What’s at stake?
The candidates are running at a time when the future of the city’s growth could largely hinge on their district.
Four candidates face off in a crowded contest for a vacancy on the Fresno City Council this March – and for most of them, it’s not their first time campaigning for the job.
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In January, former Fresno City Councilmember Luis Chavez left his position representing southeast Fresno’s District 5 on the Fresno City Council for a seat on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
Now three of the four candidates – Paul Condon, Brandon Vang and Jose Leon Barraza – each vie for the southeast Fresno seat after at least one previous bid in the last decade.
For the fourth challenger, Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, it’s her first campaign for council, but she’s a familiar face, too – not only is she a longtime Fresno Unified school board member, but also Chavez’s wife.
The candidates are running at a time when the future of the city’s growth could largely hinge on their district.
Fresno’s controversial Southeast Development Area (SEDA) plan, a megadevelopment promising a whopping 45,000 homes on a 9,000-acre chunk of farmland, mostly borders D5. The winner of this race will help decide the project’s fate once its environmental review redux is complete.
The winner will also join the dais at a time when Fresno’s policies for addressing homelessness have come under fire.
The council last summer passed some of the state’s strictest encampment-clearing ordinances in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision, despite opposition from the unhoused community and advocates. The city still has yet to answer a critical question the ordinances’ biggest critics have raised: Without sufficient emergency shelter beds in the city, where else can the unhoused go?
On top of that, Chavez’s successor will take office in the year of another projected general fund shortfall – and nearly a dozen contracts representing thousands of city workers set to expire in 2025, among them contracts for police and fire employees, city spokesperson Sontaya Rose confirmed.
Here’s what to know about the Fresno City Council’s special election, as well as the candidates’ backgrounds and policy positions. The candidates are listed below in the order in which they appear on the Fresno County Clerk’s candidate list. They were interviewed separately on the same policy questions and their remarks below have been edited for clarity and space.
What does a Fresno City Councilmember do?
There are seven seats on the Fresno City Council representing distinct geographical areas.
The council makes decisions on the scope, direction and financing of city services, such as water, sewer, police and fire protection.
The council also establishes policy that is administered and implemented by city staff, as well as land-use policies through the General Plan and zoning regulations.
Councilmembers serve four-year terms, but for this particular election, the winning candidate will complete the rest of Chavez’s term through January 2027.
Where is District 5?
The District encompasses many neighborhoods of southeast Fresno, including Roosevelt and parts of Huntington, the older neighborhoods south of Cesar Chavez Boulevard, parts of Calwa and Sunnyside, and the newer neighborhoods of Fancher Creek.
It’s bound roughly to the north by Belmont, to the east by Temperance Avenue, to the south by Jensen Avenue and to the west by East Avenue, excluding some county islands.
How does the Fresno City Council’s special election work?
One of the four challengers will have to carry at least 50% plus one of all votes cast in the March 18 election to win the seat outright and evade a runoff.
If no one secures a majority vote, the top two vote-getters will go to a runoff likely in July, according to Fresno City Clerk Todd Stermer.
Who is running in the District 5 special election?
Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas
Jonasson Rosas, 40, has represented the Roosevelt High School area on the Fresno Unified school board since 2016.
She has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México in Mexico City, as well as a Master of Business Administration from Fresno State.
In her day job, Jonasson Rosas works as a deputy general manager of external affairs for Westlands Water District, California’s largest agricultural water district.
She said she hadn’t discussed yet with her employer whether she’d step down from her Westlands position if elected to the council, but said she loves her job.
Jonasson Rosas won reelection to the Fresno Unified board just over three months ago in November before filing for candidacy to replace her husband, Chavez, on the city council in December.
She said she’s pursuing another elected office despite her recent reelection to seize a new opportunity to meet D5 residents’ needs.
“Given my background and experience,” she said, “I’m in a unique place to be able to bring that to bear and help our community improve the quality of life.”
Potentially replacing her husband on the city council could also put her at political odds with Chavez in his new role at the county level.
The city and county have had an at-times contentious relationship, and the former is currently suing the latter over the county’s general plan (though the city agreed to discuss whether to drop the lawsuit in early 2025 after the jurisdictions negotiated a new tax-sharing agreement late last year).
But Jonasson Rosas said she doesn’t see her marriage to Supervisor Chavez as a conflict of interest.
“I don’t think of (it as) a conflict of interest because when you’re doing a public good, you’re doing a public good. There’s no profit,” she said. “We’re both trying to serve constituents.”
On the other hand, their relationship may help strengthen collaboration between the two entities, she added, pointing to other examples of councilmembers who went on to serve on the county board, including supervisors Garry Bredefeld and Nathan Magsig.
What’s her position on the Southeast Development Area (SEDA) plan?
Jonasson Rosas said she won’t take a position on SEDA until the project’s revised environmental impact report is complete.
However, she said she generally supports a variety of types of housing and believes mixed-income neighborhoods are healthiest.
SEDA has been criticized for its focus on single-family housing despite findings that the city has over-built single-family homes in Mayor Jerry Dyer’s One Fresno Housing Strategy.
“We need townhomes, we need condos, we need starter homes,” Jonasson Rosas said.
She also voiced concerns about the lack of commercial services in the planned development area. Jonasson Rosas sees it as her responsibility as a councilmember to market the area for further economic development.
“There’s not a lot of shopping or recreation or things for people to do. Unfortunately, what that’s leading to,” she said, “is a lot of our tax dollars going to Clovis. Because they’re going straight up north, shopping in Clovis.”
Jonasson Rosas added that the city also needs to “do a lot more” infill development in the older parts of the city while it eyes expansion.
“It stretches all of our city resources to be able to cover that with not as much concentration of the tax base,” she said. “We need to make sure we’re developing those vacant parcels infill to have that property base to be able to maintain those services – or, actually, enhance the services – for the residents.”
What’s her position on the city’s homeless encampment-clearing ordinance?
Jonasson Rosas said she supports the ordinance.
“I think the whole point is to take steps in a direction to address the concerns of the residents,” she said.
“I would also say that the vast majority of residents, if you go talk to them, they would say that they don’t want to see these encampments on their way to school, on their way to work, in front of their business,” she added. “It’s not compassionate to let these people just live on the streets like that.”
At the same time, she wants to step up other strategies for addressing homelessness in tandem with the ordinance, such as boosting collaboration with the county and nonprofits to provide unhoused people with social services they need and to help reunify them with family members.
Jonasson Rosas wants to bring the private sector into conversations about solutions as well.
“They have a huge stake in solving this problem, too,” she said. “It affects them and their businesses on a regular basis.”
What’s her approach to balancing the city budget amid a projected general fund shortfall?
“I don’t believe in balancing budgets by eliminating positions,” Jonasson Rosas said.
Instead, her approach is to first look at whether vacant positions need to be filled.
Her top spending priorities, based on conversations with constituents, are homelessness, public safety and roads, but another area of concern for her is the city’s animal services.
“Southeast Fresno has an animal control problem,” she said, “and it’s probably true for other parts of the city. We have incredibly passionate rescues and (the) team at the Animal Center and other places, but we just can’t keep up with the amount of loose dogs and cats.”
Jonasson Rosas also wants the city to ask its employees what their ideas are on where to save money when facing down a deficit.
“They will come up with solutions,” she said. “We just have to ask. Particularly when people know that it’s about your livelihood and the livelihood of their coworker, I know people come together.”
What’s her stance on whether the City of Fresno should cooperate with federal authorities on Trump’s immigration enforcement plans?
“I think the state law is clear,” Jonasson Rosas said, alluding to SB 54.
The law, passed in 2018, prohibits local law enforcement from playing a role in federal immigration enforcement, with exceptions for undocumented people convicted of serious or violent felonies and a number of misdemeanors.
What investments would she support in the next iteration of Measure C (the Fresno region’s transportation tax)?
Jonasson Rosas said she wants residents to guide her priorities since Measure C is a taxpayer-funded effort.
Her priorities from conversations with residents so far include local roads and sidewalks.
ADA accessibility is also an area of personal priority.
“It’s not just about able-bodied people,” she said. “It’s about all people.”
Jonasson Rosas also wants to see the areas in the region of highest need receive the most funding.
“It’s worst first,” she said. “It’s not north versus south, east versus west.”
Jonasson Rosas has previously served on the Measure C Citizen Oversight Committee.
What’s her position on the city’s Eviction Protection Program?
Jonasson Rosas said she thinks the city should keep its Eviction Protection Program “if it prevents homelessness” at a GV Wire candidate forum Feb. 20.
Right now, the program is running out of money, the City Attorney’s Office shared in February. City Attorney Andrew Janz said the program needs $500,000 to keep running through the end of the fiscal year in June.
He added that he would support the council allocating more funds to save it, adding that the program is “literally keeping people from becoming” homeless.
Would she support a new tax to address a budget shortfall?
Mayor Jerry Dyer told Fresnoland in February that his administration is in “preliminary” talks about “either a general tax or a public safety tax” measure for the November 2026 ballot – though he wants to exhaust all other options first before raising taxes.
The considerations come after the city projected a $20 million – and likely growing – hole in the budget after years of expanding police and fire ranks partly through now-exhausted pandemic relief funds from the federal government.
Jonasson Rosas said that although she would not support a tax measure to address the shortfall alone, she would support specifically a public safety tax “with very strict strings attached” at GV Wire’s candidate forum.
“I have voiced my support,” she said, “and will continue to voice my support for a public safety tax that’s been floating around.”
What’s her position on the city’s Project Labor Agreement?
Fresno established a Project Labor Agreement with the local building trades council in 2021 for public works projects over $1 million. But that program has recently come into question for failing to meet the local hire goals laid out in the agreement.
At GV Wire’s candidate forum, Jonasson Rosas said she generally supports PLAs.
“I do believe in project labor agreements,” she said. “I believe they help with workforce development and with local hire, and I believe they’re important for our community.”
Regarding the failure to hit local hire goals, Jonasson Rosas said the city needs to “hold them accountable” to ensure they do, meaning the trades council.
When asked about her significant campaign contributions from local unions, she said she wouldn’t let that influence any decisions regarding the PLA.
What’s her stance on rent control?
Jonasson Rosas doesn’t support rent control, she said at GV Wire’s candidate forum.
Where can I find more information on her campaign?
For more information about Jonasson Rosas and her campaign, she said voters can visit her campaign’s Facebook page or her website, www.elizabethjonassonrosas.com.
Paul Condon
Condon, 49, works in marketing and advertising.
He attended Clovis West High School.
Condon said he’s running for council because “there’s nobody doing anything for any of us.”
“Give kids on this side of town a little bit of possibilities and a little options,” he said, “they can turn it into something positive.”
“The main reason why I started doing this,” he added, “was because a cop told me, if I didn’t like it, why didn’t I run for office? So I did.”
Condon previously ran against Chavez in the June 2018 primary, placing fourth in a pool of four with just over 4% of the vote.
During the 2018 campaign, he made headlines for a public spat with Chavez. Condon posted on Facebook what The Fresno Bee described as an “expletive-laced” and “at times nonsensical” rant, accusing Chavez of threatening Condon’s children by visiting their school on Read Across America Day and promising to take revenge. Chavez responded to the posts by vowing to protect himself and his family.
During Condon’s 2018 campaign, some of his legal history also came to light.
Fresno County Superior Court records show that judges have granted multiple restraining orders against Condon.
In a 2000 domestic violence hearing, Judge James Petrucelli ordered Condon to complete anger management classes and stay away from the petitioner’s school, according to court records. That restraining order was later terminated in 2009 by an order from Judge Timothy Kams, though a minute order stated Condon “shall not contact Petitioner for any reason.”
Condon received another restraining order from an adult relative in 2006.
In 2008, Condon was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years of probation for disorderly behavior in court.
In a February interview with Fresnoland, Condon denied any wrongdoing in those prior cases and said “corruption” in the court system is what led to the granting of the restraining orders.
He said the court system was biased against him because he’s “not Armenian,” alleging that one of the petitioners as well as multiple judges and attorneys in his prior cases were Armenian.
What’s his position on the Southeast Development Area (SEDA) plan?
Condon said he wasn’t especially familiar with the SEDA project but questioned whether the city would be able to provide adequate infrastructure for a development that would rival Clovis in size.
“How are we going to get water for that?” he said. “Who’s going to be paying for it?”
What’s his position on the city’s homeless encampment-clearing ordinance?
Condon said he could understand where the city is coming from with the ordinance and the need to clean up the streets.
However, he added that he has questions about where else the unhoused residents can go – echoing one of the ongoing criticisms of the ordinance from the unhoused community.
“Where are you throwing them to?” he said regarding the unhoused people. “You’re creating another problem.”
Condon said he also would want to institute a practice of separating the “mentally ill” from other unhoused people “that do have the potential to become a citizen – a normal, productive citizen,” but didn’t provide details as to how.
What’s his approach to balancing the city budget among a projected general fund shortfall?
Condon said the city needs to be more creative and find other ways to generate revenue, such as through impound lots and “bringing Hollywood back to Fresno.”
“What is an incentive for a Hollywood guy to come here and do a film?” he said. “That’s where the money will come in.”
Condon also criticized local officials’ recent announcement of a new immigrant affairs working group to support Fresno’s immigrants amid fears of Trump’s threats of mass deportations, saying he doesn’t want public resources “squandered” on people who lack the authorization to live here.
Does he believe the City of Fresno should cooperate with federal authorities on Trump’s immigration enforcement plans?
Condon said he’s “friends with some of the guys up in that administration,” without naming specific names, and believes the Trump administration’s policy “only makes sense.”
Condon echoed inflammatory language from Trump in 2015, referring to undocumented immigrants as “rapists” and “murderers.”
“We can’t just have people running in here that we don’t know who they are,” Condon said, “who are criminals, rapists, murderers, and then think it’s going to be OK.”
Studies have debunked myths about undocumented immigrants and crime, finding that crime rates are substantially lower among undocumented immigrants compared with native-born citizens and legal immigrants.
Condon also criticized city officials’ statements that Fresno PD wouldn’t cooperate with immigration authorities.
“You don’t have to like Trump. You don’t have to like Elon. But the fact of the matter is,” he said, “they’re leading the country right now, and we do have to respect what they’re saying.”
What investments would he support in the next iteration of Measure C (the Fresno region’s transportation tax)?
Condon said he wasn’t familiar with Measure C, but he wants to see improvements to local roads as well as highways in Fresno.
“It’s like a war-torn nation,” he said of the current road conditions.
“How am I going to tell Elon Musk to come to Fresno when you’ve got potholes and everything everywhere?” he added.
Where can I find more information on his campaign?
For more information about Condon and his campaign, he said voters can visit his Facebook page.
Condon was not featured at GV Wire’s Feb. 20 candidate forum. Fresnoland reached out to Condon Feb. 21 to request his stances on the Eviction Protection Program, the city’s Project Labor Agreement, a potential public safety tax and rent control. His answers will be published when received.
In an email Feb. 21, GV Wire Senior Editor Bill McEwen said the forum “focused on the three leading candidates as determined by GV Wire.”
McEwen also cited Condon’s intentions to raise less than $2,000 for his campaign and last-place finish during his previous bid for the D5 seat in 2018.
“Just as many presidential candidates are left out of television debates,” McEwen said, “the same holds true for local races as well.”
Brandon Vang
Vang, 52, has represented the Sunnyside area on the Sanger Unified school board since 2016.
He previously ran for the D5 seat against Chavez in the June 2022 primary, losing by just over 600 votes. He secured 45% of the vote to Chavez’s 55%.
Vang has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
He’s worked various jobs over the years, including as a deputy probation officer when he lived in Riverside County, but more recently, he’s been a stay-at-home dad.
Vang said he wants voters to think of him not as a city council candidate, but also the person he was “before he ventured into politics.”
“I’m just your average person – average refugee boy who had to flee his homeland because of war, famine, disease,” he said, alluding to his experience fleeing Laos at the age of 6 during the Secret War.
Vang added that he’s running after witnessing, through his eight years representing parts of D5 on the Sanger Unified school board, “a lack of interest in this part of town” from city hall.
“It has not been served,” he said. “I believe I can do a better job than any of my challengers.”
What’s his position on the Southeast Development Area (SEDA) plan?
Vang said he’s “pro-growth,” especially in his district.
“Growth in the City of Fresno should take place in southeast Fresno,” he said, “and particularly on the eastern side of southeast Fresno.”
But “not all growth is positive,” he added, especially if it doesn’t come with careful planning to deliver not just housing but green space, commercial activity and healthcare services.
“I cannot imagine putting in housing and bringing in 150,000 people,” he said, citing the city’s projections of how many people the SEDA development could house, “and not think(ing) about the kinds of services, in terms of medical services, for these 150,000 people.”
Vang, who lives within a “stone’s throw” from the farmland slated for development under the SEDA plan, also wants to engage further with constituents before finalizing a plan for southeastward growth.
He added that the way the city has grown over the past 25 years has placed a disproportionate burden on taxpayers to cover the cost of infrastructure to go along with sprawling development.
Vang wants to see other stakeholders “who will benefit and who will partake in this growth,” including business owners and developers, to shoulder more of that cost with SEDA.
What’s his position on the city’s homeless encampment-clearing ordinance?
Vang said that although the Grants Pass decision paved the way for cities like Fresno to clear homeless encampments, he doesn’t want the city’s sole focus to be on evicting people from public property.
“Where’s the compassion in that?” he said.
“If we are going to evict them from sleeping on the sidewalk, where are they going to go?” he added. “We have to find means for them.”
Critics of the ordinance and unhoused people facing encampment sweeps have posed the same question.
Vang wants to see a more compassionate response from the city going forward, including connecting unhoused individuals and families with the resources they need, including mental health services, drug counseling, and education.
Vang also wants the city to invest in more than just short-term shelters and put funds into permanent affordable housing.
What’s his approach to balancing the city budget among a projected general fund shortfall?
Vang said he wants conversations with constituents to guide his budget priorities. In his talks so far, some of the priorities that have come up include public safety.
“You can never have enough police officers,” he said. “We need to, at the very least, not cut funding for public safety.
“When people feel that they can live in an environment (where) they can feel safe, that they can depend on police officers, when they call 911, that they will show up,” he said, “then the city has, in a sense, eased that tension.”
Vang added that he wants to ensure the city is fiscally responsible to protect city employees, “our greatest resource.”
Does he believe the City of Fresno should cooperate with federal authorities on Trump’s immigration enforcement plans?
Vang said he agrees with Mayor Jerry Dyer’s statements that Fresno police will not assist with federal immigration enforcement.
“That is not the purpose of Fresno PD,” he said.
What investments would he support in the next iteration of Measure C (the Fresno region’s transportation tax)?
Vang said he will rely on his constituents to hear their priorities but also supports adding more biking and hiking trails for the constituents of District 5.
What’s his position on the city’s Eviction Protection Program?
Vang said he supports the city’s Eviction Protection Program at GV Wire’s candidate forum.
Would he support a new tax to address a budget shortfall?
Vang said he wouldn’t support a new tax to address the city’s budget shortfall.
“The people (are) already overtaxed,” he said. “I believe the city can find other areas where we can meet that $20 million shortfall.”
What’s his position on the city’s Project Labor Agreement?
Vang said he generally supports project labor agreements but wants to remain an independent candidate and evaluate his constituents’ thoughts on it.
He added that many of his campaign contributions have come from “average citizens” – while the forum addressed that his opponent Jonasson Rosas has received large donations from local unions.
“Yes, we need to have (the) project labor agreement,” he said. “But at the same time, the councilmember has to be independent and has to, again, go back to the constituents and see if this is in the best interest of the people in District 5.”
What’s his stance on rent control?
Vang said he supports rent control.
“Given the economy right now,” he said, “people are forced to live on the street because they cannot afford to pay rent.”
Where can I find more information on his campaign?
For more information about Vang and his campaign, voters can visit his campaign’s social media pages on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok or visit his website, brandonvang.org.
Jose Leon Barraza
Leon Barraza, 74, is the CEO of the Southeast Fresno Economic Development Corporation (SEFCEDA). He also sits on the city’s Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission.
He previously ran for the D5 seat and lost to Chavez in both the November 2016 general election and the June 2018 primary. In 2018, he finished in third in a pool of four candidates, carrying 18% of the vote.
Leon Barraza received both a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a Master of Public Administration from Fresno State.
If elected, Leon Barraza said he would likely transition out of his role as CEO of the nonprofit development corporation and dedicate full time to his city council position.
Previously, he served 34 years with Fresno County in multiple roles, including as the director of economic development.
That experience with job creation and economic development is part of what distinguishes him from his opponents in this race, Leon Barraza said.
“Southeast Fresno continues to have a high concentration of poverty, and I don’t think the City of Fresno has a strategy,” he said. “I don’t think the City of Fresno has done enough to improve economic conditions in southeast Fresno.”
What’s his position on the Southeast Development Area (SEDA) plan?
Leon Barraza said he’s “totally opposed” to SEDA.
Instead of gobbling up farmland on the outskirts of town, he wants to invest in Fresno’s core.
“The growth of our city should continue to be inside our existing boundaries, where we already have infrastructure,” he said, “where we should be building mixed-use development, high-rise buildings in a more concentrated area – before we can move out to eliminate farmland.
“Farmland is very important to our economy,” he added. “We should not remove that until we first maximize the utilization of existing vacant space in our boundaries in our city.”
Otherwise, Leon Barraza is concerned the existing neighborhoods in Fresno will suffer neglect.
“Who’s going to pay for the new libraries, new parks, new schools?” he asked regarding the SEDA plan.
“I would like to see, first, greater investment in the older parts of our city,” he added. “Once those needs are addressed, then we can start talking about growing outside the sphere of influence of Fresno.”
What’s his position on the city’s homeless encampment-clearing ordinance?
Leon Barraza said he believes the anti-encampment ordinance is “necessary.”
“I’ve seen the conditions before that ordinance” of encampments in District 5, he said, “and really, we cannot ignore that.”
However, he wants the city to simultaneously connect unhoused people suffering from mental health or substance abuse disorders with treatment.
“This might be controversial, but at some point, we also need to think about measures about helping the homeless, where treatment is required,” he said, “when it’s determined that the individuals may be a danger to themselves or a danger to the community.”
Compulsory treatment programs have been questioned by some researchers for their efficacy, as well as concerns over human rights violations.
Fresno County has just begun implementing Care Court, which could place some unhoused residents with mental health disorders in treatment programs, but county leaders have stressed that it’s voluntary, and shouldn’t be viewed as the solution to eliminating encampments.
Leon Barraza said also he supports other investments to alleviate homelessness, including building more supportive housing for the unhoused.
What’s his approach to balancing the city budget among a projected general fund shortfall?
Leon Barraza said he would support instituting a hiring freeze and an immediate review of all vacancies in the event of a shortfall.
Priority would go to public safety and fire positions, he said, while he’d look to make cuts to “non-essential” staff.
“When I say non-essential, I’m talking about support services for the city,” he said. “That could be attorneys, administrative staff, all those areas that are important but … need to shrink.”
Leon Barraza would also support regular audits of city departments’ efficiency.
Does he believe the City of Fresno should cooperate with federal authorities on Trump’s immigration enforcement plans?
“I would not support having the Fresno Police Department perform duties of the immigration office of ICE,” Leon Barraza said.
He wants local police to stay focused on crime in local neighborhoods instead, especially among small businesses on Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
“Break-ins into their businesses are not being addressed. They’re not being solved,” he said. “So why are we thinking about adding more responsibility that belongs to the federal government to our own police department, when they have plenty of work in our neighborhoods, helping small businesses?”
What investments would he support in the next iteration of Measure C (the Fresno region’s transportation tax)?
Leon Barraza said part of why he believes Measure C renewal has failed in the past is because officials didn’t seek enough input from the public.
“It’s an example of where government thinks that they know best,” he said, “(that) they know better than the residents.”
Some of the priorities among the D5 constituents he’s heard from include adding more bike paths and trails.
“We seem to always have money for trails in the northern part of the city,” he said, as he hopes to bring more of those dollars to southeast Fresno.
What’s his position on the city’s Eviction Protection Program?
Leon Barraza said he supports the city’s Eviction Protection Program.
Would he support a new tax to address a budget shortfall?
Leon Barraza said he would not support a new tax measure before doing “evaluations of how we’re delivering services” and “management audits to identify inefficient components of city government that need to be removed.”
What’s his position on the city’s Project Labor Agreement?
Leon Barraza said he generally supports PLAs, but added that he’s concerned the unions aren’t meeting local hire goals.
“We need to hire local people for the implementation of those projects. I think, obviously,” he said, “if the unions are not doing what has to be done, then we have to look at other alternatives.”
What’s his stance on rent control?
Leon Barraza said he supports rent control, despite adding that he and his wife are landlords.
Where can I find more information on his campaign?
For more information about Leon Barraza and his campaign, he said voters can visit his campaign’s website at joseleonbarrazafordistrict5.com.
Who’s endorsing the candidates?
Jonasson Rosas’ endorsements include:
- Fresno, Madera, Tulare, and Kings Counties Central Labor Council
- Fresno Chamber of Commerce
- Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer
- Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea
- Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi
- Fresno City Councilmember Tyler Maxwell
- Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza
Condon said he didn’t have any endorsements to highlight, but that he has “fans” including Elon Musk.
Vang has received an endorsement from:
- Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula
Leon Barraza’s endorsements include:
- Former Central Unified Trustee Ruben Coronado
- Former Kerman Unified administrator Nellie Neri
- Former State Center Community College District Trustee John Leal
- Nonprofit executive Jose Luis Barraza
- Pedro Cruz, co-founder of Love, Peace, & Futbol
- Teresa and Jose Valadez, owners of Country Fare Cafe
- Margarita Higareda, owner of Dulcería Maggi’s
Additional endorsements can be found on individual candidates’ websites and social media pages.
Who is funding the candidates’ campaigns?
Candidates were required to submit one campaign finance filing so far, covering the period from Jan. 1 through Feb. 1. There will be one more filing deadline Mar. 6, according to Stermer, the city clerk.
Fresnoland reviewed campaign contributions from this January filing.
Jonasson Rosas has raised the most money in 2025 so far, bringing in just under $70,000. Her largest donations have come from unions and the business community.
Her single largest donation came from the Fresno Police Officers Association’s PAC at $10,900. Other top donations include: $5,900 from Councilmember Maxwell, $5,500 from the Fresno City Employees Association’s PAC, $5,500 from FrontPoint Partners LLC and $5,500 from Target Constructors, Inc.
Vang has the second highest total with just under $62,000 in contributions. He’s also received roughly $2,000 in non-monetary contributions.
His donations are largely from individual contributors. His top donations include $5,500 from See Yang, a nurse; $5,500 from Leng Thao, a physician; $5,500 from Bobby Lee, an operations manager; $5,000 from Blong Vang, who identified as retired; and $5,000 from Miley Xiong, a fabricator.
Leon Barraza has received $2,350 in contributions. He’s also taken out $10,000 in loans and received $9,000 in non-monetary contributions. His donations also come from a variety of business owners and retirees.
Condon said he doesn’t plan to spend more than $2,000 on the special election.
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