California’s primary election is on June 7. Here’s what Fresno voters need to know now
Ballots for California’s June 7 primary were mailed to Fresno County voters Monday, and there are several important races and items for Fresnans to consider.
Two of the hottest races Fresnans will vote in are for Fresno County Sheriff and the newly drawn Assembly District 27.
The new assembly district stretches from Merced, through western Madera and into the north-western edge of the city of Fresno, and down to Coalinga.
Two Fresno City Councilmembers, Mike Karbassi and Esmeralda Soria, are running for the newly-formed assembly district. They are competing against Mark Pazin, former Merced County Sheriff, and Amanda Fleming, an agriculture retailer.
Soria, a Democrat, represents Fresno City Council District 1 and is termed out. As of the last filing deadline at the end of April, Soria far surpassed her opponents in fundraising. She raised nearly $380,000 and had almost $300,000 cash on hand for her campaign, California Secretary of State records show. She has a long list of endorsements, including several of her council colleagues, statewide elected officials, and unions.
Pazin, a Republican, follows Soria on the fundraising front, with $95,000 cash on hand. He’s raised a total of $110,000. Pazin’s endorsements include Assemblymember Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, Merced County Supervisor Josh Pedrozo, and the California State Sheriffs’ Association.
Karbassi, a self-described moderate Democrat, represents northwest Fresno on the Fresno City Council and is about halfway through his first term. He’s raised $71,000 in total for his campaign and, as of April, had about $25,000 cash on hand. He secured some heavyweight endorsements from officials such as Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke, Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp, Fresno Police Officers Association, and the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.
Fleming, a Republican, has raised $21,000 in total and had about $14,000 cash on hand for her campaign in April. She’s endorsed by Republican organizations in Fresno, Merced, Madera, State Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, and several westside politicians.
The top two vote-getters in the assembly race will move forward to the November election.
Sheriff race
The race for Fresno County Sheriff was on as soon as Sheriff Margaret Mims announced earlier this year she’s retiring and not seeking re-election. Assistant Sheriff John Zanoni and Fresno Police Deputy Chief Mark Salazar are vying to replace her.
Zanoni, who has worked with the sheriff’s office since 1996, quickly earned the endorsements of Mims and the Fresno Deputy Sheriff’s Association. As of late April, Zanoni raised about $145,000 and had about $105,000 cash on hand for his campaign.
Salazar currently works as a deputy chief for the Fresno Police Department. Salazar raised about $85,000 as of late April and had about $53,000 cash on hand for his campaign.
The candidate who receives a majority of the votes this election will be the next sheriff.
Other races on the ballot
Local races that will appear on the ballot include: Superior Court Judge 9; County Superintendent of Schools; County Supervisor districts 1 and 4; Assessor-Recorder; Auditor-Controller/Treasurer; County Clerk; District Attorney; Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator; and Fresno City Council districts 1, 3, 5 and 7.
Voters also will decide whether to extend Measure Z, the one-tenth of 1% existing sales tax that provides funding to maintain and upgrade the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. The sales tax first passed in 2004 and extended in 2014. It expires in 2025 and so far has raised $135 million. This year, officials are seeking a 15-year extension.
Statewide races on the ballot include: Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Secretary of State; State Controller; State Treasurer; Attorney General; Insurance Commissioner; State Board of Equalization District 1; State Senate 12, 14 and 16; State Assembly Members Districts 8, 27, 31 and 33; and Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Federal races on the ballot are U.S. Senator and U.S. Representatives in Congress for Districts 5, 13, 20, and 21.
Fresno City Council races
District 1: Fresno City Councilmember Esmeralda Soria, the current incumbent for District 1, is termed out.
Four candidates are vying for her seat, which mostly runs along Shaw Avenue at the northern edge, cuts down to Blackstone Avenue in the south-eastern corner; jumps from Olive to McKinley, to Clinton and Shields avenues on the southern edge; and includes a hodgepodge of neighborhoods on the western edge along Ashlan Avenue up to Highway City.
The candidates running for the seat are Mike Briggs, Cary Catalano, Annalisa Perea, and Jeremy Preis.
Briggs, a real estate broker, is familiar with public service. Decades ago, he served both on the City Council and in the state assembly.
Catalano runs a public affairs and government relations firm. He’s also served on the board of the Fresno Housing, Fresno Planning Commission, and the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.
Perea works as a city planner, and both her father and brother previously served on the Fresno City Council in the District 1 seat. She currently serves on the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees.
Preis previously worked as a teacher and police officer. He currently works in insurance.
If no candidate gets 50 percent plus one in the primary, the top-two finishers will go to a runoff in November.
District 3: Current City Councilmember Miguel Arias is running for re-election and has two challengers, Larry Burrus and Nickolas Wildstar.
District 3 includes southwest Fresno, Tower District, Downtown, Chinatown, south Fresno, and Central Unified communities.
Arias in 2018 was pushed to the general election by Tate Hill but beat him in the November balloting. Since then, he’s established himself as a firebrand on the City Council and works to create equitable improvements in the district.
Burrus is a local engineer and building contractor. He ran in the 2018 primary and finished fifth of seven candidates with 12% of the votes.
Wildstar calls himself “Governor” and ran in the special election last year as part of the effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom. Wildstar finished with 3,800 votes, or 0.1%. He also ran for governor in 2018 as a Libertarian when he lived in Orange County.
District 5: Current Councilmember Luis Chavez is seeking re-election and has one challenger, Brandon Vang.
District 5 includes most of southeast Fresno, as far north as Belmont Avenue and Jensen Avenue to the south. The district includes communities such as Calwa and parts of Sunnyside. The district on the west is bordered by the intersection of Highways 41 and 99.
Chavez previously served as a trustee for Fresno Unified before winning his City Council seat in a special election in 2016. If Chavez wins, he will be in a unique position to serve 10 years on the Fresno City Council. The city’s charter limits elected officials to serve two consecutive terms. Chavez only served two years of his first term, meaning he still has the opportunity to serve another full term.
Vang currently serves as a trustee on the Sanger Unified governing board. Vang is a Hmong refugee and advocates for AAPI inclusion.
District 7: Current Council President Nelson Esparza is seeking re-election and has two challengers, Jason Jesada Keomanee and Courtney Westfall.
Before redistricting, District 7 was the only land-locked district in the city of Fresno. It includes the southern portion of Blackstone Avenue and Manchester Center before dipping down to include the neighborhoods between McKinley Avenue and Kings Canyon Road. The eastern portion of the district travels northward again past Shields Avenue.
Esparza also won the runoff election in 2018 and since then has worked to uplift his district, which has the second-highest rate of poverty in the city.
Keomanee is listed on the ballot as a parent but does not appear to have a campaign website or other platforms.
Westfall is a youth minister at Fresno/Madera Youth for Christ. Her bio on that website says she moved to Fresno from Ohio three years ago, is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree, and previously volunteered with Americorps.
How to vote
All voters who already are registered to vote will receive a ballot in the mail.
Voters can return their ballot in the envelope provided to a ballot dropbox, which are installed in a number of convenient places throughout the county. The Fresno County Registrar of Voters provides a map of dropbox locations on its website.
Voters also can return their ballots by mail in the envelope provided. The postage for that envelope is prepaid, so you won’t need a stamp.
There will be in-person vote centers open for voters who need assistance, want to vote on an accessible tablet, need to obtain a replacement ballot, need language assistance, need to register and vote in person, or any other reason, according to information on the Fresno County Registrar of Voters website. You can also find a map of vote centers on that site. The map is color-coded to show which vote centers are open for 11 days or four days prior to the election.
Early voting began Monday, meaning that was the first day the elections office will accept completed ballots. To complete early voting in person, you can mail your ballot, drop it in a dropbox, or vote in person at the County Clerk’s office, located at 2221 Kern St., Fresno, CA 93721.
The last day to register to vote is May 23. Anyone who registers to vote after that may fill out a conditional registration form and ballot at the County Clerk’s office or at a vote center.
Eleven-day vote centers will be open from Saturday, May 28 until Election Day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. All vote centers will be open starting June 4. On Election Day, all vote centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
June 14 is the last day the Registrar of Voters office will accept a ballot postmarked no later than June 7.