There has to be more to the spat between Mayor Alan Autry and City Council President Jerry Duncan than what we've been told. Nothing else explains Duncan breaking down on the council dais on Thursday after complaining that Autry said "vicious and cruel" things about him.
This is what we know so far from today's Bee story:
Autry said Duncan was using "distortion" and "deception" in lobbying against the mayor's proposal to attack gang problems in Fresno with intervention and prevention programs and aggressive police action. The mayor was responding to Duncan's comments in a budget hearing that Autry was trying to turn the Police Department into a "social services agency."
Okay, call me naive, but where's the vicious and cruel part?
This kind of feud is so destructive. Both of those "men" are there to serve the public. Their personal vendettas have no place in public life and prevent them properly serving.
I don't know who is "at fault," but I would surely call on both of them to clean up their act, and turn their eyes towards us poor suffering citizens.
Maybe Duncan wants to run for mayor. That usually seems to be the case when a councilperson starts feuding with the mayor in this town.
BOTH REPUBLICANS SO I KIND OF LIKE THIS FEUD. DUNCAN SHOULD NEVER BEEN ELECTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND AUTRY SHOULD HAVE STAY IN HOLLYWOOD. WHAT HAS HE DONE FOR US?
Crying? (To paraphrase a Tom Hanks line) .... "There is no crying in politics!" If Duncan is going to whimper pathetically over the slightest of perceived insults - what is he going to do when a real crisis comes? No wonder politicians are at the bottom of the list when it comes to trustworthiness!
Agreeing with Phil. We the citizen's of Fresno are NOT their day care and we should not have to abide with their tantrums.
Sure they'll fine the heck out of us for leaving out trash cans on the streets of Fresno, but when it comes to cleaning up their act, it's okay to air it out where everyone has to deal with it?
This isn't Stepford-ville, and life isn't perfect, but they need to try to focus on the jobs they were elected to do. Maybe get busy and offer up an ordinance that won't embarrass Fresno to live by, or maybe address the homeless problem besides just sweeping it under a rug, or a freeway overpass. Stop trying to rename streets, decorating areas no one will use, as it's in the wrong area. Simply stop focusing on treating the symptom. Shut up, sit down, and do something constructive!
Just wondering when they're going to become a 24/7 reality show and we get to vote out the bad seed of our choice, from the 'house that Fresno built'.
I think disputes are common and healthy. Many may not remember the email incident last year. The Council may not have completely forgiven Duncan. I live in District 6, served by Jerry Duncan. He has responded to each and every concern our family and neighborhood have asked him about. Most recently, Duncan agreed with residents about changing the abandoned vehicle/parking enforcement laws becuase we have such a large problem. We appreciate his service to us and that something TANGIBLE came out of his concerns for residents of his ditsrict. He also listened when we had concerns over increased traffic and pedestrian safety. The fact that he knows about a new trend of sexual offenders living near Eaton Elementary School is important to us to prevent crimes to our children. We believe by informing Mayor Autry and Councilman Duncan about using academy cadets for community servcie officers we formed a coalition with the police department to handle budget cuts and increase patrols in our area. The suggestion can also serve to improve police response times by freeing up the PD with minial tasks that can be handled by the cadets, such as property crimes, reports, interviews, and issuing tickets. I would like to suggest other Fresno residents try working with their District reps. and council members to enact changes that are much needed. Be proactive, not another whimpy, gimpy, whinning city resident who opinionizes everything that's in the record and reported by the media. We do not see behind closed doors. They have God-given talents. They are elected by those who have faith in them to represent. I feel sad by the comments about Duncan. In my mind he is a humanitarian. And know that many believe that to err is human, heck even "Jesus wept."