City Residents Know Little About County Operations

As a candidate for Fresno County supervisor, District 2 (Northern half of the City of Fresno and a small portion of Clovis) in the recent election (I lost), I was amazed at the lack of citizen understanding of County of Fresno issues. My observations are based on personally visiting between July 2007 and May 2008 the homes of thousands of registered voters in the 119 precincts that make up County District 2. It also includes more than 150 corner "Coffee Stops" in the District to talk with voters.

Many voters recognized me at their door as a sitting City of Fresno council member. Even though the upcoming elections were being well covered in the media and election materials were being sent by me and my opponent, incumbent Susan Anderson, the first response at the door were inevitably questions about City of Fresno issues. After again reminding them that I was a candidate for the county board and not city council, they either didn't understand what I was a candidate for, had no interest in Fresno County issues, or are only interested in City of Fresno issues.

What really concerned me, however, was the large number of voters that couldn't understand why I was at their door because, "they live in the City of Fresno, not in the County of Fresno." Even after I explained to them that they were residents of the county and paid county taxes, many didn't believe me. They were not aware that they paid for the court system, public health services, libraries and a myriad of other essential services.

This ignorance or disinterest in Fresno County issues or elections by City of Fresno voters explains why the Board of Supervisors do not face the voter-imposed restrictions placed on the Mayor and City Council. Supervisors do not, for example, have term limits. They have an automatic salary escalator not requiring a public vote and are not subject to the check and balance system from an elected county executive (the county administrator is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Board). County supervisors rarely lose elections.

America's county system of government is a creature of the 18th Century. The significant growth of cities since then have removed many of the responsibilities (and visibility) of counties. This decline of relevance was certainly brought home to me during the election campaign. Unfortunately, instead of voters demanding changes, such as a merger of overlapping functions of both the cities and counties, the outmoded county system continues unabated largely because it is in the best interest of the self-preservation of the status quo by elected county officials and county employees.

The status quo, unfortunately, certainly does not address the needs of Fresno's citizens in the 21st century

Coming attractions...
End of the Coffee Stops: Serving coffee to constituents at a street corner is deemed illegal.

Your comments are always welcome. Simply click on "comments" below.