JERRY DUNCAN MUST GO

JERRY DUNCAN MUST GO
By Mike Rhodes

Fresno City Council member Jerry Duncan, who is up for re-election, is no friend of the liberal/progressive community. What was our first clue? Perhaps it was when he wrote that “If I had one dirty bomb ... I could eliminate all the liberals in Fresno at once," during a City Council meeting attended by a large number of progressives. Duncan is a strong supporter of privatizing City jobs to save taxpayers money. Of course, these jobs in the private sector are created by eliminating union jobs that pay a living wage and provide health and retirement benefits. Duncan, to the extent that he is able, supports reducing taxes while providing adequate funding for law enforcement and the prison industrial complex. He is not a big supporter of governments involvement in meeting human needs. In short, he is an ultra-conservative that has the backing of the far right of the ruling class in this community.

The good news is that he is up for re-election. The bad news is that he is running in a district in North Fresno that Duncan has said he wants to rename Reaganville. His opponent in this race is Daral Kennedy who is generally opposed to privatizing City services, believes taxes are necessary for providing social services, and he does not want all City funding to go to law enforcement. However, quoting from his reply to a Citizens for Good Government questionnaire, Kennedy says “my values come from my Christian faith. Upon entry into the Army Guard, the Sheriffs Department, and the District Attorney’s Office, I pledged to defend the Constitution of California and the United States. God made it possible to fulfill my pledges. Christianity admonishes to administer authority with a humble heart and know I am first accountable to God. My allegiance is to Him. Our lives and liberties were commissioned by Him. As President John Kennedy stated, ‘The rights of man come not from the generosity of the State, but from the hand of God.’ God guides my values.”

Daral Kennedy may not be the progressive communities dream candidate, particularly on the issues of separation of church and state. But, he is a more moderate conservative than Duncan and the message his election would send would be that the extremism and ultra-conservative politics of Duncan has been rejected in District 6. At least there is a choice and the residents of District 6 do have an opportunity to vote for the lesser of two evils. To see detailed responses from candidates in this and other races, go to the Fresno Citizens for Good Government web site at: http://www.fcgg.org/primary_election.html