Perea gives 11th-hour endorsement to candidate vying for Fresno District 1 seat
Outgoing Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea has endorsed candidate Rob Fuentes in the competitive District 1 race to succeed her.
Perea has held the District 1 seat since late 2022 and is running for the California State Assembly District 31 seat in the June 2 primary election.
“We achieved so much in four years, championing safer neighborhoods, government transparency, affordable housing, and equitable treatment for all our city’s residents. But the job is not done,” Perea said in a social media post made by Fuentes on Friday. “Rob Fuentes is the person I trust to see the work through. He has the experience, skills, and values to build on what we started.”
Three other candidates vying for the District 1 spot: the city of Fresno’s Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator Joe Hinojosa, former campaign coordinator Monte Forkas and nonprofit leader and Central Unified board trustee Naindeep Singh.
Check out The Bee’s Voter Guide and endorsements in the four City Council primary races
The district covers a large portion of northwest and west-central Fresno, including Tower District, the Fresno High area, parts of Fig Garden, and areas west of Highway 99.
Watch the full 55-minute District 1 candidate forum here and read our District 1 voter guide here to learn more about each of the candidates.
“With her support, we will continue to fight to build safer, stronger, more inclusive neighborhoods for all our city’s residents,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes has also been endorsed by Perea’s father, Henry R. Perea, a prominent Fresno politician who formerly served on the City Council and the County Board of Supervisors, and Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer.
“One of the things that I also look at for city council races is their ability to work well with other council members and the administration,” he said. “The last thing we need is a council member to come in and disrupt the sweet spirit that we have at City Hall right now.”
The Fresno City Council District 1 candidates recently gathered for a forum hosted by The Fresno Bee, where they each expressed their positions on local issues and answered questions.
The primary election will take place on June 2. Vote-by-mail ballots were sent out in early May. To secure a seat, a candidate must receive over 50% of the vote. If no one gets a majority of the vote, the top two candidates will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.