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Mayor-Elect Dyer Builds His Team, Prepares to Take City’s Helm
Mayor-elect Jerry Dyer announced his incoming administration’s leadership team on Friday, as he prepares to take over the city’s top political office in January.
GV Wire℠ reported on most of the names earlier in the day.
“I have assembled an All-Star team that will assist me in implementing my ‘One Fresno’ vision. Whether working on issues related to homelessness and housing, economic development, Downtown Fresno, youth leadership, beautification of Fresno or transitioning the business climate at City Hall to a ‘We Work For You’ culture, I am confident that the team I have assembled will work hard for the residents of Fresno,” Dyer said in a news release.
Dyer officially takes over as mayor on Jan. 5, according to the city charter. He won the mayorship in March defeating six other candidates. Because Dyer won 51.6% of the vote, no November runoff was required.
Esqueda Heads New Management Team
Tommy Esqueda
Tommy Esqueda, the city’s former public utilities director, will become Dyer’s city manager. He will return to City Hall after serving nearly two years at Fresno State as Associate Vice President for Water and Sustainability. Esqueda left the university in July following budget cuts.
“Esqueda will work with City staff and community stakeholders to optimize city operations, improve customer service, improve program and service quality, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of program and service delivery,” Dyer’s news release said.
Esqueda will replace Wilma Quan, whose has served as Mayor Lee Brand’s city manager for nearly his entire term. Quan was spotted interviewing for Fresno County’s newly created chief operating officer position on Monday afternoon.
Dyer will bring on three new assistant city managers — Gregory Barfield, Francine Kanne, and Georgeanne White.
Barfield is a longtime city staffer, currently the director of transportation. He also served as chief of staff for former Councilman Oliver Baines.
Kanne has worked for the city attorney’s office for the past 16 years. White returns to City Hall, where she has served as a department head and chief of staff to former mayors Alan Autry and Ashley Swearengin.
Other Leadership Positions
Tim Orman will remain as chief of staff, a role he’s held the last four years under Brand. Chris Montelongo will serve as deputy chief of staff.
Montelongo has worked for the past 19 years with the city, most recently as the senior community revitalization specialist.
Matthew Grundy has been named to the new position of deputy mayor. He is the current CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater Fresno Area.
Sontaya Rose
Sontaya Rose, a longtime television reporter with ABC 30, will serve as Dyer’s spokeswoman.
Mark Standriff, the current city spokesman, will move into a new position as director of Beatify Fresno. The relatively new program will “cooperate
and collaborate with other public and private agencies to clean and beautify the City of Fresno through the elimination of trash, graffiti, and blight, and the creation of community-based beautification projects,” according to a Dyer news release.
Another Brand holdover will be H. Spees. Dyer named him director of Housing and Homeless Services, with a similar job description to his current position as director of strategic services.
The San Joaquin Valley Sun reported the names Friday morning. GV Wire℠ confirmed several of them as well from multiple sources prior to Dyer’s confirmation news release.
WATCH: Mayor-Elect Dyer Describes Plans for Housing the Homeless and ‘Neighborhood Blitzes’
Gen Guerrero
November 7, 2020 at 7:42 am
Jerry Dyer made a HUGE mistake picking Tommy Esqueda as the City Manager. Tommy Esqueda is part of the local City of Fresno “swamp”. Terrible choice. Esqueda made ill-conceived, incompetent decisions as the City of Fresno’s Department of Public Utilities director when he was previously over the DPU. He’s the type that protects and covers up for wrongdoer employees whether the person is a manager or employee. In addition, Esqueda will bury legitimate sexual harassment claims by employees and construct their firing, throwing them under the bus, instead of dealing with sexual harassment issues. This will create distrust, discord, and disorganization at City Hall. Count on it. In turn, this “swamp” effect will reverberate throughout all of City of Fresno government. To put Tommy Esqueda in such a crucial role as City Manager over the rest of the key staff, is probably the worst and first decision that Jerry Dyer could make. Jerry Dyer should have gone outside the City of Fresno and done a nationwide recruitment and found the most competent, experienced, and educated person for the job—a go getter who wants to clean up the political trash in the city, as well as the literal trash all over the City of Fresno and its highway system. Instead, he picked a lifelong City of Fresno bureaucratic “swamp” monster to help cover up the dirt at City Hall. Mr. Dyer – you’re off to a bad start.
Greeka
November 7, 2020 at 2:52 pm
Congratulations and looking forward with you as the Mayor of Fresno.
Greeka
November 7, 2020 at 2:54 pm
Congratulations you being our Mayor for Fresno.