What's at stake:
Youth Leadership Institute and three partner organizations hosted a community forum on issues affecting southwest and southeast Fresno while encouraging youth civic engagement.
Margaret Yang, 17, a youth facilitator with the Fresno Building Healthy Communities helped organize a youth-led candidate forum for Fresno’s District 3 and 5 City Council races as an opportunity to better understand the people seeking to represent her southeast Fresno community.
Yang said many students involved with the Youth Leadership Institute and three other organizations spent months researching candidates’ backgrounds, political views and ties to the district.
“We found so many interesting things about each of them,” Yang said. “We looked at their opinions on LGBTQ+ issues, how they view certain things, whether they’re Democrat or Republican, and even if they actually grew up here or moved to the district.”
She said the forum focused on accountability and giving young people a chance to hear directly from candidates about how they would improve Fresno neighborhoods, if elected.
“It’s exciting to be part of something political,” Yang said. “We want to see if these candidates are actually willing to stick with their words.”
On Monday evening, various candidates running for District 3 and 5 answered a variety of questions at Butler Church in the Roosevelt High neighborhood.
The forum was held in two sessions in partnership with the Youth Leadership Institute, League of Women Voters of Fresno, Fresno Building Healthy Communities, and Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.
What are the most important issues for young people?
Yang said issues such as housing affordability, youth safety and the proposed Southeast Development Area, known as SEDA, are especially important to her. She worries development projects could displace farming families and low-income residents in southeast Fresno.
“I just hope the candidates would agree that we shouldn’t be taking areas from farmers,” Yang said. “There’s a lot of redlining where we live. There’s a very different group of people who are here, and I just hope that whoever does get voted [in], is able to find a way to make housing more affordable.”
She also pointed to violence affecting young people, including incidents at the Fresno Fairgrounds and the River Park mall, as a growing concern.
Though Yang is 17 and unable to vote in this election, she said participating in the forum and joining the paid youth internship program at Fresno Building Healthy Communities has changed the way she thinks about civic engagement.
“Being in this program for the past two months has changed my perspective on things,” Yang said. “I feel like all people, all ethnicities, everyone should get opportunities like this.”
Valeria Sanchez, 16, also joined Yang in helping organize the forum, bringing attention to issues such as youth safety, affordable housing and homelessness. Though Sanchez lives in District 1, which covers northwest and west-central Fresno, she said it was still important for her to take part in conversations affecting communities across Fresno.
Sanchez said participating in the youth committee exposed her to perspectives and struggles she had not fully considered before, especially around housing insecurity and homelessness.
“I feel like youth are really disregarded, especially our voices,” Sanchez said. “Seeing these things firsthand and hearing other people’s perspectives in this committee brought up issues I didn’t really even think about.”
She said homelessness remains one of the biggest issues she sees in Fresno, particularly because of the lack of available resources for struggling families and individuals.
“A lot of people try to turn a blind eye to homelessness and the effect of that,” Sanchez said. “In Fresno, we don’t have that many resources, and a lot of people don’t have the help they need, and then they end up homeless.”
Conversations with older students in the program also made Sanchez more aware of how expensive Fresno has become, especially for young people preparing for college or adulthood.
“They really started telling me the cost of everything, and I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t even think I’m going to be able to afford living in the same city I’ve lived in my whole life right now,’” Sanchez said.
Though she is not yet old enough to vote, Sanchez said she hopes more residents pay attention to local elections and their impact on Fresno neighborhoods.
“I just really want to emphasize voting in this next election,” Sanchez said. “People don’t understand that the people we vote for on city council are the people who can help our city or affect it in a negative way.”
Candidates for District 3 lay out their vision
The District 3 seat is open as current councilmember Miguel Arias reaches his term limit, creating a highly competitive race with seven candidates.
Voters in southwest Fresno, downtown, and the Tower District will choose a new councilmember on June 2 for the first time in eight years.
California State Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, Fresno County Department of Public Health administrative case worker Jalen Swank and first-time candidate Charles Montoya participated in the forum.
Arambula, who has represented parts of Fresno in the state assembly for the past decade, emphasized his experience in government and framed his campaign around investment in existing neighborhoods rather than outward expansion.
He argued that the city should focus on improving current communities before taking on billions in new infrastructure costs with SEDA. Arambula frequently pointed to environmental inequities in southwest Fresno, saying historical land-use decisions have concentrated industrial pollution in low-income neighborhoods.
He called for a citywide review of industrial zoning and advocated for transit-oriented development, infrastructure upgrades and expanded affordable housing in downtown Fresno, Chinatown and southwest Fresno.
Montoya centered much of his campaign on government accessibility and neighborhood investment. He proposed holding weekly town halls if elected, saying residents often feel disconnected from elected officials and their decision-making.
Montoya also opposed SEDA, arguing southwest Fresno has long been overlooked while resources continue flowing elsewhere. On housing, he stressed the need for affordable homeownership opportunities rather than relying solely on rentals, pointing to overcrowded living conditions faced by many families in west and southwest Fresno. He also said downtown Fresno needs improved safety, infrastructure and commercial development before the city pushes for denser housing projects there.
Swank focused heavily on affordability, youth investment and environmental health. She opposed SEDA and said Fresno should prioritize reinvesting in existing neighborhoods and preserving agricultural land.
Drawing from her own experience living in affordable housing, Swank advocated for stronger rent stabilization and vacancy control policies to keep housing costs manageable for working families. She also called for more mixed-use zoning, expanded public transportation and increased green space to improve air quality in communities disproportionately impacted by pollution.
Who will represent southeast Fresno?
In District 5, incumbent Brandon Vang is seeking re-election after just over a year in office since his successful bid for city council last year.
His opponents, Jose Leon-Barraza and Nickolas Wildstar also attended the forum.
Danielle Parra, another candidate running for the District 5 seat, was not present at the Monday evening forum. District 5 covers much of Fresno south of the 180 freeway and east of Highway 41.
Vang, Leon-Barraza and Wildstar discussed housing, transportation, environmental concerns and SEDA.
Vang emphasized his visibility in the district during his 13 months in office, pointing to town halls, school visits and community meetings. He said listening to constituents is the most important role of a councilmember and argued the city should prioritize infill development before expanding outward.
Vang also opposed SEDA, saying the project would burden taxpayers with infrastructure costs while diverting resources from long-neglected South Fresno neighborhoods.
Leon-Barraza, a former Fresno County economic development official and current PRAC commissioner, focused on economic revitalization in South Fresno.
Leon-Barraza said the city should focus investment on existing neighborhoods and blighted commercial corridors rather than large-scale expansion projects like SEDA. He also advocated for mixed-use zoning, walkable neighborhoods and policies aimed at reducing dependence on cars.
Wildstar positioned himself as an outsider candidate focused on transparency and technology-driven solutions. He proposed using blockchain systems to make city finances more publicly accessible and promoted ideas such as 3D-printed homes to address affordable housing and homelessness. Wildstar also called for expanded public transportation options, including buses, rail systems and electric scooters.
Audience questions also touched on immigration, child care and youth civic engagement. All three candidates voiced support for expanding opportunities for young people to participate in local government through youth commissions, internships and school partnerships. On immigration, candidates generally supported legal aid and protections for immigrant residents, though they differed on how city resources should be used.
