Why Fresno’s new city attorney Andrew Janz says he’s done with politics — at least for now

Andrew Janz officially is Fresno’s new city attorney after the City Council on Thursday unanimously approved his contract.

The final approval comes about two weeks after the City Council emerged from an hours-long, special, closed-session meeting and made the announcement about his appointment.

Janz previously worked as a violent crimes prosecutor with Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.

Since then, Janz declined media interviews about the appointment but announced he was divesting from a political action committee he founded and helped run. Councilmember Garry Bredefeld on Thursday requested codifying language in Janz’s employment contract that would prohibit any future involvement with any PAC.

The news of Janz appointment raised many questions because of his previous political aspirations. Janz lost the race for Fresno mayor against current Mayor Jerry Dyer. He ran as a Democrat in that race, as well as when he challenged former Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare in 2018.

The Bee spoke with Janz on Thursday in the first interview he’s done since his appointment.

Janz declined to comment on Council President Nelson Esparza’s current criminal extortion case, which involves ex-City Attorney Doug Sloan and is being prosecuted by the District Attorney’s Office. Janz cited conflicts both with the city attorney’s office and the district attorney’s office.

The conversation below has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: What about the city attorney’s job piqued your interest? Were you looking to leave the district attorney’s office? What led you to throw your hat in the ring?

A: “I’ll start off by saying that working at the District Attorney’s Office has been an honor and a privilege. I’ve got to know many good, hard-working prosecutors and police officers that go out there everyday to serve and protect the community. It was a hard decision to leave that office.

“But I take public service very seriously. When I was asked, on multiple occasions, to apply for the city attorney position, initially, I said no. But when I was asked again and again, I began taking a more serious look. …

“Looking back on my previous campaign for mayor, clearly I have an interest in local politics. I have an interest in the city of Fresno succeeding. I love my city. I thought long and hard about it, and I thought that I could be a good fit for the position.

“This was really my next step in my journey as a public servant. I really wanted to have Fresno utilize my talents and my experience to really work to make Fresno a better place for everyone.

“I think that’s one of the common themes among all council members, including the mayor — is that we all love our city and we all want to see it become better than it is now. And so really, at the end of the day, it really came down to my desire to serve the community.”

Q: What is the learning curve going to be for you as you wade into municipal law, coming from prosecuting crimes?

A: “That’s a very fair question. There are a number of things that I want to say to this point.

“First of all, I want to go back to my academic training. I do have a master’s degree in public administration. When I was in graduate school, one of my focuses was on city planning and local governance. So I do have an academic background when it comes to municipal administration.

“In my experience in running for mayor, I became intimately familiar with how the city functions and operates. Wanting to run the fifth largest city in California, that was something that was very important that I do.

“Before becoming a prosecutor, I clerked for a district court judge in Nevada. She had a split docket where we handled both criminal and civil complaints. Many of the civil disputes and litigation involved local municipal governments. So I do have some experience as it pertains to some of the issues that are going to be facing the city, such as civil litigation and drafting contracts.

“I’d also point out that the largest unit within the city attorney’s office is code enforcement. That’s very similar to what I do as a prosecutor, in terms of law enforcement. There’s a set of rules that that entities in Fresno need to abide by, and there’s a code that you need to operate from. So that’s not very different at all from being a prosecutor in terms of applying state law to persons who might violate the Penal Code.

“The City Council is not hiring a legal researcher. They’re hiring a city attorney — a manager — somebody that’s going to have the leadership ability, but at the same time, understand complex legal theories. It’s having the ability to understand these complex legal theories and having to apply it on the fly, which is not easy to do. But as a prosecutor, I’m constantly being tested on the spot, in court, or elsewhere to come up with with legal answers to complex questions.

“Obviously, there’s going to be a learning curve. I have already began meeting with senior staff and also the interim city attorney. My quick observation is that the city attorney’s offices is a pretty well-oiled machine. There are good people who work very hard, who are committed to doing the right thing — ethical people. My job is going to be to lean on many of them to help me get up to speed in understanding the issues that are currently facing the city.”

Q: Let’s talk about politics a little bit. Can you say what this job means for you politically?

A: “As you’re aware, I’m divesting completely from the political action committee that I was a part of.

“This is what I told the council if I take this job. My intent is to be here long term. This isn’t a short term thing so I can run for another office. I’m here to do the right thing. I’m here to serve the community.

“When I walk through those doors, my politics, whatever they are, get checked at the door — just like they did at the District Attorney’s Office. Can you imagine District Attorney Smittcamp allowing me to be bringing politics into the workplace and enforcing the law? No, of course not. That never happened.

“So I’m going to continue to operate the same way as city attorney. Politics stop at the door. I work for the council. I represent the city, and that is going to be my my mission.”

Q: So does this mark the end of your political career?

A: For the time being? Yes, I think it does. I’m foreclosing a number of opportunities in terms of people always speculating about what am I going to run for next. I can tell you, here and now, I’m committed to this office and to this role.”

Q: Do you foresee yourself running for office again?

A: I don’t know. Time will tell. Again, I’m committed to this job right here, right now.

Q: Since you have ran in partisan races as a Democrat, do you think that perception in the community and among politicians will affect your ability to do the job as a nonpartisan city attorney?

A: “No, not at all. As you noticed today, I had a unanimous vote, including from a very conservative councilmember from northeast Fresno. I think that speaks volumes to my ability to do this job in a way that doesn’t involve politics. If I can convince Garry Bredefeld that I’m the right person for this job, someone that’s going to do it in a nonpartisan fashion, I think that I can win over others as well.”

Q: The last time you ran for office, you ran for mayor against Jerry Dyer. How do you think that’s going affect your ability to work together?

A: “I think that Mayor Dyer has been a great leader for our city. Since he’s taken over, I’ve made it a point, and I think he’s made it a point, too, for he and I to be in communication with each other and to be frank and honest with each other. I haven’t been shy about telling the mayor how I think about his job performance.

“In terms of a working relationship with him, that’ll be part of my responsibility — to give honest, frank, clear-eyed, legal advice in terms of moving his vision for the city forward.

“I do ultimately work for the council. I do not foresee any issues with me and the mayor being able to work well together.”

Q: You said at the end of the day that you work for the council, and they hired you and they can fire you. Sometimes the council and the mayor’s administration are at odds. The previous city attorney has mentioned that was difficult. How do you plan to navigate that?

A: “I think the one thing that I have that the prior city attorney didn’t have is a personal relationship with each and every one of the councilmembers outside of the work environment. I think that creates a good foundation for folks to work well together. I probably have a better understanding of where the individual members of the council come from, in terms of politics and and desires for the constituents that live within their districts.

“If you go back and look at the the job recruitment flier for the city attorney position, one of the things that stood out to me in what they were looking for was somebody with political acumen. I think my prior experience running for office, in particular mayor, is a huge asset to not only the council, but to the city attorney’s office. I’m going to be able to navigate those relationships while allowing the attorneys at the office to do the job that they signed up to do.”

Q: You talked about knowing the councilmembers personally outside of the city attorney role. Do you see your appointment as a political move by them?

A: No, not at all. I would again point to the fact that the most conservative member of the City Council voted to approve me a city attorney.

Q: The former city attorney and your previous boss, Lisa Smittcamp, shared some testy email exchanges and words. Plus, in commenting on your appointment, Lisa mentioned your experience in criminal law will help the city council follow the law. Do you think your appointment will help those relationships and smooth things over?

A: “Lisa and I have a have a great relationship. We’ve always had that type of relationship where we could be frank and upfront and honest with each other, even if we disagree.

“At the end of the day, as District Attorney, obviously, she was boss. So whatever she decided was the way that we were gonna go.

“I actually honestly envision a good working relationship with Lisa Smittcamp, and we’ve already begun to have preliminary conversations, and I hope to regularly meet with her to make sure that we’re in constant communication, especially in terms of those those criminal cases where we share jurisdiction.”

Q: Do you think politics will ever come between you and Lisa in your new role?

A: “If we’re talking in terms of my official capacity as city attorney, absolutely not. That is not my job.

“DA Smittcamp can run for office and have political views as she sees fit.

“I see my role as the opposite. I’m supposed to be impartial, unbiased, and really just try to mitigate risk for the city and give the council and the mayor the best legal advice possible. So, I think to answer your question: No.”

Q: Moving forward with the city attorney’s office, is there anything that you hope to accomplish, change or improve?

A: “I want to call attention to all the good work that the people do there at the city attorney’s office. This is everybody, including the folks who work under code enforcement, the staff and the attorneys. I really want to celebrate what they do for our community. I think that’s been lost, especially recently with everything that’s been going on. I want to make sure that the attorneys feel wanted and absolutely respected.

“In terms of my goals and working with the City Council, I want to make sure that we have an open-door policy to create a good working environment so we have and understand each other’s expectations.”

Q: One of the council members mentioned that you would be an asset working for the city in terms of litigation that comes up surrounding police misconduct. What are your thoughts on that?

A: “I have to get in and look at the books and look at the cases that we have. My understanding is that we farm out a lot of our use-of-force cases to other law firms. I want to see if there’s any way that we can potentially save the city some money litigating these cases.

“I think that my prior experience on use-of-force cases involving officers who fire their weapons will absolutely be an asset in determining legal risk factors moving forward with a potential case or settling it.”