A former federal prosecutor and a nonprofit leader, both of whom also serve on local school boards, face off a second time this November in the heated race to represent the Fresno City Council district home to Tower, Fresno High and the neighborhoods west of the 99 freeway.
Naindeep Singh, executive director of Jakara Movement and a Central Unified School District trustee since 2018, finished first in the June 2026 primary with 4,535 votes in the four-way race, or about 38.7%.
But that put him only about 250-odd votes ahead of Rob Fuentes, who has served on the State Center Community College District board since 2022. Fuentes collected 4,281 votes in June, or roughly 36.5%.
One of the candidates will replace the current District 1 councilmember, Annalisa Perea. She’s running for Joaquin Arambula’s seat in the California State Assembly, while Arambula competes for the District 3 seat on the Fresno City Council.
The District 1 race is one the most contentious local contests of 2026, as Fuentes and Singh have regularly exchanged jabs throughout the campaign
Those have only intensified since June, following a Fresnoland report on Fuentes’ work as a federal prosecutor arguing on behalf of ICE while campaigning that he wants ICE abolished. Fuentes was placed on leave before resigning from his position following Fresnoland’s reporting in June.
He later told attendees at an August election forum he didn’t work hard on his ICE-related cases and seemed to imply he lost cases on purpose, an allegation Fuentes hasn’t confirmed or denied.
Fuentes is also at the center of an ethics complaint filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission in July.
The complaint alleges he violated California’s “pay to play” laws as a State Center trustee by not recusing himself from closed session discussions of a settlement in a lawsuit involving the construction company owned by his major campaign donors, Richard Spencer and his wife, Karen Spencer. Fuentes denied the allegations in the complaint, calling them “patently meritless.”
Fuentes has fired back with criticism of Singh’s support of Trump appointee and hardline conservative Harmeet Dhillon in a 2025 letter from Sikh American leaders, recommending she lead the Department of Justice’s civil rights division.
Dhillon, the conservative Sikh American leader, has come under fire in her tenure for refusing to investigate the ICE killing of Renee Good and deploying monitors during recent elections in California and other states.
Singh said he originally signed on in support of Dhillon hoping that it would put someone in power who understands transnational repression — which has threatened the safety of Sikh Americans in particular and Singh personally.
Read more about where the candidates, ordered alphabetically by last name, stand on several issues in our guide below. You can also revisit what positions Singh and Fuentes have previously taken on the campaign trail in our June 2026 primary guide.
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Rob Fuentes
Job: Former Assistant U.S. Attorney, State Center Community College District trustee, instructor at San Joaquin College of Law
Age: 41
Current Residency: Fresno High neighborhood
Key Endorsements: Fresno Teachers Association, Fresno Police Officers Association, City Councilmember Annalisa Perea, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, Fresno-Madera-Tulare-Kings Central Labor Council
Editor’s note: Rob Fuentes declined to sit down for an interview for this election guide, but, where possible, Fresnoland compiled stances he’s taken on issues at past election forums and in prior interviews, including for Fresnoland’s 2026 primary guide.
Does he want to see any changes to Fresno PD’s contract with Flock Safety?
Fuentes told The Fresno Bee he doesn’t want the city to renew its contract with Flock.
He said that while he wants law enforcement to have effective tools for fighting theft, he is “deeply concerned with a system that creates a surveillance record of every single innocent person who drives through our neighborhoods.”
What does he think of the city’s HART team as part of its homelessness strategy?
Fuentes doesn’t appear to have taken a public stance on the city’s HART team.
In April, Fuentes said he wants to call for a “comprehensive study of cities of comparable size and climate to Fresno” to see what’s worked and what hasn’t in terms of alleviating homelessness.
What does he think of the latest funding plan for Mayor Jerry Dyer’s proposed Southeast Development Area (SEDA)?
In April, Fuentes told Fresnoland he was opposed to the SEDA in its current form but that he could support a revised proposal only if it had “strict safeguards in place,” including prohibiting the use of general fund dollars to build up the growth area’s infrastructure and implementing enhanced infrastructure financing districts, like the one the city currently has for Blackstone and downtown.
Following an election forum in April, Fuentes addressed the fact that he has received campaign donations from both opponents and backers of the SEDA project.
He emphasized that the donations he had received from SEDA proponents like Dyer and Lance-Kashian & Company were dwarfed by ones he’s received from vocal critics of the project, such as the Fresno Teachers Association PAC, as well as even larger donations from labor PACs, such as the Fresno firefighters’ union.
Does he support the city’s proposed moratorium on AI data centers?
In a video posted to Fuentes’ campaign accounts, the candidate said he supports the city’s proposed moratorium on AI data centers. The video went online after Councilmember Nick Richardson’s proposal gained the support of Dyer, who has endorsed Fuentes.
“These massive facilities consume enormous amounts of water and energy, while creating a relatively small number of permanent jobs. That’s a bad trade-off for Fresno families,” he said. “That’s why I support a moratorium on AI data centers in the City of Fresno.”
How does he want the city to fund its program to expand access to and affordability of childcare?
Fuentes doesn’t appear to have weighed in publicly on how the city should fund its program to expand access to and affordability of childcare.
On Fuentes’ campaign site, it says he would be “laser-focused on promoting policies and programs that reduce or assist with the costs of housing, utilities, transportation, and childcare,” without getting into details.
What’s his approach to expanding the city’s affordable housing stock?
In April, Fuentes told Fresnoland he’d want to pursue Low-Income Housing Tax Credit opportunities from the federal government and take advantage of city-owned land and privately-owned vacant buildings to boost the city’s affordable housing stock.
How would he change the city’s approach to revitalizing blighted, vacant buildings?
In April, Fuentes told Fresnoland he’s a proponent of having both “carrots” and “sticks” to balance respecting property rights with holding the owners of long-term vacancies accountable.
How will he vote on the Better Roads, Safe Streets transportation tax proposal, aka Measure S?
Fuentes told Fresnoland in April that he would vote for the Better Roads, Safe Streets plan if it qualified for the ballot.
What about the City of Fresno’s general tax, Measure D?
Fuentes doesn’t appear to have taken a public stance on Measure D.
How does he want the city to handle Measure P arts and parks programs?
Fuentes doesn’t appear to have commented publicly on the future administration of Measure P arts grants.
On his campaign site, it says Fuentes will prioritize “expanding our parks, trees, and green spaces.”
Does he support an ethics commission in Fresno?
Fuentes doesn’t appear to have commented publicly on whether Fresno needs an ethics commission.
How does he think the city should approach redistricting in 2030?
Fuentes doesn’t appear to have commented publicly on redistricting.
How has he responded to criticism of his work previously defending ICE in court while also calling for the abolition of the agency?
When Fresnoland first reported in June on Fuentes’ work as a federal prosecutor arguing on behalf of ICE while also calling for the abolition of ICE as a council candidate, he said he would “reject the premise that I’m taking the opposite position in my campaign life versus my professional life.”
He added that while he had considered leaving his job several times, he “ultimately decided that I could achieve more good, including harm reduction,” by staying and said he was the only person in the District 1 election “who has stood in court and prevented the deportation of immigrants.”
In July, Fuentes confirmed that he quit his federal prosecutor job after being placed on leave by the Trump administration following his comments to Fresnoland. He said he was being “pushed out by the Trump administration for criticizing ICE publicly.”
In August, attendees at an election forum hosted by a local chapter of SEIU said Fuentes told them he “obviously wasn’t working very hard” on his ICE-related cases as a prosecutor, seeming to imply he purposely lost cases. Fuentes declined to comment on the incident and neither confirmed nor denied he’d made those statements.
What endorsements has he received?
- Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer
- Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea
- Fresno City Councilmember Tyler Maxwell
- Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza
- Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez
- State Sen. Melissa Hurtado
- SCCCD Trustee Daniella Parra
- SCCCD Trustee Magdalena Gomez
- SCCCD Destiny Rodriguez
- West Hills Community College District Trustee Omar Hernandez
- Former Fresno County Supervisor Henry Perea
- Fresno Teachers Association
- Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings Building Trades Council
- Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings Central Labor Council
- Fresno Police Officers Association
- Fresno City Firefighters Local 202
- Iron Workers Local 155
- Operating Engineers Local 3
- Fresno Chamber of Commerce
- Fresno County Democratic Party
- Fresno County Young Democrats
Who are some of his top funders?
Fuentes has raised just below $219,000 in his campaign for council, nearly $70,000 of which has come in since the June primary. But that puts him more than $100,000 behind his opponent, Singh, who has raised the most money out of all Fresno City Council candidates in this election cycle.
Fuentes has received large donations from a number of labor PACs as well as the Spencer family, who are well-known Republican donors and the developers behind Harris Construction (the company mentioned in the pending FPPC complaint against Fuentes). Outside of the $8,500 Fuentes has contributed to his own campaign, his top 10 donors and their total donations as of Oct. 1 include:
- Fresno Firefighters Legislative Action Committee, which has donated $15,000
- Fresno City Employees Association PAC, which has donated $11,800
- Richard Spencer, the president of Fresno contractor Harris Construction, who has donated $11,800
- Karen Spencer, wife of contractor Richard Spencer, who has donated $10,900
- Plumbers and Pipefitters U.A. Local #246 COPE Committee, which has donated $10,400
- Fresno Teachers Association PAC for Education, which has donated $10,000
- Central Valley Council, a PAC run by political consultant Alex Tavlian, which has donated $7,000
- Esparza for SCCCD Trustee, a campaign committee for Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza, which has donated $6,400
- Fresno Laborers Local 294 PAC, which has donated $5,900
- Fresno Police Officers Association PAC, which has donated $5,900
Naindeep Singh
Job: Executive director of Jakara Movement, Central Unified School District trustee
Age: 48
Current Residency: West of the 99 freeway
Key Endorsements: Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, Fresno City Employees Association, Fresno-Madera-Tulare-Kings Central Labor Council, Fresno Unified Trustees Andy Levine and Susan Wittrup, Working Families Party
Does he want to see any changes to Fresno PD’s contract with Flock Safety?
Singh said he shares residents’ civil rights concerns with Flock cameras, specifically with “warrantless searches.” However, he said he still needs to hear the police perspective.
“I think it brings larger questions that many of us are having about forms of surveillance capitalism,” he said. “Who has our information? Who is being sold our information, and to what purposes?
“I have not yet necessarily heard from the police, their particular point of view,” he added. “I would, of course, want to have an understanding of multiple points of view, but if you’re asking at this moment, yeah, I think those community groups bringing issues of civil rights are extremely concerning.”
What does he think of the city’s HART team as part of its homelessness strategy?
Singh said he supports breaking up encampments, but only if the city can offer a “direct housing connection” to the people who had been living there.
“If you’re just breaking up an encampment, which our city seems to be happy to do, what we’re telling the residents is we’re interested in activities,” he said, “not the results.”
Singh was critical of the HART team based on feedback he’s heard from the unhoused population. He said he hasn’t had an opportunity to shadow the team.
“Having a HART team come and take away dogs and destroy property,” he said, “isn’t going to do anything to help.”
Singh has instead advocated for offering different forms of relief to different segments of the unhoused population. That includes proposed bridge grants of up to $1,500 to help residents who are just one medical bill or rent payment away from becoming homeless, according to Singh’s campaign site.
What does he think of the latest funding plan for Mayor Jerry Dyer’s proposed Southeast Development Area (SEDA)?
Singh said he’s anti-SEDA, and not just the current version of the proposal.
“There are certain candidates that will say they are anti-SEDA. … What they will often say is they are anti-SEDA in the current form, or they will actually produce red herrings that have nothing to do with anything,” he said. “They’ll say we will oppose the use of general fund money for SEDA, and I think, unfortunately, many community members and even some journalists have given a free pass to this to say all the candidates don’t support SEDA.”
He described the plan as something the mayor and a couple of councilmembers are “hell-bent” on approving so they can give “corrupt handouts to some of their developer buddies,” even if that means going against “the entire general will of the city.”
“I can unapologetically say that I don’t support SEDA because it’s bad for Fresno,” he said, “it’s bad for District 1, and the residents have over and over made their voices clear on this.”
Singh added that he believes SEDA is an affordability issue. He cited the Sept. 3 financial presentation on SEDA, which proposed funding the development’s first sewer pipe with a loan against the city utilities department’s savings account or surcharges on the bills of residential utility ratepayers, if the savings run out.
“If we are producing large reserves, then there must be a conversation about why are we producing large reserves,” Singh said, “and maybe we actually move that affordability, not to fund a future project in an area that nobody in the city cares about.”
Does he support the city’s proposed moratorium on AI data centers?
Singh said he supports the data center ban and doesn’t want to see it get watered down or amended into loophole oblivion.
“Unapologetically, I don’t support data centers, and I don’t think most of our residents in Fresno,” who have historically paid some of the highest electric bills nationwide, he said, “need things that are going to draw down our power, draw down our water.”
He added that he hopes the moratorium doesn’t get co-opted into a justification for moving forward with the SEDA project.
How does he want the city to fund its program to expand access to and affordability of childcare?
Singh said he would draw a line at taking funds for childcare expansion from the city’s Measure P revenue — an idea Council Vice President Tyler Maxwell has floated, while Measure P proponents have pushed back.
“If we’re talking about more after-school programs at parks that the city begins centering … as a place for every child to be able to sign up for programs, I think that is a form of childcare that I’m interested in. But as childcare is generally understood,” he said, “that is not what the citizens of Fresno passed (with Measure P).
“This is how we erode trust,” he added, “when we do these bait-and-switches.”
Singh added that what he hears from parents is the need to add slots at the institutions that already offer childcare locally because “the waitlists are too long.”
But he also said he’s keeping in mind larger trends as he evaluates reasonable funding streams for childcare expansion, including slowing population growth projections for Fresno County.
“We are not growing at the pace that we are still talking (about). The narrative has not caught up to the reality,” he said, “where we are very much in line with the rest of California and nationwide trends, where we are at a stagnant, if not slightly declining, population.
“Because as we slow down immigration, especially through this Trump administration,” he added, “that has just been totally punitive against new communities coming in. Those that are born in the United States, they are having less children, and that trend started around 2008. It’s not something that’s brand new.”
What’s his approach to expanding the city’s affordable housing stock?
Singh said he wants Fresno to take a new approach to development, different from the “leapfrog” and sprawl developments of the past. Instead, he supports infill and smaller-scale development — even though the margins on those projects might not be as profitable.
“That might be the city incentivizing more backyard cottages,” he said. “That might be the city incentivizing (development) where you have vacant properties already existing within communities.”
How would he change the city’s approach to revitalizing blighted, vacant buildings?
Singh said he’s been in conversation with some of the advocates working to strengthen local pilot programs around revitalizing vacant commercial properties in District 1.
It’s “absolutely incumbent,” Singh said, that the city enforces “minimum, mandated upkeep” for properties so that tenants can move into them.
“The expectation from landlords is that the tenant will revitalize it as they see fit,” he said, “but nobody’s going to sink that level of cost into a building that they don’t even own.
“Pointing the finger at the city alone for encampments or other things that may be around it does not mitigate the responsibility of the landlord,” he added, “to make sure those buildings are usable and are being kept vibrant.”
Singh also said he wants to see policies targeting chronic vacancies expand beyond the Tower District, where the pilot programs were tested.
“This is an issue that affects our communities next to Gillis Library, that affects us on Shields and West,” he said, “and definitely west of 99 as well.”
How will he vote on the Better Roads, Safe Streets transportation tax proposal, aka Measure S?
Singh is a longtime supporter of Measure S, also known as the Better Roads, Safe Streets plan to replace Fresno County’s expiring, 40-year transportation tax called Measure C.
As a Central Unified board member, where Singh said the sidewalk networks are “patchwork” and leave students trudging through mud and floods to get to school in the winter, he believes Measure S funds will be critical.
“Measure S provides us a system to prioritize schools, to prioritize local communities, to actually fix our roads,” he said, “but also to make important investments in public transportation and other new and important ways … to move around our city and county.”
What about the City of Fresno’s general tax, Measure D?
Singh said he strongly opposes Measure D and will vote against it.
Dyer and a pair of councilmembers — Nelson Esparza and Mike Karbassi — first introduced the general tax as a failsafe if Measure S didn’t make it onto the ballot before Measure C expires in June 2027.
Measure S will go before county voters this November after prevailing against a legal challenge from the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
But before the legal battle was settled, Dyer, a backer of the Better Roads campaign, controversially backtracked on a previous promise to withdraw the city’s general tax. Instead, he decided to submit Measure D materials to the clerk, citing doubts over whether state intervention to place Measure S on the ballot would prevail against the county supervisors’ opposition.
“Leadership is … leading with integrity, being truthful and, when you build coalitions, sticking to coalitions. Unfortunately,” Singh said, “I do not believe that in this particular case, Mayor Dyer did those things.”
How does he want the city to handle Measure P arts and parks programs?
Singh said he would be hesitant about bringing the administration of Measure P arts grants in-house to City Hall in the long term, now that the Fresno Arts Council is out of the picture.
He emphasized that the original Measure P ordinance that voters supported went out of its way to bestow authority over arts grants on an outside agency, rather than City Hall.
“I understand why residents of Fresno did not trust City Hall to make these decisions,” he said.
“You don’t want city hall bureaucrats, nor do you want electeds picking and choosing which are the art groups that they like and want to benefit,” he added, “and which are the ones they don’t.
“The more you can remove that, I think there is a plus to it.”
As far as the investment in parks and green space under Measure P, Singh said he wants to see the city pay its fair share out of the general fund.
“The city still has an obligation,” he said. “I think what is oftentimes happening is the city is decreasing their obligation, saying, ‘Oh, let Measure P money just handle it.’ No, the city’s general fund was also meant to support parks.”
Does he support an ethics commission in Fresno?
Singh said he believes the city council and mayor currently lack adequate checks against corruption and that he would support an independent ethics commission and potentially an elected ombudsman to receive and investigate complaints regarding city government.
“We are a wonderful community, a hardworking community, that has done so well, despite City Hall,” he said, “despite the county Board of Supervisors, and never in partnership with.
“I dream of a city where — or, dream of a county where that doesn’t always have to be the case,” he said. “So yes, an independent ethics committee. Potentially an ombudsman. … This city is just rife with corruption, and the deeper you go, the more obvious it becomes.”
How does he think the city should approach redistricting in 2030?
Singh said he has been a strong advocate of an independent redistricting commission, including in the last round of redistricting after the 2020 census.
He criticized the proposal sponsored by Councilmembers Tyler Maxwell and Mike Karbassi in July, which would have formed an advisory-only redistricting committee and left the council with the final say over their own districts.
“Electeds do what’s best for electeds,” Singh said.
“Our redistricting lines in 2021 were made (based) on six or seven individual decisions about individual residences. I was part of the process. I saw how the sausage was cooked, and we deserve better. We need better. Only a truly independent commission will get us there.”
What does he want people to know about the letter he signed in support of a controversial Trump appointee in 2025?
In a written statement, Singh said he originally signed the letter in hopes that the Trump appointee would take the issue of transnational repression seriously, especially after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation that would’ve mandated training for law enforcement in identifying and responding to threats connected to foreign governments.
“No American should be threatened on American soil by a foreign government, but I have been, right here in Fresno, along with many other Sikhs,” he said. “Canadian authorities linked the murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023 to the Indian government. This week’s FBI designation of Goldy Brar proves transnational repression is real.
“Sikhs worked to build state protections. Newsom vetoed them,” he added. “That’s why the Jakara Movement joined major Sikh institutions supporting Harmeet Dhillon: we needed someone in power who understood transnational repression. The letter was about keeping people safe, not politics. This Trump administration proved far worse; I apologize for having hoped otherwise.”
Singh also fired back at Fuentes over his track record in the U.S. Attorney’s Office arguing on behalf of ICE in at least 124 cases.
“There’s a difference between making a bad call to protect immigrants and working for a year actively harming them,” he said. “He took a paycheck to harm the people I was trying to protect.”
The Fresno County Young Democrats joined in on Fuentes’ criticism of Singh and called for him to drop out of the race, which Singh brushed off.
“The Fresno County Young Democrats calling for my resignation receive funds from Rob Fuentes. His record they conveniently won’t mention,” he said. “That’s not serious; that’s cowardice.”
What endorsements has he received?
- Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria
- State Sen. Anna Caballero
- Fresno Unified Trustee Andy Levine
- Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup
- Central Unified Trustee Jaspreet Sidhu
- Central Unified Trustee Yesenia Carrillo
- Central Unified Trustee Karla Kirk
- Central Unified Trustee Joshua Sellers
- Former Fresno City Councilmember Blong Xiong
- Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings Central Labor Council
- Fresno City Employees Association
- United Food and Commercial Workers 8
- Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1027
- NorCal Carpenters
- Working Families Party
- Fresno Fair Housing Advocates
- Fresno Stonewall Democrats
Who are some of his top funders?
Singh has outraised not only Fuentes but also all other Fresno City Council candidates in the midterm, amassing a total just under $336,000. He’s brought in nearly a third of that, or just over $100,000, since the June primary.
Singh has received large contributions from attorneys, physicians and trucking company owners in the Fresno area and beyond, as well as some labor groups. His top 10 donors and their donation totals as of Oct. 1 include:
- Simren Claire, a Livingston physician who has donated $11,800
- Ujagger Dhillon, a Fresno physician who has donated $10,500
- Jasdeep Atwal, a Santa Monica attorney who has given $9,400
- United Food and Commercial Workers 8 Golden State PAC Small Contributor Committee, which has donated $8,000
- Deepak Ahluwalia, a Fresno attorney who has donated $7,500
- Jasjeet Cheema, a Fremont trucking company president who has donated $6,900
- Fresno City Employees Association PAC, which has donated $5,900
- Pawanpreet Dhaliwal, a Madera attorney who has donated $5,900
- Amandeep K Dhillon, a Fresno social worker who has donated $5,750
- Modern Medicine Inc., which has donated $5,500
