One of the hardest working members of the Fresno City Council wants another term serving the City. Councilman Lee Brand announced today (2/1) he plans to run for re-election for the Fresno City Council District Six seat. Brand has represented the northeast Fresno district for the past three years. He hit the ground running after taking office in January of 2009... authoring several major pieces of legislation for the City. Those measures include the Better Business Act, the Taxpayer Protection Act, and the Transparency in City Government Act.
Brand told me he expects Fresno's fiscal and budget challenges to continue into his next term... if re-elected. He says the Council will receive a mid-year budget update in a few weeks that will contain more bad news like a significant drop in property tax revenue. Brand also believes he and his fellow Council members will have to deal with a number of budget "band aid fixes" taken in the past that will need permanent solutions.
Brand released this statement with his announcement regarding the City's future:
"The past three years have been very challenging for the City. I will continue to work with the Mayor and other Council members to maintain core services and find solutions for complex issues."
The Councilman also released a large and impressive bi-partisan list of elected and community leaders who have endorsed his candidacy. The list includes all the current Council members except Blong Xiong and Mayor Swearengin. Brand told me he expects Xiong and the Mayor to endorse his re-election, but he hasn't had time to talk with them yet regarding it.
At this time, Brand appears to have no serious contenders for his job. Brand admits he was considering a run for Fresno Mayor this year, but decided against it. However, he still has his eye on the Mayor's City Hall office. He's not ruling out a campaign for Mayor in 2016.
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