Ambitious politician Andrew Janz as Fresno city attorney? It’s a mismatch of talent to job

On the same day a judge ordered Fresno City Council president Nelson Esparza to stand trial for misdemeanor extortion, Andrew Janz was hired as Fresno’s new city attorney.

Even though the timing may have been coincidental, the two events are inextricably linked.

Fresno wouldn’t need a new city attorney if not for an unfortunate tete a tete between Esparza and former city attorney Doug Sloan in June. During which Esparza allegedly told Sloan he was the only person preventing Sloan from losing his job, and to only work for the council majority.

Sloan testified he considered those words a threat, but did not seek further clarification from Esparza or other council members. Nor did he report the conversation to authorities. Instead, he moaned to a few City Hall colleagues and headed for the exit door to Santa Monica.

Enter Janz, the Fresno County prosecutor and local Democratic figurehead who rose to prominence via two conspicuous (but ultimately unsuccessful) political campaigns.

Opinion

Is this the outcome Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp anticipated when she sicced her public integrity unit on Esparza?

I’m thinking not. But here we are, observing the latest plot twist in a local political soap opera.

In Fresno, the city attorney (with help from a well-staffed office) dispenses legal advice to the mayor, city council, city manager and various boards and commissions pertaining to their offices and city operations. The city attorney prepares legal opinions, ordinances, contracts and resolutions. Oversees code enforcement and rental housing inspections. Defends the city in civil litigation.

In other words, it’s sort of a mundane gig. One that would appear to be an awkward fit for a high-profile individual such as Janz. Who, after losing the 2020 mayoral election to Jerry Dyer, founded a political action committee that raised nearly $5 million during the 2022 election cycle in support of Democratic candidates.

The city attorney is essentially an impartial bureaucrat. The job now belongs to an aspiring politician and adept political fundraiser. How’s that supposed to work?

From violent crimes to city code violations

Although Janz spoke glowingly about his eight years with Smittcamp in a canned news release, perhaps eight years as her subordinate were all the outspoken Democrat could handle.

Now, instead of prosecuting violent crimes under Smittcamp, Janz will prosecute building code violations and illegal dumping while serving as an extra layer of insulation between the county’s Republican district attorney and the city’s Democratic council majority.

While at the same time giving legal advice to Dyer, Smittcamp’s longtime ally as well as Janz’s mayoral rival in the not-too-distant past.

That promises to be an interesting working relationship, to say the least.

From what I’ve been told, multiple candidates were interviewed for city attorney. But Rina Gonzales, the interim city attorney following Sloan’s departure, didn’t want the permanent position, and neither did others in the office.

Apparently, the difference in salary doesn’t make up for the difference in headaches.

The Fresno City Council, which appointed Janz by a 4-1 vote Tuesday evening, will meet in closed session Thursday to hash out the city attorney’s new contract.

In a news release announcing the hire, Councilmembers Tyler Maxwell, Miguel Arias and Esparza praised Janz as “a bold leader our city needs” who “represents a new generation of local leaders.”

The tone of their comments was striking in that the city attorney, at least before now, has never been thought of as a “bold leader” from any generation in particular.

And with the city’s financial and legal butt on the line, wouldn’t a careful, measured individual be better in that role? Someone with as much professional distance and impartiality (actual or perceived) as is possible?

I’d certainly think so. But when the district attorney uses her office to target certain elected officials, this is the counter move. We get a political shark in the guise of a bureaucratic porpoise.

Rarely a dull moment in these waters.