Latest news with #FresnoCityCouncil
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Brandon Vang wins Fresno City Council race. ‘Now the real work begins'
Brandon Vang has emerged as the winner of the District 5 Fresno City Council race, narrowly avoiding a runoff election. Vang, a Sanger Unified trustee, maintained his lead with 50.19%, or 2,324 votes, according to the latest tally by the Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters released Friday morning. He won the race with 9 votes over the majority threshold needed to win. In a statement, Vang declared victory and thanked his voters, supporters, volunteers and staff who helped make the 'historic' win possible. 'To everyone who walked a precinct, made a phone call, hosted a house meeting, or simply believed in this campaign — thank you. This victory belongs to all of us,' Vang said. 'Now the real work begins, and I'm ready to deliver for the people of District 5.' Vang has described himself as an independent candidate who wasn't beholden to special interests. He's endorsed by Joaquin Arambula and several Sanger Unified trustees and Sanger city leaders. Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, a Fresno Unified Trustee and deputy general manager for external affairs for the Westlands Water District, maintained her solid second place, securing 1,621 votes, or 35.01%. Jonasson Rosas, 40, is married to the former seat holder, Luis Chavez, who left the seat in January to assume his position as District 2 County Supervisor. She had secured several major endorsements from Fresno Police Officers' Association, Fresno Firefighters, Central Labor Council, Building and Construction Trades, Fresno Chamber of Commerce, National Women's Political Caucus, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, and Councilmembers Annalisa Perea, Nelson Esparza, Mike Karbassi and Tyler Maxwell. 'I congratulate Brandon and wish him the best in tackling District 5's needs and challenges in the upcoming months,' Jonasson Rosas said in a statement. Jose Leon Barraza, City parks commissioner and CEO of Southeast Fresno Economic Development Corporation, has secured 568 votes, or 12.27% while Paul Condon has 106 votes, or 2.29%. A write-in candidate Nickolas Wildstar has secured 11 votes. 'These are the official results,' said James Kus, Fresno County's top elections official. 'We've already provided the certification to the city of Fresno,' he said. Only 12.96%, or 4,677 of 36,076 of registered voters in the district cast a ballot in the special election. Fresno City Clerk Todd Stermer previously told The Bee that the Fresno City Council will accept the certified election results during the April 10 meeting and that if there was a clear winner, they will be sworn in during the meeting. Vang will be the first Hmong American to represent the district. (Though the first Hmong American to serve on Fresno City Council was Blong Xiong, who served from 2007 to 2015.) Any voter of the state of California can request a recount until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9, Kus said. The request must be a written request and the requester is responsible for paying any incurred fees, he said. The race generated controversy days before the election when an attack ad accused Vang of statutory rape and shared confidential court records to establish paternity and child support, though the mailer left out the alleged victim was Vang's wife of 30 years. Vang, 52, is five years older than his wife, who would have been 15 when their oldest of five children was born in 1993. Vang denied the accusations in the ad and called them 'completely false and deeply hurtful.' Vang's wife May Lee, 47, said in the interview that she was 'very upset' at the attack on her family. Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz issued a fine of $1,000 against Fresno Future Forward, the 'dark money' group behind the mailer, for violating city and state campaign finance laws. All of Vang's opponents on the ballot denied being involved with the group behind the mailer.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
From Fresno advocate to political aspirant, Sandra Celedon takes aim at Assembly race
When a local politician announces a run for public office or files the necessary paperwork, my typical reaction is a shrug. Running for office is what politicians do. Some are so eager they don't even wait for an election to pass before launching campaigns and nabbing endorsements for the next one. Yes, Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza, that's directed at you. But when an outspoken community organizer who has successfully advocated for Fresno's least-fortunate residents and its most-neglected neighborhoods enters the political space, my interest gets piqued. Opinion This explains how I found myself seated across a restaurant table from Sandra Celedon for her first interview as a candidate for state Assembly in District 31, which covers much of Fresno and a swath of the county. Joaquin Arambula, the seat's current occupant, plans to run for Fresno City Council in 2026 – potentially as a prelude to a mayoral run in 2028. 'With Joaquin Arambula terming out, I don't see a champion for the people of this district. I don't see someone who's willing to fight for them,' Celedon said during our hour-long conversation. 'Over the last two decades I don't think there's anyone who has fought as hard as I have for the people of this community, to be honest … 'Everything I've done at the local level, that's what I want to be able to bring to Sacramento on behalf of the people of Fresno and this Valley. That's why I'm running.' As president and CEO of Fresno Building Healthy Communities, Celedon is one of the most visible faces and effective leaders of the region's burgeoning social and environmental justice movement. In 2018 her organization's youth interns did much of the legwork and collected signatures for Measure P, Fresno's parks tax, which received 52% approval despite heavy opposition from the mayor, police chief, business groups and influential developers. Advocates again demonstrated their ballot box might in 2022 when Celedon and fellow nonprofit Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability co-spearheaded the No on Measure C campaign that blocked a 30-year extension of the county's transportation tax sought by civic leaders. Besides subverting the powers-that-be, Celedon has been instrumental in several advocacy efforts that resulted in significant local investments. Foremost among these is the Transformative Climate Communities program that brought in $70 million in state cap-and-trade funds, including nearly $17 million toward construction of the Fresno City College campus in southwest Fresno. 'We were advocating for Fresno to be first to get that money,' she said. 'It didn't just happen.' Celedon's group has also been involved in multiple lawsuits against businesses and government agencies, including one currently pending in federal court that charges Community Health System of misusing Medi-Cal funds for its Clovis hospital expansion. It's early yet, but the only other candidate to file paperwork with the California Secretary of State for the AD 31 race is Annalisa Perea. The Fresno city council member has not made a formal announcement. Celedon certainly appears to be Arambula's choice to succeed him in the Fresno region's most Democrat-leaning assembly district. Her fledgling campaign committee received a $5,900 contribution from Arambula's 2024 account – the maximum allowed by state law – as well as $5,900 donations from attorneys Amelia Arambula (Joaquin's mother and wife of former Fresno County Supervisor Juan Arambula), Amparo Cid and former state lawmaker Sarah Reyes. 'Dr. Arambula didn't recruit me, and neither did the Arambula family. I want to be clear on that,' Celedon said. 'I'm not part of any political dynasty. I'd like to say the reason they are supporting me is because they've seen me in action.' Celedon grew up and until a few years ago lived in Calwa, an unincorporated community of 2,100 on Fresno's southern outskirts. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants who began life in the U.S. as farm laborers before advancing to higher-paying jobs that allowed them to scrounge up enough money to buy a house. (Her father worked at a warehouse that manufactured shingles; her mother cleaned hotel rooms.) Looking back, Celedon credits the stability provided by her parents as the reason she was able to attend Fresno State and set herself up for success. She believes those opportunities have since diminished due to the rising costs of housing, food, gas and electricity combined with the dearth of living-wage jobs. 'I am a working-class person from this district,' Celedon said. 'I understand what it means to have to make a hard decision over which bill to pay this month. I understand what it's like to take care of an elderly parent or handle childcare. 'It's not anecdotal. I've lived the challenges people are experiencing.' Opinionated and outspoken, Celedon drew scrutiny from certain local news outlets and criticism from conservatives for tweeting 'Burn it down. #BlackLivesMatter. No justice, no peace. Enough is enough' in regard to a Minneapolis police precinct that was torched by rioters following the 2020 death of George Floyd. Asked about the post, Celedon called it 'a visceral response to what was happening in this country at that time.' Her X account has since been deleted. 'Don't judge me on a tweet – judge me on my actions,' she said. 'I didn't go out and be destructive. I woke up the next day and went to work. That's when I joined the advocacy efforts that led to the Black Lives Matter march that ultimately led to the Fresno Commission on Police Reform.' Five years later, one of Fresno's most effective community advocates is running for state Assembly. Doubt her at your own peril.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Latest update on Fresno's District 5 council race. Will there be a run-off election?
The pending District 5 Fresno City Council race in was not much clearer after an update Thursday as the gap between the top two vote-getters shrunk. The latest tally since Election Night found Brandon Vang with 2,277 votes (50.14%) outpacing Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, whose 1,588 votes gave her 34.97% of the ballots cast. The gap between the top two candidates shrunk by less than 1% from Election Night's tally. The Fresno County Registrar of Voters update landed late Thursday afternoon, showing 4,583 ballots had been counted. But another 140 ballots left unsigned were still pending, plus about 30 provisional and other ballots, and any potential ballots that were postmarked that have not yet reached the registrar. If any candidate were to receive 50% plus one vote in the special election, they win the District 5 seat outright. If no candidate meets that bar, the top two vote-getters would head to a run-off election. The special election to fill the seat was necessary after the last official to hold it, Luis Chavez, won a seat on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. Vang would be the first ever Fresno City Council member of Hmong descent. He's been a trustee of the Sanger Unified School District since 2016, and is a stay-at-home dad. His campaign manager Pedro Ramirez said Thursday that Vang was waiting for the final count before declaring victory. 'We're still in the lead but we're not out of the woods yet,' he said. Jonasson Rosas has been a Fresno Unified School Board trustee since 2016. A deputy general manager for Westlands Water District, Jonasson Rosas is also married to former District 5 representative Chavez. Her campaign manager, Jason Carns, said Jonasson Rosas was in a similar holding pattern as her opponent. 'We are optimistic as the count gets closer. Some ballots are still in mail and will count as long as they are postmarked as of Tuesday,' he wrote in a text message. 'We will await the final results for further comment.' Two other candidates with their names on the ballot have not gained enough support to head to a run-off. Jose Leon Barraza tallied 559 votes and Paul Condon got 196. Write-in candidate Nickolas Wildstar received 10 votes. There were 36,076 residents in District 5 who were registered to vote, the registrar's office said. With the votes counted through Thursday, voter turnout appeared to reach about 12.7%. An ad attacking Vang stirred controversy in the race the week before the election. A campaign mailer accused Vang of statutory rape and shared confidential court records to establish paternity and child support, though the mailer left out the alleged victim was Vang's wife of 30 years. Vang denied the accusations in the ad and called them 'completely false and deeply hurtful.' Vang, 52, is five years older than his wife, who would have been 15 when their oldest of five children was born in 1993. May Lee, 47, an OB-GYN nurse, said she was 'very, very angry' at the attack on her family. Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz issued a fine of $1,000 against the group behind the mailer, a 'dark money' coalition called Fresno Future Forward, for violating city and state campaign finance laws. All of Vang's opponents on the ballot denied being involved with the group behind the mailer.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Update: See who's ahead in early election results for Fresno City Council District 5 race
Brandon Vang led the crowded and contested race for the vacant Fresno City Council District 5 seat with more than 50% of the vote, according to the latest election results Tuesday night. Tallies reported by the Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters as of 9:09 p.m. Tuesday reflect 3,681 of the votes. Vang, a Sanger Unified Trustee, has received 1,859 votes, or 50.5%. If elected, Vang would be the first Hmong-American to represent the district. 'We're excited, we're ecstatic,' Vang said. 'The numbers are great. The numbers are in our favor.' Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, a Fresno Unified Trustee and deputy general manager for external affairs for the Westlands Water District, has secured 1,272 votes, or 34.56%. Jonasson Rosas is married to the former seat holder, Luis Chavez, who left the seat in January to assume his position as District 2 County Supervisor. Jonasson Rosas could not be immediately reached for comment. Jason Carns, campaign manager for Jonasson Rosas, said in a text message they believe some of her votes came in later. 'We believe this is going to runoff and we will win!' Carns said. Jose Leon Barraza, City parks commissioner and CEO of Southeast Fresno Economic Development Corporation, has secured 449 votes, or 12.2% while Paul Condon has 92 votes, or 2.5%. A write-in candidate Nickolas Wildstar has secured 9 votes. 'I have enjoyed tremendously being engaged in this campaign because I learned a lot from residents on issues that are important,' Leon Barraza said. 'Obviously, what seems to be very important in this business is the monetary contributions, and obviously we did not have that type of money,' he said. There are 36,076 voters registered in the district. A candidate must win at least 50% plus one of all votes to secure the seat outright and evade a runoff. Otherwise, the top two winners will head to a runoff election. As of Tuesday at 10 p.m., there's still an estimated 580 votes remaining to count. The last day to receive mail-in ballots postmarked on election day is Tuesday, March 25. The next report of votes will be available on Thursday. District 5 encompasses large swaths of Fresno southeast of downtown including neighborhoods along Cesar Chavez Avenue, bordering Calwa to the southwest and surrounding the Sunnyside county island to the east. Last week, a mailer sent by a 'dark money' group called Fresno Future Forward stirred controversy in the contested race, accusing Vang of statutory rape of a 15-year-old teenager. The attack ad referenced confidential Fresno County court records to establish paternity and child support. Vang said in a statement the accusations were 'completely false and deeply hurtful' and said the child support case mentioned in the flyer involves his wife of 30 years and their oldest son. His wife, May Lee, also spoke out against the mailers, saying she was 'very, very angry' at the attack on her family. Vang, 52, and Lee, 47, an OB-GYN nurse, have five children. Their oldest son was born in 1993, confirmed Vang's campaign manager Pedro Ramirez. This means Lee would have been 15-years-old and Vang 20-years-old when they had their first child. Barraza, Condon and Jonasson Rosas all denied having any involvement with the negative mailer. 'The voter sees through ll the negativity,' Vang said after results came in Tuesday evening. 'Voters are smart enough to determine what is real, what is fake, who they want to represent them for the next several years,' he said. Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz issued a fine of $1,000 against the group behind the mailer for violating city and state campaign finance laws.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wife of Fresno Council candidate speaks out against attack ad. ‘This is not right'
The wife of District 5 Fresno City Council candidate Brandon Vang says a negative campaign mailer attacking her husband is 'false' and has unsettled their family on the eve of Tuesday's special election. The mailer, sent to hundreds of homes in southeast Fresno, includes allegations of statutory rape of a 15-year-old and includes confidential Fresno County records related to Vang's paternity and child support. Vang and his wife, May Lee, told The Bee in an interview Wednesday that the mailer contained 'false accusations.' Vang, his wife of over 30 years and son were those referenced in the child support case, he said. 'I'm very angry. I'm very upset. This not only affects me, as his wife, but it affects our kids and I'm just really, really upset that this has happened,' Lee said. Vang, 52, and Lee, 47, an OB-GYN nurse, have five children. Their oldest son was born in 1993, confirmed Vang's campaign manager Pedro Ramirez. This means Lee would have been 15-years-old and Vang 20-years-old when they had their first child. 'No matter what age they are, we are their parents and we are supposed to be there to protect them,' Lee said. 'And by this mailer coming out — this is not right. And I'm very, very upset, very angry at this.' The couple was united in calling the mailers a false attack on their entire family. 'We deny it (the allegations) 100% and we could not believe that our opponents would stoop this low to go after my family, to go after my wife, to go after our five children,' Vang said. 'All of our five kids still live with us under the same roof, and we have cared for all of them from day one. We provide for them like any parents would.' Vang has no known criminal history or charges related to the allegations. Vang is a Sanger Unified School District Trustee and stay-at-home father. A Hmong-American, Vang and his family fled the war-torn Laos when he was a child. He's one of four candidates in a crowded race for the District 5 seat, which encompasses large swaths of Fresno southeast of downtown including neighborhoods along Cesar Chavez Avenue, bordering Calwa to the southwest and surrounding the Sunnyside county island to the east. Other candidates include Jose Leon Barraza, a longtime community advocate and city parks commissioner with decades working for Fresno County on economic development; Fresno resident Paul Condon; and Fresno Unified trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, who has experience in nonprofits, water, planning as well as several major endorsements. Barraza, Condon and Jonasson Rosas all denied having any involvement with the negative mailer.. On Monday, Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz announced an investigation into the mailer, saying it likely violated state and local campaign finance laws. Any group that spends more than $1,000 on a campaign is required to register with the City Clerk's office as an independent expenditure. The two-day investigation resulted in a $1,000 fine against Fresno Future Forward. The group had since filed as a political action committee with the City Clerk's Office as of Tuesday, Janz said in a letter. Records show the group spent more than $4,000 in independent expenditures. It's still unclear who is behind the mailer or how they obtained a confidential document featured in the negative mailer. Riley Moore, the representative listed for the group, couldn't be reached for comment. When asked whether he was considering further legal action, Vang said 'everything is on the table.' 'We believe that there's still a lot of open ended questions that needs to be asked and answered,' he said. On March 18, District 5 voters will choose between four candidates vying for the seat that has been vacant after Luis Chavez left the seat in January to assume his position as District 2 Fresno County supervisor. According to Vang's latest campaign finance filing, he's raised more than $120,000 as of March 1 — more than any other candidate. 'I have no special interest groups. I have no millionaires who've contributed to my campaign,' Vang said. 'And given that, the voters realized that I can be independent, and I will be independent.' Jonasson Rosas, a Fresno Unified School District trustee, has raised more than $97,000 as of March 1.
