Challenger to take on Fresno establishment in ’24, would be city’s first Black mayor

Lourin Hubbard, who in 2022 lost a runoff election bid to replace Tulare Republican Devin Nunes in Congress, is taking another swing at elected office, this time as a would-be 2024 challenger to Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer.

Hubbard, 34, ran as a Democrat in a special election to fill the last few months of Nunes’ unexpired term in the 22nd Congressional District, placing second to former state Assemblymember Connie Conway, R-Visalia, in a six-candidate field and falling to Conway in a June runoff.

While the mayor’s post in Fresno is officially a nonpartisan office, Hubbard will square off against Dyer, who is a Republican, should Dyer seek re-election.

Hubbard will make his candidacy official with an announcement on Wednesday. A Bakersfield native, Hubbard would become Fresno’s first Black mayor in the city since it was incorporated in 1885. He and his wife Erin, a registered nurse, and their two young daughters live in Fresno.

“For too long, people that look like me and grew up like me have been forgotten in this amazing city we call home,” Hubbard said in a written statement. “Not forgotten by our neighbors but forgotten by an establishment system of career politicians that has led many of us to believe there isn’t another option, that we can’t expect more, and that we can’t do more.”

Top priorities

Hubbard, who is an operations manager for the state Department of Water Resources, describes being raised by a single mother and attributed his success to her values, public schools, public assistance such as food stamps, and Pell grants to support his college education.

He described homelessness as one of the major issues confronting the city. “As mayor, I will work to provide housing and services to those who are homeless and to prevent others from becoming homeless,” Hubbard said. “We will do this by making Fresno the most competitive, most attractive city in California for affordable housing development, mental health services, and job training partnerships with local unions.”

“The current administration is ignoring the plight of our fellow citizens living on the streets, …” he added. “No one should be left behind, and we will work together to ensure everyone has a roof over their heads.”

Hubbard also focused on clean air and water, pledging to pursue policies “that will protect our water sources along with air quality not just for the wealthiest among us and to hold polluters accountable.”

Republicans dominate seat

Dyer, who was Fresno’s police chief for 18 years, has emphasized economic development in his first four-year term, which has been marked by upheaval from the COVID-19 pandemic.

His administration has continued a program dating to 2019 that has invested more than $53 million to convert a handful of former motels in a blighted central Fresno area, known as Motel Drive west of Highway 99, into homeless shelters and transitional housing.

Republicans have dominated the mayor’s office in Fresno for at least 30 years, since now-Assemblyman Jim Patterson won the first of his two terms as mayor in 1993. Patterson was followed by actor and former pro football player Alan Autry from 2001 to 2009, Ashley Swearengin from 2009 to 2017, Lee Brand from 2017 to 2021, and Dyer since 2021.

The last Democrat to hold the office was Karen Humphrey, a former television news anchor who served one term from 1989 to 1993.