How would Fresno City Council candidates address homelessness crisis? We asked them
How to address Fresno’s unhoused community and reimagine a largely ineffective anti-camping ordinance has become a defining issue for city council candidates this primary season.
The ordinance, passed in fall 2024 by the current council, bans sleeping, sitting, lying or storing personal property in public spaces, allowing for arrest as it encourages court diversion into drug treatment and provisional housing over criminal charges. The ordinance followed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed cities to enforce bans, giving local leaders permission to move and arrest homeless people in public spaces across California.
Once lauded as a compassionate model to emulate, Fresno’s law is widely viewed as largely ineffective, so far, at reducing homelessness, with minimal participation in treatment diversions among those targeted in its “treatment first” program.
The Bee recently asked each of the city council candidates in the June 2 primary election to answer a series of questions related to their campaign and positions on local issues, including how they might approach the anti-camping. We also hosted a series of candidate forums and recorded them so you could watch them later at fresnobee.com. Those videos, including one focused on how the candidates answered the homelessness policy question, are posted with the rest of our campaign coverage.
Here’s what homelessness solutions Fresno City Council Candidates from each district favor. Click on the links for details.
Read the Bee’s endorsement: Fresno City Council District 1; a fresh face with some key experience
Read the Bee’s endorsement: Fresno City Council District 5; let’s see what he can do
Fresno City Council District 7 candidates: Nav Gurm, Ariana Martinez Lott and AJ Rassamni.
Opponents typically say the ordinance does little more than criminalize poverty and homelessness, destroys the property of unhoused residents and disrupts vital services. Supporters argue the law is necessary to clear encampments from areas like parks and storefronts and address safety concerns.
Four of the seven Fresno City Council districts will be on the ballot: Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7. To secure a seat, a candidate must receive over 50% of the vote. If no one gets a majority of the vote in the primary, then the top two candidates advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
Many candidates told The Bee they would push for greater collaboration between the city and county, some say expanding shelter capacity is a must. One candidate is in favor of introducing safe camps where people experiencing homelessness in Fresno can stay legally, and another says starting a local industry of 3D printing affordable homes is the solution.
This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 10:25 AM.