Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer shows how to make Republicans relevant in California again | Opinion

Among registered voters in California, 46.8% chose to be Democrats as of Feb. 10, when the latest tally was done.

Republicans made up 23.8% of registrations. No-party preference voters were the third bloc, at 22.4%.

That striking disparity is reflected in the state Assembly and Senate, where Democrats have supermajorities in both houses. To put it another way, Republicans are superminorities who can do little to influence policy.

No Republican has held an executive office in California — governor, attorney general, secretary of state and the like — since 2006, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor and Steve Poizner won as insurance commissioner.

The political news website Politico in 2021 had this summation about the GOP in California: “For the foreseeable future, Republicans likely won’t be winning top-of-the-ticket statewide races in California — or even seriously competing in them.” Adding insult to injury, Politico characterized California’s GOP as “moribund.”

Since that story was published, Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom beat back a recall attempt and resoundingly won re-election.

According to state registration statistics, Democrats have enjoyed a hefty edge over Republicans going back at least a decade.

If the GOP is interested in finding a way forward and becoming relevant again in California, party leaders might consider taking some lessons from the mayor of California’s fifth-largest city, Jerry Dyer of Fresno.

His strategy? Be moderate politically and sympathetic in outreach.

Pastor vs. mayor

Dyer was Fresno’s police chief for 18 years before getting elected in 2020. Fast forward to the end of June: Dyer saw the City Council approve a budget that funds more police officers — 900 — than Fresno has ever had.

As police chief, Dyer had to let scores of PD employees go during the Great Recession when city revenues plunged.

That same budget also funds a new position in the mayor’s administration — that of liaison to the LGBTQ community. Additionally, Dyer is the first Fresno mayor to support flying the Pride flag at City Hall during Pride Month.

Dyer is a Republican, and the conventional wisdom when he took office was that he would be a law-and-order, pro-business type of mayor. He is also a Christian who often speaks about the importance of faith to his daily life.

Tell conservative Christians about the Pride Flag and creation of an LGBTQ community liaison post, and eyebrows get raised. Some Christians point to Scriptures they say admonish homosexuality as sin. Dyer says he has received criticism over the Pride Flag and liaison post.

“There has been no shortage of people who profess to be Christians who have made their opinions known to me. They have made comments like, ‘I thought you were a follower of Christ.’ It hurts when people have said that, but at the same time, I know the decisions I have made about the LGBTQ community have been from my heart.”

This is how Dyer sees his role:

“I am not the pastor of this city. I am the mayor. I have an obligation and responsibility to be the mayor for everyone, whether they are part of the straight community, the LGBTQ community, the Black community, the Hispanic community, the Asian community or the homeless community.

“When I came up with the slogan of ‘One Fresno,’ it was easy to come up with, but it is hard to live by. People remind me all the time, ‘Are we really One Fresno, mayor?’ If we are, then everybody gets treated equally.”

Along with the LGBTQ liaison position, there are liaisons for the Black, Latino, Asian and Hindu-Muslim-Sikh communities. Each liaison is budgeted for part-time work with the responsibility of representing their constituencies’ concerns to the mayor. The liaisons are in the Office of Community Affairs.

Pride Flag

Dyer admits to not understanding when he took office how important the Pride Flag was to gay and lesbian residents. It took hearing from Carole Goldsmith, now the chancellor of State Center Community College District, about her experiences of being rejected by family members over her sexual orientation.

“ I heard their heart and how they have felt alienated and excluded from society and government,” Dyer said. “This was my opportunity as mayor to make them feel included.” He presided over the first flag raising in 2021.

Another motivator for Dyer was his experience as police chief with hate crimes. He witnessed Asian residents getting attacked during the COVID pandemic over blame for the virus, since it originated in China. Dyer said LGBTQ people also come under regular hate attacks.

I asked Dyer about some GOP leaders today who seek to marginalize the LGBTQ community in America.

“I don’t think anyone has a right to marginalize anyone else, nor be condescending to anyone. When you become an elected official, you have to set aside yourself in order to serve. That is hard.

“Unfortunately, we have a lot of elected officials at the local, state and federal levels who don’t set aside themselves. They become very self-serving.”

Chris Jarvis is a gay, nearly life-long resident of Fresno who did not foresee Dyer supporting LGBTQ people. “He has proved me wrong,” Jarvis said.

Dyer’s vocal support has been gratifying, Jarvis explained. “Most importantly, politicians need to remember those who are LGBTQ-plus are American citizens like everybody else. We need to be included in the mix and have politicians stand up for us publicly.”

The LGBTQ liaison is a position that gives his community “a seat at the table,” Jarvis said.

Choice must be made

Dyer plans in 2024 to seek a second four-year term. Earlier this year he had an announced Democratic candidate, Lourin Hubbard. He met with Dyer and came away satisfied with the mayor’s centrist approach, so Hubbard decided not to run. No other opponents have come forward.

There will be some reading this column who will think this is just pandering to Dyer. It isn’t, and that would miss the point.

For Republicans, the reality of their plight at the state level are the registration numbers and voting outcomes. Hard-line conservatism gets the GOP nowhere in California beyond emailing press releases and making some noise.

A moderate approach, like that practiced by Dyer, is a more winning strategy for the GOP in blue California. Republicans must decide if they want to have some influence, or none at all. The choice is theirs.