Fresno’s former Chief of Police led the city’s mayoral race late Tuesday night according to the county’s early results. By 10:30 p.m., close to a quarter of the votes were in, and more than 54% of them counted in Jerry Dyer’s favor.
At a packed election party at the Elbow Room restaurant, Jerry Dyer said the campaign has been all consuming.
“I’ve met our fundraising goals, I’ve walked the neighborhoods consistently, I've done the things I’m supposed to do as a mayoral candidate. I told my wife on the way over here, ‘I don’t know anything else I could have done to improve my chances of winning,’” he said.
And he said he’s cautiously optimistic his chances of winning are good. But some attendees at the watch party said they were certain of his success.
“I’m over the moon,” said Marylen Karsted, a retired community service officer with the Fresno Police Department. “I have no doubt he will be our next mayor.”
Many prominent Valley leaders attended the event including Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp.
Dyer was the city’s police chief for nearly 20 years but this is his first bid for office. His opponent, Andrew Janz, is a prosecutor who challenged Congressman Devin Nunes in the 2018 election. To avoid a runoff in November, the winning candidate must get over 50 percent of the votes.
