far too long. Fresno's greatest weakness lies with its leadership (lack thereof). The city has not had leaders with the critical combination of vision and management ability for decades, and the result is the mess that currently is Fresno. Sprawl, nonexistent city planning, lack of infrastructure, poverty, health disparities, a floundering economy, and a Downtown plagued with more potential than progress.

Regardless of who wins the November election, it is comforting to know that it won't be any of the old guard that have managed to screw things up so royally. Both candidates are smart (read politically savvy), under 40 (he is 30 and she is 35), and not white males - all big strikes against them in the eyes of Old Fresno, which is comprised almost wholly of old, white males. But there will still be a clear choice to make in the fall.

On one hand, you have an inexperienced and very, very liberal city councilman who was only elected in the first place because he shares his popular father's name, and purposely left his differentiating middle initial off the ballot. As far as I know, he has never run anything with a multi-million dollar budget, let alone an entire city. To his credit, he has elevated the Downtown debate and helped energize younger and minority voters, but his personal ethics are questionable at best.

On the other hand, you have an experienced business woman who has not only successfully managed the largest public-private collaborative in the region; she also knows how to handle a budget and bring people together to get things done. The Bee will try to criticize her for not single-handedly improving the Valley's economy, but they would be wrong to do so. The obstacles to progress did not stem from her management, but from the backward policies of Fresno area governments - the very policies she's running to change.

On a side note, I must say, the fact that the Fresno County Republican Party opted not to endorse her in the primary shows just how entrenched in the status quo and irrelevant they have become. Jerry Duncan never had a prayer of winning, and their decision not to support her was a politically stupid move.

If they had thrown their weight and volunteers behind her instead of siphoning off pro-business conservative votes for a candidate that couldn't win, Ms. Swearengin might be mayor right now, and Henry T. wouldn't have a 5-month opportunity to try talk voters into giving him a chance, whether he's qualified or not. Heck, they might have even been able to talk some sense into the Fresno Chamber of Commerce (since when did the Chamber endorse candidates that oppose the interests of their members, anyway?).

Regardless of the outcome, this will be a fascinating race to watch.

Life is Good

Last weekend, Brian and I flew out to California for a badly needed mini-vacation. We stayed in Huntington Beach and spent the day laying on the beach, walking on the pier, and watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.

It was a perfect day. Exactly what we needed.

I love the beach. I could absolutely spend every day laying on the beach, completely forgetting that there is a world out there beyond the California coastline.

It doesn't get much better than this...

After our fabulous relaxing and refreshing day, we walked back to our hotel and waited for my mom to arrive with my little sister. She had no idea we were coming to visit and started crying when she saw us, at which point I, of course, started crying. I miss her like crazy, and I hate that I don't get to spend more time with her. She's 12 already and is growing up way too fast.

We all went to Disneyland the next day and had an absolute blast. Disneyland has become a home away from home to us. Brian and I spent most of our dating years going there for weekends and spontaneous date nights when he was living in LA. It really is one of the happiest places on earth to us. The weather was a little chilly, which wasn't helped much by the fact that we (stupidly) decided to ride Splash Mountain at 11AM and proceeded to get soaking wet. But we eventually dried off and had so much fun.


I love California. I've realized I also really miss California. Our favorite ride is Soarin' Over California (also here), and I got a little choked up watching all the breathtaking beauty of my home unfold before me. I miss it. The mountains, the coast, the orchards. As much as I love living in Washington and what I do, California will always be home, and I'm sure we'll end up back there eventually. I think I'm destined to be bi-coastal forever.