Ashley Swearengin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 24th Mayor ofFresno | |
| In office January 6, 2009 – January 3, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Alan Autry |
| Succeeded by | Lee Brand |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ashley Emile Newton (1972-05-24)May 24, 1972 (age 53) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Paul Swearengin |
| Education | California State University, Fresno (BS,MBA) |
Ashley Emile Swearengin (néeNewton;[1] born May 24, 1972)[2][3] is an American politician who served as the 24th mayor ofFresno, California. She is Fresno's second female mayor. She was first elected in arun-off election in2008 and was re-elected in2012. Swearengin ran forState Controller in 2014.[4] After leaving the mayor's office, she became the president/CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation.[5]
Swearengin was born in Texas and raised inArkansas. Her family moved to Fresno in 1987. She graduated fromFresno Christian High School[6] and subsequently attendedCalifornia State University, Fresno.
Swearengin holds aBachelor of Science (magna cum laude) and aMaster of Business Administration (summa cum laude) from California State University, Fresno. Her husband, Paul, and she have two children, Sydney and Samuel.[7]
In 2000, she became director of the Office of Community and Economic Development atCalifornia State University, Fresno.
In 2002, she co-founded the Regional Jobs Initiative (RJI), an industry-focused effort aimed at helping the unemployment inFresno County. She served as thechief operations officer.
In 2005, she became lead executive for the California Partnership for theSan Joaquin Valley, a group formed by RepublicangovernorArnold Schwarzenegger. Today, she serves as the deputy chair of the partnership's board of directors.[8]
In 2008, she ran forMayor of Fresno, California.Alan Autry, who had served as Mayor for two full terms, endorsed Swearengin as his successor before he left office under California term limit rules. Swearengin campaigned on the four "priority issues" of Jobs and Education; Safe, Quality Neighborhoods; Effective and Responsive Government; and Regional Leadership.[9] She defeated Henry T. Perea 54%-45%.[10]
In 2012, she won re-election to a second term with 75% of the vote, defeating four other candidates.[11]
In her first week in office, she andPolice ChiefJerry Dyer introduced Operation Monitor: designed to allowGPS tracking devices on registeredsex offenders after being released on parole.[12] She inherited a difficult budget shortfall. She stated "I don't think anybody thought that within an 11 month window we'd have to close a $55 million dollar budget shortfall. When I started this job the general fund was $255 million dollars. So a $55 million dollar hole is significant for an organization of our size."[13]
In March 2012, Ashley Swearengin announced that the City was facing a fiscal emergency because of the state's continued economic troubles combined with high cost contracts for certain segments of the city's labor force. AUSA Today listed Fresno among 10 cities that could followStockton andVallejo intoChapter 9 bankruptcy.[14]
The unemployment level of the city of Fresno was 12.5% in August 2013, having fallen from 17% since Mayor Swearengin came into office.[15] She proposed a plan called "Fresno's First Steps Home," which will battle chronic homelessness in the city.[16]
In2014, she ran for the office ofCalifornia State Controller. She advanced to the general election, where she lost toDemocratBetty Yee, 54%-to-46%.[17]
| 2008 Fresno mayoral election[18][19] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | First round | Runoff | ||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Ashley Swearengin | 15,410 | 27.11 | 72,784 | 54.35 |
| Henry Perea | 15,626 | 27.49 | 54.35 | 45.40 |
| Jerry Duncan | 6,495 | 11.43 | ||
| Jeff L. Eben | 5,572 | 9.80 | ||
| Tom Boyajian | 5,286 | 9.30 | ||
| Mike Dages | 4,601 | 8.09 | ||
| Doug Vagim | 1,226 | 2.16 | ||
| Barbara Ann Hunt | 1,089 | 1.92 | ||
| Henry M. Montreal | 682 | 1.20 | ||
| Jim Boswell | 533 | 0.94 | ||
| Ignacio C. Garbibay | 256 | 0.45 | ||
| Write-ins | — | — | 336 | 0.25 |
| Total | — | — | 140,192 | 100 |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley Swearengin (incumbent) | 39,342 | 74.80 | |
| Barbara Ann Hunt | 4,545 | 8.64 | |
| Joe Garcia, Jr. | 3,758 | 7.14 | |
| Rick Morse | 2,389 | 4.54 | |
| Richard Renteria (write-in) | 11 | 0.02 | |
| Other write-ins | 248 | 0.47 | |
| Total votes | 52,598 | ||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Ashley Swearengin | 1,001,473 | 24.79 | |
| Democratic | Betty Yee | 878,195 | 21.74 | |
| Democratic | John Pérez | 877,714 | 21.73 | |
| Republican | David Evans | 850,109 | 21.05 | |
| Green | Laura Wells | 231,352 | 5.73 | |
| Democratic | Tammy D. Blair | 200,532 | 4.96 | |
| Turnout | 4,039,375 | 13.68 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Betty Yee | 3,810,304 | 53.97 | |
| Republican | Ashley Swearengin | 3,249,668 | 46.03 | |
| Total votes | 7,059,972 | 100 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 24th Mayor ofFresno 2009–2017 | Succeeded by |
