New Fresno Co. campaign filing shows District 1 candidate has 4 times the cash
One candidate for Fresno County’s District 1 supervisor seat has far outpaced his competitors for campaign contributions with four times as much money in the coffers than the second-highest earner.
The crowded Fresno County election has drawn six hopefuls vying for the seat left with no incumbent as Supervisor Brian Pacheco aims for a state Assembly seat in the 27th District.
Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi reported $188,000 in contributions in the latest disclosure documents, which were due to the Fresno County Registrar of Voters on April 23.
Karbassi pulled down a convincing win in a special election in 2019 to join the City Council in the city’s northwest district. He also outdid his competition in contributions in that race, and won re-election in 2024.
The small business owner initially declared he’d run to be county clerk, but in December announced his bid for the county’s District 1 seat days after Pacheco said he would not seek re-election as a supervisor. Karbassi dropped the run for clerk.
In the first four months of the year, Karbassi spent almost $69,000, according to his required campaign filing. The form lists 68 donors of $500 or less, but it also touts 46 who gave more than that.
The largest donors to his campaign were $30,000 from Shiralian Enterprises Inc., owned by Shapour Shiralian; $15,900 from developer Richard Spencer; and $12,000 from political action committee Central Valley Council, which lists its treasurer as Alena Pacheco. She is also the treasurer listed on Karbassi’s campaign documents, and filings from Central Valley Council in December 2025 listed another treasurer as Alex Tavlian, an established political organizer with ties to additional PACs in the area.
Karbassi has also received a significant amount of money from members of the Assemi family, which includes multiple prominent developers and farmers from the Fresno area, as well as those with close ties. Those donations include $4,700 from Granville Homes, which is owned by Darius Assemi; $4,000 from Farshid Assemi, a brother of Darius; $4,700 from Assemi Group Inc.; $3,000 from Kevin Assemi, who is president of the Assemi Group; and $1,000 from the Wittrup for FUSD Trustee 2026 committee. School Board Trustee Susan Wittrup is in a romantic relationship with Darius Assemi.
Candidate Omar Hernandez
Omar Hernandez won the election for West Hills Community College District trustee in 2024 and is listed as a farmer on the ballot. He’s also the son of immigrants, and was president of the Associated Students Inc. while a student at Fresno State
His campaign contribution filing shows him as gathering the second most in the District 1 race at almost $48,000, but the lion’s share ($30,000) came from the Youth Save Democracy PAC.
That PAC got its start in what was ultimately a failed run at Congress in 2024 by Johnathon Burrows, who was listed as Hernandez’s point of contact during his run for the trustee seat. Burrows suspended his campaign before the congressional election and used the money he raised for the PAC, which was co-founded by Fresno City Council District 7 candidate Nav Gurm.
Twenty-five of Hernandez’s donations were of $500 or less.
He received $4,000 from Esparza for SCCCD 2026, the campaign committee to elect Nelson Esparza to the Board of Equalization.
Hernandez’s campaign has spent about $6,000, according to the filings.
Candidate Maria Pacheco
Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco, the first Latina and Indigenous person to hold that office, reported more than $42,000 in donations this year. Pacheco, also a senior field representative for Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, has spent nearly $16,000.
Before taking office in Kerman in 2022, she worked as a human resources manager and nonprofit executive director.
She has 29 donations of $500 or less.
She reported her largest donations of $10,000 from Luz Cabrera, a property manager for RT Diversified Inc. in Fresno; $5,000 from Intersect USA LLC, a food processor in Valencia; and $5,438 each from Urvi Dunnington of Lafayette, California, and John Dreher of Ventura.
Candidate Lupe Flores
A trustee for 21 years with the Mendota Unified School District Board of Trustees, Lupe Flores raised about $12,000 and spent about $9,000, according to her filing.
Flores served as school board president through the COVID-19 pandemic and has worked for both the California Labor Commissioner’s Office and the Employment Development Department. Her husband, John Flores, served two terms on the Mendota City Council.
Flores listed $5,000 from a loan to herself and another $5,000 contribution from a retired Firebaugh resident. The other seven contributions were of $500 or less.
Candidate Eric Payne
Eric Payne, the executive director of the nonprofit organization The Central Valley Urban Institute, reported $2,040 in contributions. He’s spent $2,738, the filing says.
Payne is also a former member of the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees, where he was previously fined by the Fair Political Practices Commission.
All of his 18 campaign contributions came as donations of $250 or less, the filing shows.
Candidate Felipe Perez
Firebaugh Councilmember Felipe Perez, who has also served as mayor, has not filed paperwork listing campaign contributions.
Candidates are required to file paperwork if they raise or spend more than $2,000 for their run for office, which does not include Fresno County filing fees.
He said during a candidate forum at Central High School on Tuesday he had a budget of $1,600 raised from money of his own and from one other person he did not name.
Perez has worked as a project coordinator at Fresno State’s Office of Community and Economic Development and general manager of Biola, a small community west of Fresno.
What to know about District 1
The district is made up of mostly the western part of the county, encompassing much of Fresno west of Highway 99. Firebaugh, Kerman, Mendota, San Joaquin and several unincorporated rural towns on the westside are also within the district.
To secure a seat, a candidate must receive at least 50% plus one vote in the primary election on June 2. If no candidate reaches that mark, the top two vote-getters advance to the Nov. 3 election.
This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 9:30 AM.
