California Attorney General and Secretary of State files lawsuit against Fresno County

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Sacramento files a lawsuit against Fresno County challenging the recently passed initiative known as “Measure A.”

The State says this measure bypasses a state law that moved these elections to presidential election cycles.

The city is working with the state to strike down the measure.

Fresno County says Sacramento should stay out of county business.

“I think the county wants to keep it the way that it has traditionally been, because what the assembly bill is the one that changed it. It granted the D.A. and the sheriff a one-time extension of two years,” Lisa Smittcamp, Fresno County District Attorney said.

In 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an Assembly Bill that changed the California election code to move District Attorney and Sheriff elections to presidential election cycles.

The state says voter turnout for those elections is higher, and getting an inclusive sampling of voters deciding on top county law enforcement is in the public interest.

Opponents say not so fast, they contend that important local contests get buried in the clutter of presidential elections.

Last year Fresno County supervisors voted to put Measure A on the March ballot, moving the District Attorney and Sheriff’s election to less noisy election cycles, and Fresno County voters agreed.

Last March Measure A was passed by 55% of county voters.

Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp and Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni say the voters have spoken.

“People say to me all the time, well, why wouldn’t you just want to keep your job for two more years? Why would you want to have to run? And I don’t want to have to run. And what I like about is two years. Sure, that would be great for Lisa in the short term, and it would be great for John Zanoni in the short term. But the long-term effects for the county are really what we have to think about.” Smittcamp said.

D.A. Smittcamp says the Board of Supervisors did the right thing by letting voters make the final call.

“They put it to the vote of the people. Then the people in Fresno said, no, we want to keep it on the gubernatorial and that’s where it should stay,” Smittcamp said.

Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni says the noise from presidential contests distracts local voters trying to decide key issues.

“As you can see right now with the presidential election that’s going on, people lose focus on local issues. I mean, you could see that. I mean, the media is bombarded with, you know, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, and people need to listen to what the issues are locally. They need to hear from those that are either elected or running for these positions,” Sheriff Zanoni said.

He says voters have spoken and that should be the end of it.

“It passed by the vote of the people. I was not out campaigning one way or the other. I didn’t spend any money to try to get people to vote to keep it for years. I didn’t do anything. I let the people make that decision,” Sheriff Zanoni said.

City Attorney Andrew Janz supports Attorney General Rob Bonta’s lawsuit, striking Measure A.

He says the city of Fresno has a vital interest in Sacramento’s lawsuit succeeding.

“I don’t see it that way. You know, just because the majority of Fresno residents voted for this, you know, we’re not sure how well they were educated on this on this piece of legislation,” Janz said.

While Fresno County officials feel that Measure A empowers voters, the City council wants to make sure the law is constitutional.

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