What's at stake?
A political newcomer is taking on an established, developer-backed incumbent.
Northwest Fresno residents will get an opportunity to elect their city councilmember between two choices in the upcoming March primary election – incumbent Mike Karbassi and challenger Matthew Gillian.
What’s at stake?
Karbassi currently serves as the Fresno City Council’s vice president. A victory would give Karbassi a second full term as city councilmember. He first came to the City Council in 2019 after an overwhelming victory in a special general election and ran unopposed the following year.
The race marks Gillian’s debut into politics.
Fresno’s District 2 is in the northwest region of the city and includes the Van Ness Extension, Highway City, Fig Garden, the River Bluffs, Central East High, and Pinedale neighborhoods.
The winner will face growing concerns over new development and housing in established northwest neighborhoods, while guiding the approval and implementation of the sweeping West Area Neighborhoods Specific Plan, estimated to bring 55,000 new homes to the neighborhoods west of 99.
Those challenges could reemerge in the coming years as a string of major projects comes before the Fresno City Council, including the Shaw Avenue/Highway 99 interchange proposal and what is expected to be the world’s biggest Costco currently planned to be built on Herndon and Riverside Drive.
What does a Fresno City Councilmember do?
The Fresno City Council makes decisions on the scope, direction and financing of city services, such as water, sewer, police and fire protection. It also establishes policy that is administered and implemented by city staff, as well as establishing land-use policies through the General Plan and zoning regulations.
Who is running for Fresno City Council, District 2?
Karbassi, the incumbent, refused to answer questions about his accomplishments or his priorities, if reelected.
Gillian, the challenger, was happy to share his plans for District 2 voters.
Matthew Gillian
Gillian is the founding director of Inspiration Transportation, a local nonprofit organization that provides transportation services using electric vehicles. Inspiration Transportation has been running since Gillian founded the organization in 2017.
Gillian has also been working as a self employed music and entertainment consultant since May 2009. His work history is primarily in the arts and music industry, with roles like stage technician at the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District, production manager for Sean Healy Presents and Silent Service Representative at LVMH.
Gillian is also a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union through his work in the arts industry. Gillian, a supporter of union workers, mentioned picketing alongside his mother who works at Fresno State during the recent one-day Cal State University workers’ strike.
Gillian is a Bullard High School alumnus who later attended New York University to study theater from 2000-2002. He finished his undergraduate studies at CSUN from 2002-2007, getting a bachelor’s degree in music business.
On affordable housing
Gillian expressed support, citing his own experience renting in northwest Fresno.
“We need mixed affordable housing,” Gillian said. “It’s a great opportunity to look at it as a way to use it for infill development as opposed to looking at sprawl, which is usually looking at mini mansions and whatnot, right?”
Gillian also acknowledged concerns local Fresnans have over the possibility of ever owning a house amid growing home prices.
“People want to own houses. They want to have the opportunity. Maybe it’s not a house, maybe it’s a condo,” Gillian said. “There are folks that are adamant about not wanting to purchase, but wanting to have access to options. So how do we look and get people, get different developers, planners and whatnot that are in this space that have a different perspective as opposed to the ones with the perspective we’ve been working from for 30 some years?”
Gillian is also in favor of rent control legislation, which city leaders, including Karbassi, have resisted. Karbassi was one of four property-owning councilmembers who faced criticism last year from advocates who said landlords shouldn’t be trusted to vote on the issue.
“It’s definitely imperative that we have some form of rent control, right?” Gillian said.
Gillian noted that he’d like to survey the city to see what form works best for both tenants and landlords.
“We have to look at how rent control plays into things like inflation, as well as the availability of what’s out there. If there’s not enough out there, rent control looks different,” Gillian said. “It’s kind of a combination of both of those things: affordable housing and rent control, how do those two things play together and how can we roll out a plan that makes sense specifically for Fresno.”
On climate and the environment
Gillian pointed to Earthships — “Fully sustainable homes that are off the grid,” he noted — as a viable solution for some of Fresno’s environmental issues. He cited a community in Taos, New Mexico as proof of concept for what he’d like to see in the city.
Gillian admired many of the Earthships’ capabilities, including “generating its own energy, collecting its own water and growing its own food.”
“What I’d like to see farther down the line is communities that are fully sustainable like that, where we have homes that are off the grid, with electric vehicle chargers in these communities that are hopefully community-access vehicles, because then we can look at community members not having to own multiple [Internal Combustion Engine] vehicles that are polluting our air,” Gillian added.
On labor and the economy
As a union member, Gillian said he supports the city’s use of project labor agreements.
“Builders and contractors that come in are finding any way to undercut their costs of doing things,” Gillian said. He believes the city should be finding “any way (to) ensure as a city that some of our main needs are done by qualified and decently paid employees that are taken care of.”
Gillian’s experience with union work gives him a positive perspective. He laments that union jobs and workers are questioned to begin with.
“It’s kind of unfortunate that…that is so political. How a union works with a city,” Gillian said.
On public transportation
Gillian said he opposes the pursuit of car-dependent, suburban expansion like the city’s proposed Southeast Development Area plan, and instead would like to see Fresno go after developments within city limits, either through vacant lots that already exist or by building vertically.
“I don’t think sprawl like SEDA is benefitting our city overall,” Gillian said.
Acknowledging what he said are developers’ desires to continue pursuing sprawl projects, Gillian said different developments should be considered equally.
“When things like that are proposed,” Gillian continued. “If they’re sprawling way out there, they need to balance that out with infill development, infill projects.”
On what motivated him to start his political career
Gillian said he was motivated to get into politics after his experiences working with Inspiration Transportation. He said his work in the nonprofit space helped educate him on how intrinsic Fresno politics are to everyday life.
“My past five years have been neck deep in politics: county politics, city politics, organizational politics,” Gillian noted, which he said put him “a little bit behind the city curtain.”
“You start to see how…meetings are run and how things are getting moved through, how decisions are made, community engagement.”
Gillian said connecting with the community through Inspiration Transportation helped him better understand how to help his would-be constituents.
“I know that district, I know how people move in that district, I know people’s energy,” Gillian said. “And I’m learning even more as I’ve been knocking on doors, not starting in the center of the district but the east and west side of that district where you have families that are struggling a bit more than the ones that are in the center.”
Along with his familiarity with District 2, Gillian cites his motivation to learn on the job as an asset to his potential constituents. Comfortable admitting his lack of political experience, he’s quick to draw what he feels are other differences between him and the developer-backed establishment candidate, Karbassi.
“From my personal point of view, I’m not beholden to any one person, any entity, any industry. What I have heard at the door is that folks aren’t quite sure where he stands on things,” Gillian said. “I make it quite clear where I stand on things, who I am, the type of person that I am. I welcome all constituents. I’m trying to talk to all constituents, groups of constituents so they can really get a feel for who I am. I think that is the main thing that differentiates me from the other guy — I am personable.”
On the Israel-Hamas conflict
Gillian attended multiple rallies with Fresnans calling for a ceasefire between the Israeli and Hamas military forces.
“In this day and age, as some of my opponent’s supporters have made very clear, I have been the person that has been out there standing in solidarity with folks in our community that are grieving over the loss of family members on the other side of the world,” Gillian said, “as opposed to antagonizing those folks that are feeling grief and pain.”
“And it’s not just the folks that are in this moment right now,” Gillian added. “Other folks throughout our community…folks that are on the wings of our district, they don’t feel that there’s a person that actually represents them. When they’ve met me, what they feel is that it’s much easier to talk with somebody. I’m more down to Earth.”
He said he feels especially connected to these events and people due to similarities he sees with his own culture. He also acknowledges the support he has received as a result of his attendance at the events.
“The support that these folks have given me, it’s humbling. I have to tell them all the time that this is not about me,” Gillian added. “I am very comfortable standing here in the shadows in the back in solidarity, but I’m honored that they continue to believe in me and look at me as a friend.”
Some Fresnans have urged the Fresno City Council to pass a ceasefire resolution on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The council has been criticized for not taking a stance on either side of the conflict.
Notably, Bredefeld and Karbassi are councilmembers who have borne the brunt of criticism. Karbassi, who said Fresno City Council has no place in international affairs, has been accused of hypocrisy over his past involvement in global politics.
Madera recently became the first city in the San Joaquin Valley to approve a resolution supporting a ceasefire.
Mike Karbassi
Karbassi owns Persian Rug Collections by Karbassi. He also co-hosts GVWire.com’s weekly Unfiltered podcast with Granville Homes CEO Darius Assemi – a prominent political donor in the region.
Granville Homes, along with Assemi family members and associated businesses, have contributed over $25,000 to Karbassi’s campaign since 2022. An independent expenditure committee associated with the Assemis, Moving the Central Valley Forward PAC, has sent nearly $6,000 of mailers in support of Karbassi’s campaign to date, campaign finance records show.
Karbassi received his bachelor’s degree in Business Management & Entrepreneurship from Fresno State and briefly studied Life Sciences at Clovis Community College.
The veteran politician said his campaign team advised him not to speak with Fresnoland. He also added that he thought Fresnoland’s coverage of the city’s alleged Brown Act violations has been “unfair.”
Gillian criticized his opponent and the city council for getting caught up in litigation over alleged Brown Act violations. He said it was “silly” not to hold budget committee meetings in public.
“Most definitely, they have to have public input, right?,” Gillian said.
“They say that there’s public input now. You get to come and have your three minutes when they have already made a bunch of decisions about this budget,” Gillian added. “You get to come and say how disgruntled you are, but that insight doesn’t go into the budget.”
On affordable housing
Karbassi has introduced two resolutions to create permanent affordable housing for the city’s at-risk population at Polk and Sierra Avenues, since his tenure started in late 2019. The initial resolution was rejected 2-5 before being unanimously approved a week later.
Karbassi joined fellow city council members in unanimously supporting all of Mayor Jerry Dyer’s One Fresno Housing plan resolutions.
Karbassi also signed off on new rules making it easier to convert old office space into housing and to add new homes closer to bus stops.
On labor and the economy
Karbassi received endorsements from the Greater Fresno Area Chamber Of Commerce, as well as most of the city’s employee and construction labor unions.
He was one of six council members who supported Fresno’s Project Labor Agreement ordinance in 2021.
Karbassi also supported a divisive wage theft program that the council adopted unanimously.
On public transportation
Karbassi also supported the expansion of Highway 99 and Veterans Boulevard. The city council approved over $83 million for the project since 2020, according to city records.
Who is endorsing the candidates?
Matthew Gillian
- Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria
- The Central Valley Progressive PAC
- San Joaquin Democratic Club
- Black Women Organizing For Political Action (BWOPA)
- Igor Tregub, chair for the California Democratic Party’s Environmental Caucus
- Valley Voters For The Environment And Health
Mike Karbassi
- Lisa Smittcamp, Fresno County District Attorney
- John Zanoni, Fresno County Sheriff
- Maraget Mims, retired Fresno County Sheriff
- Jerry Dyer, Mayor of Fresno and former Fresno Police Chief
- Tyler Maxwell, Fresno City Councilmember for City District 4 and former Fresno City Council President
- Annalisa Perea, Fresno City Councilmember for District 1
- Steve Brandau, current Fresno County Supervisor for District 2
- The Fresno Police Officers’ Association (FPOA)
- Fresno City Firefighters IAFF Local 202
- Greater Fresno Area Chamber Of Commerce
- Fresno City Employees Association
- Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 217
- Fresno Building And Construction Trades Council
- UA Local 246
- International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers, Local 100
- NorCal Carpenters Union
- City Of Fresno Employees’ Association (CFPEA)
- District Council 16 Local Union 294 Painters, Glaziers, Drywall Finishers And Floor Coverers
Who is donating to the candidates’ campaigns?
Karbassi has outraised Gillian nearly 5 to 1, with just about $250,000 in his campaign chest. The majority of his contributions come from developers – while the Gillian campaign hasn’t received any.
Click on the interactive graphic below to explore more of their contributions.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported Karbassi’s position on the North Thesta Quality Inn proposal last year. Karbassi opposed the proposal.
Leave a comment