What's at stake?
Mike Karbassi announced plans to step down as Fresno City Council President, but will continue serving on the council.
Northwest Fresno Councilmember Mike Karbassi is stepping down from his role as City Council President, city officials confirmed Friday.
Karbassi did not respond to Fresnoland’s request for comment.
First reported by GV Wire, Karbassi announced his resignation as president through an email to the other six councilmembers. Karbassi added that he endorses Council Vice President Nelson Esparza to replace him as president.
“I appreciate Councilmember Karbassi’s service as Council President, and I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues to lead the Council for the remainder of my tenure at City Hall,” Esparza told Fresnoland.
Karbassi has been council president since January 2025 and lobbied his colleagues to become the council’s first two-term president on Jan. 15 under recent changes to its leadership rules.
In the email to his colleagues a couple of months later, Karbassi said he is handing off the president’s gavel to focus more on his campaign for county supervisor in the upcoming June primary election.
Karbassi is not resigning from the city council and will continue representing his northwest district while campaigning in a six-way race to replace outgoing Supervisor Brian Pacheco.
Resignation just a week before key city council votes
Karbassi’s resignation came ahead of another potentially contentious Fresno City Council meeting, as two controversial land use policies are set for hearings Thursday.
Residents of southwest Fresno have opposed a proposal to rezone parts of southwest Fresno, mostly along Elm Avenue, from mixed-use to industrial.
Councilmember Miguel Arias brought that controversial plan back to prominence during a hotly debated hearing over the adoption of the Central Southeast Area Specific Plan last month.
The plan was punted to a later date, but not before Arias accused members of City Hall staff and Karbassi of colluding to get both policies heard before the council at the same time in a move he suggested could benefit developers connected to the current Elm rezone effort.
Both proposals return for debate and possible votes Thursday, March 19 Fresno City Council meeting.
Arias posted on social media Wednesday, calling on city residents to show up at the next council meeting to voice their perspectives on Elm rezone.
Ballot will still identify Karbassi as council president
Karbassi’s resignation also came one week after the March 6 filing deadline for the June 2 primary election.
Right now, the latest information from the Fresno County Clerk’s Office lists Karbassi’s main occupation as the president of the Fresno City Council.
That’s the information that will appear on the June ballots delivered to voters in Fresno County’s District 1 — which stretches from Highway 99, all the way out west beyond Del Rio and Firebaugh.
Generally, ballot designation and candidate statements are not changed after the filing deadline in a race, unless in rare circumstances where a court orders ballot-related information changed.
“A designation given by a candidate shall not be changed by the candidate after the final date for filing nomination documents, except as specifically requested by the elections official…” according to California’s election code.
That information was made available to the public via the Fresno County Clerk’s candidate guide.
Danielle Bergstrom contributed to this story.
