FRESNO, Calif. – The newly passed initiative called “Measure A” is being fought in court by Sacramento against Fresno County.
As the State puts it, this measure goes around a state rule that changed the timing of these elections to match the presidential election cycle.
It is being fought against by both the city and the state.
Sacramento shouldn’t be involved in county business, says Fresno County.
“I believe the county wants to keep it the way it has always been since the assembly bill was the one that changed it.” Lisa Smittcamp, the district attorney for Fresno County, said, “It gave the D.A. and the sheriff a one-time extension of two years.”
Governor Gavin Newsom signed an Assembly Bill in 2022 that changed the California election code so that votes for District Attorney and Sheriff would happen at the same time as presidential elections.
The state says that more people vote in those races and that it is in the public interest to have a wide range of voters choose the top county police officer.
People who are against it say not so fast. They say that important local races get lost in the chaos of presidential elections.
Last year, Fresno County supervisors decided to put Measure A on the March ballot. This would move the elections for District Attorney and Sheriff to times when there would be less noise, and voters in Fresno County agreed.
55% of voters in the county agreed with Measure A and it was passed in March of last year.
Both Lisa Smittcamp, the district attorney for Fresno County, and John Zanoni, the sheriff for Fresno County, say the people have spoken.
“Everyone I talk to says, ‘Why wouldn’t you want to keep your job for two more years?'” Why would you want to run? I don’t want to run either. I also like that it’s been two years. In the short run, that would be great for both Lisa and John Zanoni. We need to think about what will happen to the county in the long run, though. Smittcamp said.
D.A. Smittcamp believes that the Board of Supervisors made the right choice by letting the people make the final decision.
“They let the people vote on it.” “Then the people of Fresno said no, we want to keep it on the gubernatorial, and that’s where it should stay,” Smittcamp said.
Sheriff John Zanoni of Fresno County says that the noise from the presidential races makes it hard for people in the area to focus on important problems.
“With all the attention on the presidential election right now, people have lost sight of local problems.” That was clear to see. I mean, the news is full of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and people need to pay attention to what’s going on in their own communities. “They need to hear from people who have been elected or who are running for these jobs,” Sheriff Zanoni said.
He says the people have spoken, and that’s the end of it.
“The people voted for it and it passed.” I wasn’t running for office either way. To get people to decide to keep it for years, I didn’t spend any money. There was nothing I did. Sheriff Zanoni said, “I’ll let the people decide.”
Andrew Janz, the city attorney, backs Attorney General Rob Bonta’s case to throw out Measure A.
He says that the success of Sacramento’s case is very important to the city of Fresno.
“That doesn’t make sense to me.” “Even though most people in Fresno voted for this, we don’t know how well they were informed about it,” Janz said.
Officials in Fresno County think that Measure A gives people more power, but the City Council wants to make sure that the law is legal.
