Deputy Mayor Jeff Eben confirmed today that he will be a candidate for mayor next year. After an editorial board meeting on another subject, Eben told me that he will formally announce on Dec. 6. He will be the seventh candidate in the race to succeed Mayor Alan Autry.
Eben, 46, has moved to Fresno from Clovis and said he doesn't think his residency will be an issue. He has lived most of his life in Fresno, he said, and has only lived in Clovis the past eight years. "I have been an active part of the Fresno community," he said.
He said providing strong leadership will be a main tenet of his campaign, with these four cornerstones: public safety, jobs. the environment and education.
Here's today's news story about Jim Boswell, a Fresno businessman getting into the mayor's race. The other announced candidates are Fresno City Council Members Mike Dages, Jerry Duncan and Henry T. Perea, former council member Tom Boyajian, and Ashley Swearengin, chief executive officer of the Regional Jobs Initiative.
Here is my most recent column on the mayor's race. I also wrote this column earlier about the campaign.
The primary election is in June and the top two vote-getters will be in a runoff next November. Autry can't run for re-election because of term limits.
O Joy! Now if we can only get "Evil Eye" Finkle to fix his lethal gaze on Fresno’s mayoral race and hex it real good.....!
So Jeff Eben moved from Clovis to Fresno so he can run for mayor. How convenient when he earlier said he wasn't running. Why would we want a mayor who couldn't even keep his job with Clovis Unified School District? Is this happening because Autry wants to keep his fingers on the pulse of Fresno Politics?
I question if Mr. Eben has the health to run for mayor let alone be employed as an a assistant to the current Fresno City Mayor. This questioning comes from Mr. Eben's resignation statement when he retired from Clovis Unified School District. That quote:
All my friends in CUSD,
I guess I'm not as tough as I thought...my health is forcing me to retire earlier than I expected. Since I've been coming to CUSD since Kindergarten, this feels very weird. It would be wrong, though, to leave without saying thanks. Many of you are part of my personal journey, and I'm really grateful the people who have helped me carve out a nice life. I've been given many opportunities, and I leave appreciative. Mostly though, I am so proud to have spent my life in Clovis and I want to remind you of how lucky we are to be here. I hope you all protect our district, it's such a good place to call home. I'll continue to tell the Clovis story out in the world, and I hope you keep celebrating the wins that we come across every day....
For 40 years, been Feelin' The Love......later.
Jeff