Ex-Bitwise executive, downtown entrepreneur lands key Fresno job. Is there a conflict?

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer tapped a downtown Fresno entrepreneur and former Bitwise executive for a key staff position to oversee downtown Fresno revitalization efforts.

In September, Jordan Sanchez was hired as a deputy chief of staff for the Dyer administration, where she oversees revitalizing downtown Fresno and Chinatown. Her position with the city is a critical one: Fresno is expected to receive $300 million in state grant funding to invest in downtown infrastructure to attract more residents and spur economic activity.

But Sanchez’s personal business interests downtown could raise questions about her role with the city. She owns businesses and real estate in the downtown area, including a photography studio and a recently opened gelato shop near Fulton Street, a major downtown corridor that will benefit from the state funding.

“I’m heavily involved” Sanchez told The Fresno Bee in August, before she started the job. Sanchez and city of spokesperson Sontaya Rose did not respond to The Bee’s initial request for comment on Feb. 1 for this story. But Rose provided an email statement Friday describing Sanchez’s role with the city.

“In Jordan’s role at the City of Fresno, she serves as a staff member who executes the directives of policy makers and directors. Her responsibilities do not include decision making. Instead, she focuses on implementing and managing projects for which funding was secured prior to her joining staff,” Rose said in the Friday statement.

And while she won’t be a decision-maker on the downtown and Chinatown revitalization efforts — any major expenditures will go before the council for vote — she will likely be making recommendations and suggestions on the multi-million dollar investments.

Sanchez earns an annual city salary of $109,700.

District 3 Councilmember Miguel Arias, whose district includes downtown, said its important for the city to be cautious in moving forward with downtown development.

“Given the historic investment by the State in our downtown, the history of frivolous lawsuits by downtown developers and the fraud of Bitwise, it is fair for the public to expect downtown infrastructure plans and decisions are free of financial conflict of interests by city staff and private interests,” he said via text message to The Bee.

Arias said that when he learned of Sanchez’s appointment on Aug. 28, he requested the administration have the city attorney’s ethics attorney vet her conflicts specific to downtown.

On March 11, Sanchez filed her latest statement of economic interest with the city clerk’s office, city records show.

In response to questions about potential conflicts of interest, Andrew Janz, city attorney, said in an email to The Bee that “the City will continue to abide by all federal, state, and local rules that govern potential conflicts of interest that may involve City projects and City staff.”

Entrepreneur ‘heavily involved’ in downtown

Prior to joining the city administration, Sanchez served as the director of real estate acquisition of Fresno technology company Bitwise Industries, email records obtained by The Bee show.

The former co-CEOs of Bitwise are facing federal wire fraud charges after a federal investigation revealed in November they were running an “unsustainable ponzi scheme.”

Sanchez, who grew up on a Clovis farm, has long been plugged into the downtown Fresno revival efforts. She previously served on the boards of the Lowell Community Development Corporation and the Downtown Fresno Foundation, according to the city website.

In addition to her role at Bitwise, Sanchez also served as the former interim CEO and executive director of the Downtown Fresno Partnership from December 2022 to March 2023, according to her profile on the professional networking site, LinkedIn.

She also runs businesses in the downtown area. She co-owns a gelato shop in downtown Fresno’s Warnors Theater, which she opened with business partner Tami Waters last year.

She owns the J Street Studios photography space in the Pacific Southwest building on Fulton Street, a building owned by downtown developer Sevak Khatchadourian. For years, Sanchez also ran multiple Airbnb short-term rental spaces in downtown and the Lowell neighborhood area with her now-ex-husband. In November, The Bee identified that Sanchez was still listed as a co-host of a number of properties on Airbnb. As of March, she no longer appears to host these properties.

Expert weighs in

Naomi Bick, an expert in public policy and local government expert at Fresno State, said in an interview with The Bee that business people can be really good at building relationships with government.

As with any elected or appointed official, Bick said Sanchez “would have to refrain from participating in decisions that she would have a financial interest in.” (Sanchez is an at will employee and “key staff” in Dyer’s administration.)

For example, “she can’t give an easier process to her own block that maybe she had a business on or something like that,” Bick said.

As long as the city attorney is keeping an eye on potential conflicts, Bick said there shouldn’t be any concerns.

Arias said he “will continue to closely monitor potential conflicts and ensure State and City funds are used as intended.”

He anticipates the first major vote for downtown infrastructure spending will go before the council next month.