A Fresnoland review of line-item invoices found that during an election year, former Councilmember Luis Chavez’s use of taxpayer dollars for advertising and public relations services from Alex Tavlian’s company reached a high, as the consultant put out social media ads for Chavez and did outreach to residents in his district on his behalf. Credit: Von Balanon for Fresnoland

On this week’s Fresnolandia podcast, Jordan and Danielle talk with Fresnoland investigative reporter and assistant editor Omar S. Rashad about his two-part investigation into Fresno city officials approvals of under-$100,000 contracts — that don’t get public review — and how many were given to a political consultant during the 2024 election.

They go into the findings of the investigations, the purpose of these types of contracts, what solutions could solve some of the challenges raised, and the reaction to the story.

Spotify | Apple Podcasts

Further Reading

Fresno leader breaks his silence on old city contracts. Here are 5 things he said

Fresno councilmember to tackle transparency, oversight issues exposed by Fresnoland investigation

Former Fresno councilmember used $30K in taxpayer funds for Facebook ads during election year

Did Fresno city leaders find a contracts ‘loophole’ to avoid oversight?

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