Would Fresno Mayor Alan Autry's endorsement in the race to succeed him matter?

Autry was more than a little miffed last week at a broadside that Council Member Henry T. Perea and the Fresno Police Officers Association launched against Ashley Swearengin. And he hinted that it might propel him to take sides.

Autry has stayed neutral in the race, so far. But he was peeved that Perea and the FPOA were making an issue of 4-year-old report that Swearengin helped write. The report by the Regional Jobs Initiative, which Swearengin heads, suggested ways to help fund more job creation. Among the suggestions: cap public safety spending from the city's general fund and back fill it with a public safety tax.

The FPOA latched on to the spending cap and said it showed Swearengin was soft on funding police and fire services. FPOA is backing Perea. But FPOA President Jacky Parks was left stammering a bit when it was pointed out that Perea voted, without comment, to accept the very same report.

Autry is co-chair of the jobs initiative and was incensed that anyone would suggest he wanted to erode public safety spending. But if he jumped in and endorsed someone -- presumably Swearengin -- would it really swing any voters to her camp? Or propel more to Perea's side?

There's a bit of discussion on the point at Fresno Famous. The consensus there seems to be that Autry doesn't have much pull.

What do you think? Does the mayor's voice matter in this race?