Keeping bars open until 4 a.m. sounded good to Fresno mayor. Why he changed his mind

Citing “recent anxiety on a local level,” Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer has withdrawn the city from a proposed state pilot program that would have allowed some bars to remain open until 4 a.m.

In a letter dated Friday to state Senator Scott Wiener, Dyer said he reversed his decision to participate.

“I cannot let a divisive debate on this issue disrupt Fresno’s positive momentum on so many fronts — including our growing Downtown Fulton entertainment district, the small area that could have benefited under your bill,” Dyer said in the letter.

Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, authored Senate Bill 930, proposing the 4 a.m. pilot program in about half a dozen California cities, including Oakland, Cathedral City, Palm Springs, Coachella, West Hollywood and San Francisco.

News of Fresno’s participation was met with sharp criticism from Councilmember Garry Bredefeld, who took to Twitter last week, calling the proposal “stupidity.” Bredefeld also promised to fight the move, saying he would work with Councilmembers Tyler Maxwell and Miguel Arias to oppose the city’s involvement in the program.

“This effort to keep Fresno bars open until 4am from 2am is reckless and dangerous and Fresno Police will be burdened,” Bredefeld said on Twitter last week.

Bredefeld criticized Dyer for considering the pilot at all, but commended him for pulling his support. He, Maxwell and Arias will move forward with their resolution to formally oppose the bill.

“The mayor states he pulled his support for SB930 because it would have led to a ‘divisive debate’ and caused ‘anxiety on a local level,’” Bredefeld said. “In reality, what’s divisive is Mayor Dyer having supported a destructive bill by one of the most left-wing, radical, pro-criminal, and perverted Sacramento politicians that exists in Sacramento. Should it pass, the anxiety will be from our citizens fearing they or their families might be injured or killed by having more drunk drivers on our roads. The Mayor has now recognized how unwise it was to promote Fresno as a pilot City and I commend him for pulling his support.”

Maxwell said his top priority as a councilmember is safety for his constituents.

“The hard truth is that the city of Fresno has some of the highest rates of drunk driving and DUIs in our nation. We just allocated more money in this year’s budget to hire additional officers focused on keeping our streets safe,” Maxwell said. “It would be the wrong move for Fresno to usher in a policy that would not only incentivize reckless driving but also pull more officers away from neighborhoods.”

For his part, Dyer said he supported the idea because he hoped it would stimulate business in downtown Fresno. Dyer said he also liked that Fresno would be able to tailor the program to meet the city’s needs, including only extending last call hours on Friday and Saturday nights and limiting which bars could participate.

Critics said the idea could lead to more drunk driving in a city that averaged almost five DUI arrests a day last year.

Fresno once earned the dubious title of “America’s drunkest city,” and it ranks high on a national list for worst drunk driving.

According to a study by BuyAutoInsurance.com, Fresno was ninth on the top 10 list of American cities for worst drunken driving. The study noted that Fresno averages 648 DUI arrests per 100,000 residents and 1,148 arrests per year.