Will Andrew Janz Run for Mayor or Try Again for Congress?

Where does Andrew Janz go from here?

Janz, who ran against Devin Nunes for Congress in 2018 and lost, spoke with two of his former campaign staffers, Luke Colvard and Isaac Gudino, on the “Straight Ahead & to the Left” podcast on Spotify last week.

He said he had a meeting with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Washington to talk about challenging Nunes in 2020.

Will the Fresno County prosecutor run again?

“That’s something I continue to think about,” Janz said. “That remains to be seen.”

Janz: Taking Down Nunes Is Hard

He acknowledged the difficulty of defeating Nunes.

“The 22nd congressional district is a hard district for a Democrat to win,” Janz said, recapping his 2018 run. “I’m not sure this area is ready for a Democrat at this time.”

Janz is also thinking about a run for mayor.

“Yes, I am considering a possible run for mayor,” he told the hosts. “It’s one of the things I’m looking at. I have to do what is in the best interest in the community.”

Janz’s Twitter account noticeably has contained more tweets recently about city issues, such as the recent anti-panhandling ordinance.

I’m glad that this ill-conceived proposed ordinance failed. We should attack the root causes of homelessness, not punish good people who want to help those in need. https://t.co/1FqiPpxTHR

— Andrew Janz (@JanzAndrew) March 22, 2019

Janz Closely Follows City Issues

On the podcast, Janz took a shot at Mayor Lee Brand and his stance on November’s Measure P, the parks tax initiative.

“I have never seen a mayor go out there and actively campaign against something that would be so helpful to the community,” Janz said.

He also echoed a City Hall criticism uttered since the beginning of time, that developers have an oversized influence.

Perea: Blue Wave Could Lift Janz vs. Brand

But, does Janz have a chance against Brand? One man with experience seems to think so.

“If you look at his performance in north Fresno (during the 2018 election), he will do well,” said Henry R. Perea, who ran against Brand for mayor in 2016.

With an election featuring a competitive Democratic presidential primary in March 2020, that could also help Janz in what is officially (but not really) a nonpartisan race.

“With a Blue Wave, he has a shot. He will be competitive,” Perea said.

As for Perea, the former city councilman and county supervisor hasn’t ruled out a mayoral rematch with Brand.

Dinner with Devin

UPDATE, 3/22/2019, 4:40 p.m.: the Fresno County GOP has rescheduled its fundraising dinner with Devin Nunes as the keynote speaker as described below, confirmed by party chairman Fred Vanderhoof. He did not provide a reason why, or the reschedule date. The Fresno Bee first reported the story. A tweet from the county party cite “security reasons.”

Due to security reasons, our Lincoln Reagan Dinner will be rescheduled.

— Fresno County Republican Party (@FresnoCountyGOP) March 22, 2019

The following item on Congressman Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) will be pun-free.

After filing a lawsuit against Twitter and some of its users critical of him, the Valley congressman will deliver the keynote address to the Fresno County Republican Party Lincoln Reagan Dinner on April 11.

Already, social media users are urging protestors to dress up as bovines to protest the event at Pardini’s. Among the parody Twitter accounts cited in Nunes’ lawsuit was one called “Devin Nunes’ cow.”

Citing security concerns, the party says the dinner and speech will be closed to the press.

What does the state party think? Matt Fleming, a party spokesman and former journalist, sent Politics 101 this statement:

“All county parties are autonomous and can have whatever events and invite whomever they want. As you know, fundraisers on all sides of the political spectrum are often closed to the press, so this is nothing new. When I was a journalist, I was shut out of a Barack Obama fundraiser in west Los Angeles, along with many other reporters. Having said that, Congressman Nunes is a great speaker and it sounds like it’ll be an amazing event.”

While the menu has not been released, undoubtedly beef will be an option.

Nunes appeared at a fundraiser with GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) on Monday (March 18) at Harris Construction in Fresno. They raised funds for a “Take Back the House fundraiser. Tickets ranged from $1,000 to $10,000.

Nunes’ Skin

Many people are ridiculing Nunes for having thin skin, including Steven Colbert of “The Late Show.”

I will now share what I know about how Nunes reacts to criticism.

Back in 2013, I produced “The Bill Manders Program” on PowerTalk 96.7. Bill was outraged over Nunes’ support of an NSA program that collected metadata on American citizens’ phone records. You can hear that interview below.

Nunes joined the show and Bill let him have it. The congressman refused to appear on future shows.

It got so bad, PowerTalk management arranged a private meeting with Nunes, his chief of staff, Manders, and myself to clear the air.

Nunes felt he was treated unfairly, but reiterated he had thick skin.

So, there. That proves beyond a shadow of a doubt the depth of Nunes’ epidermis.

Davis Fined by FPPC

The state agency in charge of enforcing campaign finance law fined a Fresno Unified trustee.

The Fair Political Practices Commission penalized Davis $968 for failing to file four reports — two reports that needed to be filed within 24 hours, and two reports that failed to list $12,000 in contributions covering a longer period of time.

Davis said it was a matter of adapting to new technology.

“I always filed by paper. Now, the state requires electronic filings,” Davis said. She has since hired a professional company to assist her.

 

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