Two Clovis councilmembers are vying for upcoming county supervisor board vacancy
Two Clovis councilmembers have announced their candidacy to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
The seat, which represents District 5—consisting of eastern Fresno, Clovis, and extending eastward to the border of Tulare and Inyo counties—will become vacant when incumbent Nathan Magsig (R-Clovis) takes office in the California State Senate.
Magsig received 59.6% of the vote in the primary election for State Senate District 12, according to unofficial vote counts from the Secretary of State as of June 10.
Though Magsig still faces a runoff in November, once he is successfully sworn in, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors is expected to hold a special election next spring to fill the vacancy, he said.
Meanwhile, Clovis Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua and Mayor Pro Tem Diane Pearce both launched campaigns for the position.
Mouanoutoua, director of external relations for Community Health Systems and a lecturer at Fresno State, was elected to the Clovis City Council in 2017 and became the city’s first Hmong mayor in 2024. His second term ends in 2028. Mouanoutoua’s family immigrated to the U.S. in 1976 as Laotian refugees. He moved to Clovis from Huntington Beach in 1996. Before his tenure as a councilmember, he served on the city’s Planning Commission for over a decade.
Pearce, who owns an entertainment company and works as a part-time television and radio host, joined the Clovis City Council in 2022. Pearce’s term will end this November. She announced in April that she would not seek re-election but decided to run for the county board.
Magsig told The Fresno Bee that he knows both council members well and he considers them friends. The race may draw many candidates, he said. He has not yet decided which candidate to support.
On Thursday, Allen Clyde, a retired foot doctor and member of the Fresno County Board of Education since 2001, told The Bee that he is interested in running for the position.
The competition between the two Clovis City Council colleagues has already begun, though they will continue to sit side by side on the dais for the next five months.
“People don’t know what my opponent stands for because he hasn’t spoken out or fought for anything,” Pearce told The Bee. “The decision in this race is an easy one. Do you want a proven fighter who is willing to stand against the “go-along to get-along” mentality or do you prefer a ceremonial ribbon-cutter who doesn’t speak out?”
The Bee spoke with both candidates about their goals and priorities.
Vong Mouanoutoua
Mouanoutoua said he decided to run for the supervisor seat because the county office serves the neediest population.
“I understand being on food stamps, Medi-Cal, housing assistance, and summer work programs,” said Mouanoutoua, in recounting how his family started from being on public assistance and worked their way up. “The county is about human services. I want to be there for that.”
If elected as a county supervisor, his priorities will be to help the population in need, ensure the county’s public safety agencies are adequately funded and operate efficiently, support the work of the District Attorney’s Office and the probation department, and secure funding and resources for water, agriculture, forestry, and fire services, so residents who live near the forest could have lower costs in insurance, he said.
Serving on the Clovis City Council has taught him how to listen better, he said. Mouanoutoua cited his interactions with city government staff and residents, as well as his experience in community service, as strengths in his campaign.
He said during his tenure, he focused on the work that the councilmember is elected to do, such as public safety, economic and business development, clean streets, parks and trails services, and creating great neighbourhoods for Clovis residents.
In response to Pearce’s remarks, Mouanoutoua said he always shows up and listens, and he chose to focus on the city government’s responsibility. His services on the dais and in the public square are not a secret, he said.
“I am approachable. I am civil. I serve with humility and with care,” he said. “By being present, I have learned first-hand the needs of our residents, businesses and city departments.”
Diane Pearce
Pearce said if she becomes a county supervisor, she would stand against unreasonable Sacramento mandates.
“I’m not willing to sit back and watch Fresno County become San Francisco or Los Angeles, we need a proven fighter willing to push back,” Pearce said. “The experience I’ve gained on the Clovis City Council on the issues of public safety, land use, maintaining infrastructure, preserving local control, and fighting to protect our values prepares me well to tackle these issues at the county.”
Pearce is one of the more vocal members of Clovis’s five-member city council. She advocates for local control and local values, and frequently voices her opinions on state and federal issues. During her tenure, she championed putting the national motto in the council chamber. Before last year’s CIF State Track & Field Championships, she organized a pair of press conferences to oppose the participation of transgender athletes in girls’ competitions.
Her priorities include creating safe neighborhoods, strengthening deputy patrols and implementing hands-on wildlife prevention in the Sierra, ensuring District 5 secures a fair share of road maintenance funds, and defending the county against Sacramento overreach, she said.
“I’ll protect our kids against an agenda that seeks to indoctrinate them with bizarre and age-inappropriate gender ideology,” Pearce said.
Pearce, who joined the city council in 2022, said she is proud to have built a reputation that assures people she will continue to speak out and fight for them.
When the results showed that Magsig had secured a majority of votes in his state senate race on the second day of the primary election, Pearce changed her social media handle from her council title to “Diane Pearce for Supervisor.”
“I’ve been completely honest with the voters about who I am and what I believe, and I have a lot of people who thank me for that transparency,” she said.
Pearce said she remains laser-focused on representing the citizens of Clovis until the final minute of her term on the council. Meeting with voters on the weekends won’t impede her councilmember responsibilities, she said.
