Published
2 years agoon
Fresno’s elected leaders are used to answering tough questions. But, picking between the Giants and Dodgers may be their toughest.
GV Wire asked the seven city council members and Mayor Jerry Dyer a simple question, Giants or Dodgers? When the question was posed, the legendary rivals were tied 1-1 in the best-of-five National League Divisional Series.
The Giants are now one victory away from advancing in the playoffs by virtue of a 1-0 win Monday night in Los Angeles. Evan Longoria supplied the game’s only run with a fifth-inning home run off Dodgers’ ace Max Scherzer.
Only half were willing to publicly share who they were pulling for.
For Dyer, it was one of the easier decisions. He’s Giants all the way. He even rattled off some of the favorite players of his youth like Tito Fuentes and Chris Speier of the early 1970s teams.
City Council President Luis Chavez was the only proclaimed Dodgers fan.
“I grew up watching Fernando Valenzuela as a kid and watched Kirk Gibson hit that home run in the World Series,” Chavez said of the 1980s Dodgers teams.
Councilmen Garry Bredefeld and Miguel Arias don’t agree on much. They did give similar answers, going completely off the board. Bredefeld picked the team of his youth, the Yankees. Arias picked the 49ers, doing his best to avoid giving an answer.
Their colleagues, Nelson Esparza and Mike Karbassi, obfuscated on their answers as well.
Esparza just wanted to cheer for a California team, but did say the division winner (the Giants) is more likely to win the National League pennant. Karbassi wanted whatever is best for the city’s minor league team, the Grizzlies.
“Whichever helps the Fresno Grizzlies get AAA status again,” Karbassi said.
Fresno State head football coach Kalen DeBoer may not have grown up in California, but he’s not immune to realizing the significance of the rivalry.
“You’re putting me on the spot now,” DeBoer answered, between questions about the Bulldogs at his weekly news conference. “I’m not even going to answer that.”
DeBoer said he listens to the games on radio while studying film.
“We’re kind of right in the middle. And that’s kind of right where I am at with my decision. I enjoy watching great teams,” said DeBoer, who grew up in South Dakota.
Curiosity drives David Taub. The award-winning journalist might be shy, but feels mighty with a recorder in his hand. He doesn't see it his job to "hold public officials accountable," but does see it to provide readers (and voters) the information needed to make intelligent choices. Taub has been honored with several writing awards from the California News Publishers Association. He's just happy to have his stories read. Joining GV Wire in 2016, Taub covers politics, government and elections, mainly in the Fresno/Clovis area. He also writes columns about local eateries (Appetite for Fresno), pro wrestling (Off the Bottom Rope), and media (Media Man). Prior to joining the online news source, Taub worked as a radio producer for KMJ and PowerTalk 96.7 in Fresno. He also worked as an assignment editor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, California, and KSEE-TV in Fresno. He has also worked behind the scenes for several sports broadcasts, including the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Super Bowl. When not spending time with his family, Taub loves to officially score Fresno Grizzlies games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue! You can contact David at 559-492-4037 or at Send an Email