By Francisco Ramirez

The City of Avenal’s decision to move forward with its own fire department is more than just a local government decision. In my opinion, it is a powerful example of leadership, independence, and a city choosing to put its own residents first.

I want to say this clearly: I am proud of the four Avenal City Council members, including the mayor, who stepped up to the plate during a difficult and politically charged moment. They made a decision that was not easy. They faced opposition, criticism, and pressure from people who did not believe Avenal could successfully move forward with its own fire service.

Today, Avenal has a fire truck. Avenal has firefighters. Avenal has taken real steps toward building its own fire department.

That matters.

For months, the public narrative surrounding this issue painted a very different picture. Residents were told, directly or indirectly, that Avenal was not capable of creating a legitimate fire department. There were claims and concerns that the city would end up with something inadequate, even the idea that Avenal would be left relying on a water truck instead of a real fire response system.

In my opinion, that narrative was unfair, misleading, and damaging.

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Part of that narrative was especially disrespectful. Opponents mocked the idea of Avenal starting its own fire department by suggesting it would be nothing more than two volunteer firefighters, a water truck, and a hose. In my opinion, that was not just criticism. It was an attempt to make the city look incapable before it even had the chance to prove itself.

There was even a cartoon circulated by the opposition showing two men, portrayed as volunteer firefighters, with a water truck and a hose. The message was clear: they wanted people to laugh at the idea of Avenal building its own fire department.

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But Avenal is proving that narrative wrong.

The city has a fire truck. The city has firefighters. The city is moving forward with real fire protection for its own residents. So when people look back at the jokes, cartoons, and fear-based messaging, I hope they also look at what actually happened. Avenal did not fold. Avenal moved forward.

Let me be clear about something important. I support county firefighters. I respect the work they do, the risks they take, and the service they provide. This article is not an attack on firefighters or their families. County firefighters deserve support, resources, and respect.

But county firefighters are county employees, and the county should be responsible for taking care of them long term. That burden should not be placed on a city that is trying to take care of its own residents, its own budget, and its own future.

That is the core issue.

Avenal had every right to ask whether its residents would be better served by having their own fire department. Avenal had every right to decide that its tax dollars and public safety resources should be focused on its own community. That is not anti-firefighter. That is responsible local government.

Of course, are there going to be hiccups? Absolutely. There are always going to be hiccups when something new is being built. Rome was not built in a day. Avenal will have to work out the kinks, just like any city, business, organization, or person has to do when they are building something from the ground up.

That does not mean the decision was wrong. It means the process is real. It means the work is happening. It means the city is building something that takes time, patience, leadership, and commitment.

Unfortunately, the conversation became political. In my opinion, Richard Valle helped push a narrative that Avenal was incapable of developing its own fire department. That message spread, and eventually, some firefighter family members and community members began repeating the same concerns.

But the facts on the ground now tell a different story.

Avenal is moving forward. The city has fire equipment. The city has firefighters. The city is proving that it was capable of doing what critics said it could not do.

That is why the recall effort against these council members is so disappointing to me.

I know what it feels like to be recalled. I have been through that process myself. When my recall moved forward, I signed the paperwork allowing it to proceed. The city council approved the recall process, even though I was the one who would appear on the ballot. I did that because I believed that if the process was valid, the people had the right to vote.

That is how the process should work.

But in Avenal’s case, I believe these council members were not treated with the same level of fairness. From what I understand, concerns were raised early on about whether some of the recall information was accurate. Yet the process continued after county involvement. In my opinion, that raises serious questions about whether Avenal’s own local leadership was truly respected in this process.

This is where my frustration comes from.

To me, this was never only about fire service. This was also about control. It was about whether Avenal had the right to make its own decision for its own residents, or whether outside political pressure would be used to keep the city tied to a system that benefited the county.

I said a long time ago, in a previous article, that if Avenal moved forward with its own fire department, the county would lose money. That was one of the main reasons I believed the county was pushing so hard against Avenal’s decision.

Now, as of last week, the county has moved forward with a hiring freeze. In my opinion, that proves the point I made earlier. When Avenal chose to keep its resources focused on its own community and move forward with its own fire department, the county lost money it had been depending on.

To me, this shows that the issue was never only about fire service. It was also about the county budget.

Another example, in my opinion, is how Richard Valle responded after the City of Avenal moved forward with its fire service transition.

On his Facebook page, he posted information from a letter sent by Avenal City Manager Antony Lopez to the Kings County Fire Chief. The letter stated that effective June 11, 2026, at 0800 hours, the City of Avenal would assume responsibility for fire service operations within the city through the Avenal Fire Department, established under Avenal Ordinance No. 2025-03.

The letter also stated that beginning June 1, 2026, the Avenal Fire Department would begin responding to and assuming primary responsibility for single-engine fire and emergency incidents within the incorporated boundaries of Avenal during the initial transition period.

Richard posted it under the banner of “full transparency.”

But to me, true leadership would have looked different.

A true leader could have said, “We may have disagreements, but at the end of the day, I want what is best for the community. I congratulate the City of Avenal on moving forward with its vision to protect its residents.”

But that is not what happened.

There was no congratulations. There was no acknowledgment of the city’s vision. There was no recognition that Avenal was moving forward with what critics said it could not do.

And just as important, there was no recognition of the newly formed Avenal Fire Department or the Avenal firefighters who are stepping up to serve their community.

If someone says they support firefighters and public safety, then that support should include the men and women now serving through the Avenal Fire Department. They are also public safety. They are also on the front lines. They are also the people who will be responding when families in Avenal need help.

That is what a leader should acknowledge, even when there are disagreements.

To me, it should not matter whether they are county firefighters or city firefighters. If they are putting on the uniform, answering calls, and trying to protect their community, they deserve respect.

Wouldn’t a true leader want the best outcome for the community, regardless of whether the decision went their way? Wouldn’t someone who says they represent the people want to see the community succeed, even after a disagreement?

That is where I struggle with the way this issue has been handled. In my opinion, this was never treated like a sincere debate about public safety. It felt more like a political fight to control the narrative.

And truth be told, based on conversations I have had with residents, many people feel that some leaders only show up when there is a photo opportunity. That is not the kind of leadership Avenal needed during this moment.

Again, the problem is not the firefighters. The problem is a county system that should be taking care of its own fire department instead of relying on cities to help carry that responsibility.

I also want to address something personal, because I believe transparency matters.

I am ashamed to say that Richard Valle was once someone I considered a friend. When I was very young and first getting into politics, he reached out to me. At the time, he wanted to give me guidance, political advice, and all the usual political talk that comes with campaigns.

But when I ran for supervisor as a young candidate, I did not want his support. I lost that race, but I lost on my own merits. I did not want to owe anybody favors. I did not want to have it in the back of my mind that I owed someone politically. That is not who I am.

I should have recognized more back then. It is strange when you see someone in the media or on social media, and then you realize that the public image is not the same as the person you experienced privately. That is my personal opinion based on my own experience.

I was never in this to make myself look good. I never cared about that. For me, it has always been about the community. I have always tried to be as transparent as I can, even when it was not politically convenient.

And I will be honest, I do not even like the word politician anymore. It has become such a negative word to so many people. I am older now, and I have been around politics long enough to know how the system works. But I do not see myself as someone who is here to play political games. I see myself as a voice for the people, or at least someone who tries to speak up when something does not feel right.

That is why I am disappointed by what I believe happened to Avenal.

In my opinion, Richard helped create and push a narrative that hurt this community. He made people believe Avenal could not stand on its own. He made people question whether the city had the ability, leadership, or resources to create its own fire department. And now Avenal is proving that narrative wrong.

I also believe the public conversation was controlled in ways that were unfair. At the time, I raised concerns about opposition voices being blocked on Richard Valle’s Facebook page. In my opinion, when an elected official uses a public-facing social media page to discuss public issues, blocking opposing voices raises serious legal and ethical concerns.

I wrote about it. I brought attention to it. I personally went to the grand jury and stated my case. I gave them the evidence I had. After that, the page appeared to open up more and allow more people to comment. To me, that showed how important it is to challenge public officials when they try to control the narrative instead of allowing the public to speak freely.

That is one of the biggest problems I saw throughout this situation. It felt like one side of the story was being pushed while other voices were being limited or dismissed.

And when that happens, the public does not get the full picture.

I saw a similar issue when I served on the Hanford City Council. Hanford had a mutual aid agreement with the county. We respected the county fire department, but we also had to look at our responsibility to Hanford residents. At some point, a city has to decide that its first responsibility is to its own people.

That is what Avenal did.

The council members who supported this fire department decision understood that their job was to protect Avenal residents first. They understood that the city needed to build something sustainable for its own future. They understood that leadership sometimes means making a decision that is unpopular in the moment, but right in the long run.

That takes courage.

It is easy to follow the system. It is easy to avoid controversy. It is easy to let outside pressure dictate local decisions. But it takes real leadership to stand firm and say, “We are going to do what is best for our community.”

That is what I believe these Avenal leaders did.

And because they challenged the system, they are now facing the political consequences.

In my opinion, history will be much kinder to them than the current political moment has been. Twenty or thirty years from now, someone may look back at this situation and realize that these leaders were willing to take the hit because they believed in their community.

Right now, I believe they deserve credit.

To the Avenal leaders who stood firm, thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for putting your community first, even when it was not easy.

This recall should not be seen as proof that nobody supported you. Many people saw the vision. Many people understood what you were trying to do. Many people know that Avenal had the right to stand on its own and build its own fire department.

Congratulations to the City of Avenal for having the mindset, the vision, and the courage to move forward.

In my opinion, Avenal made the right decision. And I believe history will show that.