◼ Oakland Tribune editorial: Ashley Swearengin is best choice for state controller
When it comes to viable candidates for statewide office the California Republican Party has been in decline for the better part of two decades. Simply put, the GOP has nominated candidates who do not appeal widely to the electorate, which explains why California has exactly zero Republicans serving in such offices.
But in this year's election -- the first for statewide races under the state's new primary system -- it appears that dynamic is changing somewhat.
We have already detailed our support for Republican secretary of state candidate Pete Peterson. He is an impressive candidate whom we believe has both the qualifications and the voter appeal to win the job and the skills to flourish in it.
Now comes a similarly impressive candidate for another statewide post. Republican Ashley Swearengin, the current mayor of Fresno, is our choice to be California's next controller. She is a well-informed, straight-talking breath of fresh air.
While controller is one of the least-understood offices in the state, we believe it is one of the most important. The controller essentially is charged with serving as an independent advocate for responsible state finances and financial practice.
Swearengin is well suited to such a task. She not only knows numbers -- and she very much does -- she also knows how those number affect people. She has seen it first hand....
◼ Ashley Swearengin for state controller - Orange County Register
The race for state controller pits Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, a Republican, against Democrat Betty Yee, a member of the state Board of Equalization. The Press-Enterprise concludes Mayor Swearengin is the better choice for the office.
One of only five “strong” mayors of California’s nearly 500 cities, Ms. Swearengin functions, effectively, as Fresno’s CEO. And, during her tenure, she has transformed a city that was slouching toward bankruptcy into a fiscal success story.
Indeed, only two weeks into her first mayoral term, Ms. Swearengin learned that her city was facing a staggering $120 million deficit. It was the product of a structurally imbalanced budget, which the city addressed by borrowing from itself, leaving a number of city funds with negative balances that had to be paid back.
So dire were the financial straights in which Fresno found itself, Time magazine in 2013 included California’s fifth-largest city on its ignominious “Bankruptcy Watch List.”
Under Ms. Swearengin’s leadership, Fresno instituted a “fiscal sustainability program,” which entailed a painful downsizing in city staff and unavoidable reductions in certain city services.
But the program proved successful. Not only did Fresno avoid the fate of such cities as San Bernardino and Stockton, which plunged into bankruptcy, it also produced a balanced budget for the 2014 fiscal year.
So Ms. Swearengin doesn’t just talk the talk about being a “responsible steward” of the public’s tax dollars – like all too many politicians on the campaign trail – she has actually walked the walk during her tenure as Fresno’s chief executive.... ◼ KEEP READING
◼ WEB: http://www.ashleyforca.com
