Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin officially announced Thursday she is seeking re-election. She spoke in front of about a hundred guests at The Grand in downtown Fresno.
“I'm pleased to announce my candidacy for re-election as mayor of the City of Fresno,” said Swearengin.
Flanked by Fresno City Councilors, family and community members, Swearengin confirmed she's running for a second term.
“Today I'm even more confident in the positive direction that our city is going in than the day I took the oath of office and was sworn in for mayor,” said Swearengin.
Among the guests were two new small business owners and a formerly homeless woman. She thanked Swearengin for helping her get back on her feet.
“Fresno needs a mayor like Mayor Swearengin because she actually cares about us,” said Janice Scott, who use to be homeless.
The mayor says her goals for her next term have not changed.
“Three priorities: money, finances at city hall, job creation and revitalization,” said Swearengin.
Her first three years in office have not been without controversy. There have been mass layoffs at City Hall and the privatization of commercial trash pickup. Marina Magdaleno represented some of those former city workers.
“The fear is the continuing fear that she continues to chop at jobs and replace them with very low paying jobs,” said Magdaleno of Local 39.
But even Magdaleno doesn't believe Swearengin will be challenged in her race for re-election. CBS47's political analyst Don Larson says it would be highly unlikely.
“I think people are strongly in support of her, and she'll have very little problem being reelected,” said Larson.
A handful of people have already filed to run against Swearengin, but the official filing period is between February 13th and March 9th. The primary election is in June.
