Ashley Swearengin

Ashley Emile Swearengin (née Newton;[1] born May 24, 1972)[2][3] is an American politician who served as the 24th mayor of Fresno, California. She is Fresno's second female mayor. She was first elected in a run-off election in 2008 and was re-elected in 2012. Swearengin ran for State Controller in 2014.[4] After leaving the mayor's office, she became the president/CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation.[5]

Ashley Swearengin
24th Mayor of Fresno
In office
January 6, 2009 – January 3, 2017
Preceded byAlan Autry
Succeeded byLee Brand
Personal details
Born
Ashley Emile Newton

(1972-05-24) May 24, 1972
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpousePaul Swearengin
EducationCalifornia State University,
Fresno (BS, MBA)

Early life and education

Swearengin was born in Texas and raised in Arkansas. Her family moved to Fresno in 1987. She graduated from Fresno Christian High School[6] and subsequently attended California State University, Fresno.

Swearengin holds a Bachelor of Science (magna cum laude) and a Master of Business Administration (summa cum laude) from California State University, Fresno. Her husband, Paul, and she have two children, Sydney and Samuel.[7]

Early career

In 2000, she became Director of the Office of Community and Economic Development at California State University, Fresno.

In 2002, she co-founded the Regional Jobs Initiative (RJI), an industry-focused effort aimed at helping the unemployment in Fresno County. She served as the Chief Operations Officer.

In 2005, she became lead executive for the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, a group formed by Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Today, she serves as the deputy chair of the Partnership's board of directors.[8]

Mayor of Fresno

Elections

In 2008, she ran for Mayor 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]

Tenure

In her first week in office, she and Police Chief Jerry Dyer introduced Operation Monitor: designed to allow GPS tracking devices on registered sex 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. A USA Today listed Fresno among 10 cities that could follow Stockton and Vallejo into Chapter 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]

Other elections

In 2014, she ran for the office of California State Controller. She advanced to the general election, where she lost to Democrat Betty Yee, 54%-to-46%.[17]

Electoral history
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
2012 Fresno mayoral election[20]
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
2014 California State Controller election[21][22]
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
Democratic hold

References
  1. "Free Family Tree, Genealogy and Family History — MyHeritage".
  2. Dillard, Gabriel (May 30, 2012). "Fresno mayor marks highs, lows in 'State of City'". The Business Journal. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  3. Quiring, Suzanna (May 22, 2008). "Alumna fosters mayoral dreams". The Feather. Fresno Christian High School. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  4. "Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin plans bid for state controller". Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  5. Fresno Bee: Swearengin to head community foundation after Fresno mayoral term ends
  6. Ward, Austin. "News article | Auction nets $120k, sells out seats". The Feather. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  7. "Mayor | City of Fresno". Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  8. "Mayor | City of Fresno".
  9. "Ashley Swearengin for Mayor > PRIORITY ISSUES". Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
  10. "Our Campaigns — Fresno Mayor Race — Nov 04, 2008".
  11. "Our Campaigns — Fresno Mayor Race — Jun 05, 2012".
  12. "Fresno News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News". June 5, 2023.
  13. "Fresno News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News". June 5, 2023.
  14. "The Fresno Bee". Archived from the original on May 17, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  15. "Fresno, CA Economy at a Glance". Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  16. Harrison, Liz. "Mayor Swearengin: There's light at the end of the tunnel".
  17. "Ashley Swearengin". Ballotpedia.
  18. "RESULTS OF JUNE 3, 2008 STATEWIDE DIRECT PRIMARY ELECTION". Fresno County. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  19. "RESULTS OF NOVEMBER 4, 2008 PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL ELECTION". Fresno County. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  20. "Election Summary Report Presidential Primary Election Summary For Jurisdiction Wide, All Counters, All Races Fresno County Final Official Report". Fresno County. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  21. "Statement of Vote June 3, 2014, Statewide Direct Primary Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 4, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  22. "Statement of Vote November 4, 2014, General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
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