Voters should back City Council incumbents representing southeast and central Fresno

Two incumbents are running to return to the Fresno City Council, and they should be supported by voters.

Those incumbents are Luis Chavez in District 5 (southeast Fresno) and Nelson Esparza in District 7 (central Fresno).

They have worked diligently to improve their districts and change the dynamic of the council from one that cared mostly about developing the city northward to one that is focusing on raising up the quality of life for those living in lower-income neighborhoods south of Shaw Avenue.

Esparza has been frequently joined by colleagues Miguel Arias, Esmeralda Soria and Tyler Maxwell to form a progressive majority. Chavez has acted as a moderate, while council members Mike Karbassi and Garry Bredefeld, representing north Fresno districts, have staked more conservative positions that have left them in the minority on certain issues.

Here is a more specific breakdown on the District 5 and 7 races on the June primary ballot:

District 5

Chavez has the opportunity to serve longer on the council than most. He first won a special election to the seat in 2016 to serve the final two years of Sal Quintero’s term, after Quintero was elected to the county Board of Supervisors.

Chavez then easily won re-election in 2018. If he wins his third campaign for District 5, he will ultimately serve 10 years on the council instead of the customary eight, as required by term limits. (His first two years were exempt from that restriction.)

In 2016, Chavez told The Bee that the previous recession had taught him “how to effectively prioritize and budget for critical city services.” It is a lesson he has taken to heart: Chavez says 22 of the 35 neighborhoods in his southeast Fresno district have undergone road repairs and repaving. He expects that number to grow to 30 neighborhoods by the end of his tenure, should he win re-election this year.

He and other council members just celebrated news of planned openings of new health centers in heavily polluted parts of the city.

For District 5, United Health Centers will open a clinic at Jensen and Cedar avenues, near Calwa Elementary School. Another UHC clinic is opening this month at Kings Canyon Road and Minnewawa Avenue, also in Chavez’s district.

The emphasis on improving health is personal to Chavez: He attended 27 funerals over the past two years for people who died from COVID complications.

If re-elected, Chavez promises to serve out his four-year term. He particularly wants to have a leading role in development of the southeast area, as well as see completion of the long-planned Fancher Creek Town Center. That retail and dining hub, off Clovis Avenue, is intended to rival northeast Fresno’s River Park.

Also on the ballot is Brandon Vang, a Sanger Unified School District board member. He was unavailable for interview by The Bee’s Editorial Board. His campaign website says he wants to help the city recover from the pandemic, and he seeks to direct economic growth and housing development.

District 7

Esparza is running for re-election with the perspective that his central Fresno district is the “second most underserved” of the council areas in the city.

To improve that difficult reality, Esparza joined his colleagues in establishing a special financing district to create new housing, roadway, transit and lighting improvements, and economic development projects. The financing district covers downtown and the southern end of Blackstone Avenue, which lies in District 7. The total investment expected within the district is $345 million over the next half century.

Esparza also voted with the majority on a measure that limits how many stores can sell liquor in Fresno. The Responsible Neighborhood Market Act is intended to drive down the concentration of shops selling alcoholic beverages from Fresno’s current average of one per 1,000 residents, which is much higher than the statewide average of one per 2,500 residents.

To better find out what residents in his district want, Esparza has been holding a half dozen town hall meetings each year to gather input.

Also on the ballot for District 7 are Courtney Westfall and Jason Jesada Keomanee. Neither responded to The Bee Editorial Board’s invitation for interviews.

Westfall has a Facebook page for her campaign that shows photos, but no goals and priorities. Keomanee does not show a campaign presence in social media.

The Bee Editorial Board recommends voters in District 5 re-elect Luis Chavez, and in District 7 re-elect Nelson Esparza.