Ashley Swearengin

Ashley Swearengin (born 1972) is the Mayor of Fresno, California and is Fresno's second female mayor. She was elected in a runoff election on November 4, 2008. Born in Texas and raised in Arkansas, she moved to Fresno with her family in 1987. Swearengin is an alumna of Fresno Christian High School^[1] and California State University, Fresno.^[2]

Swearengin campaigned on the four "priority issues" of Jobs and Education; Safe, Quality Neighborhoods; Effective and Responsive Government; and Regional Leadership.^[3]

Swearengin's husband, Paul Swearengin, is a popular radio personality in the Central Valley. He is the host of the Paul Swearengin sports show on KFIG 1430, Fresno's local ESPN Radio station.^[4] On the day his wife took office, he joked, "They're gonna be swearin' in Swearengin!"

In March 2012, Ashley Swearengin announced that the City was likely to go bankrupt because of decisions made under her watch, as the Central Valley has seen recent fast paced recovery while Fresno lags behind other major cities.^[5] Ashley Swearengin has also been heavily criticized for giving three pay raises to Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer, including one in which he retired and then was immediately hired back with a pay raise of $10,000 per year.^{[6] [7]}

The unemployment level of the city of Fresno is at 17% which makes economic development as one of the top priorities of Mayor Swearengin. Over the last decade, many of the family-owned headquartered businesses in the Fresno area, as they’ve needed to expand the operation, have gone outside of Fresno. A big driver has been the power cost; not having any tools to try and lower the power cost.

Mayor Swearengin is currently working with PG&E to solve this issue to improve the city's economic development.^[8]

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