On April 10 at 11 a.m., Fresno City College students, faculty and members of the community, gathered at the FCC theatre to witness a special moment in Fresno history, a forum hosting the 2008 mayoral candidates.

The election, which will be held on June 3, 2008, will be Fresno’s first open race in years. The candidate who wins will replace Mayor Alan Autry, whose term has expired.

The Mayoral Candidates Forum was presented by FCC’s Political Science Department, the Associated student Government, and the College Activities Office. Nine out of the 11 candidates for Mayor were in attendance, missing from the forum were Ashley Swearingen and James Boswell.

The forum was organized my Mark Trezza from the Political Science Department and moderated by Dr. Sarbjit Johal. Trezza said that what they hoped to achieve from the forum was to raise awareness that there is an election on June 3 for mayor and to give students a sense of who the candidates are and some of their priorities.

The candidates were seated on both sides of a podium, where Dr. Johal asked the candidates on his left and right, a set of questions that were solicited from political science students from Sarah Velasquez’s class.

In opening remarks, each candidate gave the audience a sense of why they were running for mayor of Fresno.

Attorney and candidate Tom Boyajian said, “I am running for mayor because I have the experience, the vision and the passion for Fresno City.”

Boyajian also said that the five major issues in Fresno are poverty, unemployment, quality of life, transportation, and finding jobs in this community.

City Council member Mike Dages said that he was running for mayor because, “the next mayor of this community needs to have business experience and government experience.” He also pointed out that he understood how to make a payroll and balance a budget during these tough economic times.

City Council member Jerry Duncan said, “I am running for mayor for one simple reason, I want to fix what is broken and improve this city.”

Duncan also stated that he had 29 pages of specific objectives that would make Fresno safer, more livable, and create better prosperity for everyone.

Jeff Eben, a lifelong educator, said, “I want the city of Fresno to believe in a future that is bigger than we can see for ourselves today, with the same power and hope that I had as an educator, I have as a leader.”

Eben said that the mayor’s office needed leadership and that he would provide the initiative to make people believe.

Moreover, Ignacio Garibay, a realtor, said that he was running for mayor because Fresno needs someone to be the ears of the community. He said, ” I want to represent you guys.”

Businesswoman and candidate Barbara Hunt said, ” I went to City Hall, worked there for a long time, saw the way the situation was going and I said no; I do not want my kids out there dying on drugs, no jobs, rent is too high, PG&E too high, education is failing, school prices are too much.” Hunt spoke very passionately, saying that she was there because of the people.

Henry Monreal, a Fresno Police Specialist, said that he was running for mayor not because crime was his top concern but because, “Neighborhoods where people live,” His slogan is that Fresno needs family wage jobs.

Council member Henry T. Perea started with, “I believe that this city is ready for a change, this city is ready for some progressive action and I believe; this city is ready to clean its air, to diversify its economy, and to make public safety a continued priority at city hall.”

He said that one of his goals was to make sure that the residents of Fresno do not have to go outside of Fresno to find employment.

Doug Vagim, a member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, said, “There is a 900 pound guerilla sitting in the other room and that is a huge mounting debt that is going to be on your backs that you are going to be towing around.”

Vagim said that he wanted to make sure that this debt did not affect future generations.

After opening remarks, Dr. Johal asked the candidates: What their plans were to revitalize downtown Fresno?

Vagim said that one of the main things that should be done with downtown Fresno is to get off the backs of young entrepreneurs who want to do something with the place.

He criticized the layer of governance that these entrepreneurs have to deal with.

Perea said, “We need to provide an opportunity for people who want to live that urban lifestyle.”

He pointed out downtown Fresno needs entertainment, mixed housing and opportunities for everyone. Monreal said that until downtown Fresno is thought of as a neighborhood, nothing is going to happen down there.

The next question was: How are you planning to reduce gang violence in Fresno? Jeff Eben said he would focus on drug treatment, educational opportunities, and job training.

Duncan stated he would take a different approach by adding 150 police officers over the next four years. To this response, there seemed to be a sign of disapproval from an audience member.

Mike Dages declared, “It is cheaper to educate than it is to incarcerate.” There seemed to be a consensus among the candidates that education and job opportunities were key to reducing gangs in Fresno.

As the candidates got use to the structure of the forum, the questions kept coming.

The next question was: What are your plans to improve conditions for Fresno’s homeless population? Vagim suggested that most homeless people had a drug problem and mental health needs. He said that the state should not pull back health care funding.

He said, “I do not care what we do or how many houses and shacks we put up there, those people are free spirits.” Candidate Hunt’s response to that same question seemed to be a sort of counter attack on Vagim’s answer.

Hunt said, with passion, “These people are not drug addicts, crazy or mentally retarded, they are just people like everybody else in here is going to be if they do not pay their rent for two months.”

Henry Monreal said that there are a lot of vacant buildings in downtown that can be used to provide housing for homeless people. Ignacio Garibay simply put it as, “Everybody needs a second chance.”

Henry Perea made an important point regarding this issue. He said that there are a lot of people who are actually working and are homeless because they do not have jobs that pays them well enough to afford housing.

It became clear that FCC Political Science students had come up with some well thought out and important questions. Dr Johal asked: How would you improve public transportation in Fresno?

Tom Boyajian said that a comprehensive transportation system was needed, one that would enable people to go from Fresno to Clovis without the bus constantly stopping.

Duncan presented an interesting idea. He said that providing Wi-Fi wireless technology on buses, where people can go on the internet, check emails, and do their work on their way home, would encourage the use of public transportation.

Boyajian said that Fresno need to diversify our public transportation by perhaps looking at light rail transit.

The question regarding public transportation was naturally followed by the following question how each candidate would you work with other state and federal authorities to reduce pollution in Fresno?

Barbara Hunt said, “I will go to Sacramento and get into Governor Schwarzenegger’s office with a plan.” Perea proposed that four things need to be done to reduce pollution: convert fleets into clean natural and liquid gas, increase the use of renewable energy, invest in greater public transportation, and more green building.

Garibay said that he would make sure that there will be no fees for planting a tree in ones back yard. Vagim said that other districts, like the Bay Area, need to put some of the same controls on their pollution mechanisms that we have. That they should not be able to dump all their dirty air on us and avoid all the regulations.

The final question was: What do you believe is the proper use of eminent domain in the city of Fresno?

Mike Dages said that he did not support eminent domain where property is taken from an individual and handed over to a developer. Eben said, “There is a proper use of eminent domain, it would only be used after all possible resources have been exhausted.” Duncan said that the one time that eminent domain was used was at the request of the property owner because the financial benefits were appealing.

By the end of the forum, each candidate had presented the audience with a clear vision of why they should vote for them. As Mark Trezza said, “If your vote ever matters in pure numbers, it is at the local level.” The forum went very smoothly and both the candidates and FCC students got a lot out of it.

The candidates were able to present themselves and their stance on important issues affecting the city of Fresno, to the people who would go to the voting booths on June 3.

FCC students got the opportunity to see what the future of Fresno would look like when one of these candidates wins the election for mayor. As the audience piled out of the FCC theatre, there was an air of awareness surround them.