Who was really behind Fresno council candidate attack mailer? One mystery solved
An anonymous attack ad inserted last-minute drama in the March special election to fill a seat on the Fresno City Council, accusing the eventual winner of statutory rape.
More than a month after the race to replace Luis Chavez, now a Fresno County supervisor, a piece of the mystery that’s gripped the city’s political circles has become clear: The person behind the dark money political action committee group that sent the negative mailers to District 5 voters is a local political consultant with ties to the previous seatholder.
On April 10, the Fresno Future Forward PAC responsible for the attack ad filed an amended campaign 410 form with the City of Fresno, listing Alex Tavlian as treasurer and principal officer. Attempts to reach the previous treasurer, Riley Moore, who is no longer listed on the filings, were unsuccessful. The group is responsible for the controversial mailer targeting Brandon Vang, a former Sanger Unified trustee who won the special election.
But the connection to Tavlian, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday, is only one piece of the puzzle.
It’s still unclear who funded the political action committee that sent the mailer or who released confidential information from Fresno County that was referenced in the mailer. Vang’s opponents — including Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, who is married to Chavez — denied any involvement with the mailer.
Pedro Ramirez, Brandon Vang’s campaign manager, said there are still questions that need to be answered.
“Anybody can set up a PAC. I’d like to know who funded it,” Ramirez said. “The public deserves to know.”
Weeks before the March 18 special election, a group called Fresno Future Forward sent a mailer to hundreds of homes in southeast Fresno that included allegations of statutory rape of a 15-year-old and confidential Fresno County records related to Vang’s paternity and child support. The mailer left out that the alleged victim is Vang’s wife of 30 years.
Vang, 52, and his wife, May Lee, 47, denied the accusations in the ad and called them “completely false and deeply hurtful.”
Dark money refers to special interests using illegal tactics to inject large amounts of secret money into elections as a way to hide political spending and avoid accountability, according to the nonpartisan legal organization Campaign Legal Center.
Little was known about the PAC behind the mailer until Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz launched an investigation into the group for violating 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 group hadn’t filed any records with the city prior to sending out the mailer. There’s no record of the group with the California Secretary of State.
Records since filed with the city following the probe show the group spent more than $4,000 in independent expenditures.
Janz confirmed to Bee reporters on Monday that he notified Tavlian by letter of the the $1,000 fine after the amended form was filed.
Vang’s campaign team will be watching for the PAC’s required donor filings that are due in July, Ramirez said.
If the city’s campaign finance rules are not fully enforced, he said, “what’s stopping this from happening again?”
Vang won the race and was sworn into office April 10. He is the second Hmong American on the Fresno council and the first to represent the district that includes neighborhoods east of downtown along Cesar Chavez Avenue, bordering the unincorporated community of Calwa to the southwest and the Sunnyside county island to the east.
Who is Alex Tavlian?
Tavlian wears multiple hats and is well known in political circles. He’s worked as a consultant on several campaigns, such as communications for the Fresno Teacher Association planned strike in 2023.
He is also the founder of the conservative-leaning San Joaquin Valley Sun website, though it’s unclear if he remains executive editor of the publication.
One of Tavlian’s consulting groups, Local Government Strategic Consulting, has also received multiple contracts from the city of Fresno for public affairs and outreach. This includes one contract for up to $100,000 for District 5 communications authorized by Chavez on Dec. 17 — a month after voters elected Chavez to serve on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
The contract for District 5 “Strategic Communications and Public Relations Services” through December 2025 drew scrutiny during the special election for the size and scope of the work.
It’s unclear clear why Chavez authorized a contract for future services to be fulfilled months after vacating the City Council seat. Chavez didn’t immediately respond to request for comment Wednesday on the contract.
In an email statement, Vang confirmed he canceled the contract with Tavlian’s group upon entering office:
“After thoughtful consideration, I decided to cancel the agreement as I did not believe it aligned with the immediate needs and priorities of District 5,” Vang said. “I remain committed to using our resources with transparency and accountability, always guided by the best interest of District 5 residents.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 10:15 AM.
