For too long, Fresno County has had too many problems go unsolved. Up against the current county supervisor, Nathan Magsig, is candidate Jennifer Cruz, who currently works as the manager of the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission’s LGBTQ Resource Center.
Cruz, who expressed extreme discontent with a variety of political issues such as status quo LGBTQ protections, labor inequality, and democratic procedures across the county, received several requests to run against Magsig because they are both in the same district.
“I love the job that I do, but… he went unchallenged in 2020 and there’s 123,000 registered voters in the district. He got 43,000 in 2020, unopposed…it was… about 15,000 more that showed up to vote in 2020 that did not vote for him.” – Cruz
In Cruz’s exclusive interview with the LGBTQ Fresno, she claimed that her first priority would be to let the voices be heard. She was especially disheartened by the limited speaking time and slots in the county meetings against the censoring of LGBTQ books and demonstrated a strong passion for strengthening democratic protections.
“My very first thing would be about the voice for the people. Change up this thing where they get to limit public comment to 20-30 minutes when it’s obvious that 100 people want to speak about an issue that is important to them.” – Cruz
Furthermore, Cruz believes that her unique history of collaboration with nonprofits—especially regarding LGBTQ and housing rights—best equips her to “solve problems that nobody else can or wants to solve.”
“It’s not as easy as ‘Here’s an apartment!’. But I think the fact that I’ve been in those spaces definitely helps as we move forward and start looking for a solution.” – Cruz
The difference between stances on LGBTQ rights between Cruz and Magsig is clear; from opposition to same sex marriage, book censorship, inclusive zoo night, to the flag policy implemented right before Pride month, Cruz has time and time again opposed Magsig’s policy decisions.
But beyond that, Cruz’s campaign aims to emphasize the voice of the people, claiming that Magsig’s unopposed candidacy last term has not been representative of the general public’s opinion, and that her history of nonprofit work has been far more impactful.
“With regard to the roads up Shaver [Lake], Millerton, [and] Friant, nothing happened for six years…The day that I pulled my nomination papers, he was posting on Facebook advocating to fix that…If you look at his record of advocacy and the work he’s done in six years and my record…the advocacy efforts on my part are superior.” – Cruz
LGBT Community Network is a non-profit organization. As part of our commitment to providing educational resources to the community, we may conduct interviews with political candidates. It is important to note that we do not endorse or oppose any political candidate for public office. The views expressed by candidates during interviews are their own, and the purpose of these interviews is to inform the public about the candidates’ positions on relevant issues.
