Fresno County supervisors wrangle over federal politics
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Fresno County’s wish-list for Washington, which county supervisors write up every year, probably has about zero impact on federal policy.
But the annual exercise of drafting the requests is worth something if you have doubts about where your supervisor stands politically.
During this week’s discussion of the list, incoming Supervisor Andreas Borgeas added comprehensive immigration reform to the five pages of county advocacy, which are mostly made up of mundane principles such as investment in local infrastructure and funding flexibility.
This is “a big deal” for the agricultural community, Borgeas said.
Supervisors Judy Case and Debbie Poochigian successfully pushed another hotly debated amendment: they struck “undocumented” and “homeless” from an advocacy statement for health services.
“What about the small business owner?” Case said. “I think there are a lot of people who fall through the cracks. These aren’t the only groups.”
Supervisor Henry Perea struck back: “It’s important to me that we leave that in there.”
Perea and Poochigian also jousted over high-speed rail. Poochigian wanted to revisit the county’s support for the project, but Perea didn’t.
“We’re in the implementation phase now,” Perea said. “Why are we still debating high-speed rail?”
The advocacy list was approved by supervisors and is on its way to the county’s lobbyist in D.C. and federal lawmakers — if not the Capitol Hill recycling bin.
Responses
Supervisor Henry Perea is a pure chump and grandstander. His son demonstrates it runs in the family. Both want the taxpayer to foot the bill for their pandering. If these rumdums had to put their own money up you’d never see em again. A wish that hopefully will come true.
Wow. If you extrapolate Ms. Case’s comment, corporations are people too, profits come before people, and there’s no room at the Inn for the poor, weak or homeless. You have to ask yourself, WWJD? As for Ms. Poochigian wanting to derail HSR, supporting an infrastructure stimulus project such as HSR will provide more jobs and opportunities for ambitious valley residents while furthering the public good. It is inconsistent and hypocritical to complain about HSR while reaping the benefits of federally financed infrastructure projects such as the Central Valley Project, which built the dams and canals that made success possible for valley farms and farmers. In fifty years, HSR will be considered as much a given for having stimulated valley growth as the CVP is today.