Four candidates seek to fill empty Fresno City Council seat. This one has our support | Opinion
Voters in southeast Fresno are fortunate to have a trio of candidates for the vacant Fresno City Council District 5 post with years of experience in elected or appointed posts who can represent residents’ interest. They will have a choice to make in the March 18 special election.
They are among four candidates seeking to fill the seat left vacant when two-term Councilmember Luis Chávez was elected to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors last fall.
The position pays $122,000 in salary and benefits.
In alphabetical order, those who bring experience are:
▪ José León Barraza, 74, is a former Fresno County economic development manager who serves on the city of Fresno’s Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission. He has served as CEO of the Southeast Fresno Community Economic Development Association for 13 years. He has run three previous times for the council seat
▪ Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, 40, has served on the Fresno Unified School District Board since 2016 and won reelection last fall. She is deputy general manager of external affairs for the Westlands Water District.
▪ Brandon Vang, 52, has served as a trustee of the Sanger Unified School District since 2016, and ran unopposed in 2024. He is a stay-at-home dad with four grown children and a 13-year-old. Vang ran second to Chávez in 2022, losing by 10 percentage points.
The Fresno Bee Editorial Board met virtually with the three hopefuls, along with a fourth candidate, Paul Condon, 49, a marketing and ad sales professional.
Three candidates with public experience
Barraza has been a longtime proponent of park space in the district, which is 70% Latino and 12.4% Asian. As a member of the parks commission, he has also pushed for Measure P funds to be spread equally among council districts.
“We have concentrated poverty, limited job opportunities, abandoned buildings, high crime, and limited housing and park/recreational opportunities,” Barraza told The Bee. “I believe I am the only candidate that has extensive experience in addressing those problems in all those areas.”
Jonasson Rosas, who is married to Chávez, told The Bee she is ready to govern on Day 1 due to her working with a school district budget that is similar to the city’s. Jonasson Rosas has served on the Measure C oversight committee, in addition to several nonprofit boards.
“I really believe in public service,” she said. “I’m not doing this for a job; I really am doing this because I truly believe public service is a calling for me.”
Vang, who represents the Sunnyside area on the Sanger school board, points to his ability to get the $150 million Sanger West High School built. It opened its doors in 2022. He worked as a deputy probation officer in Riverside, and has worked with the Fresno County Social Services Department.
“Look at my record as an elected official on the school board. For the last nine years I was able to bring a junior high, high school, and in the next few years an elementary school into the area I represent,” said Vang. “That is how you work with the school board. I would do the same thing if I am lucky enough to be representing you at City Hall.”
Condon, who has previously run for the council, said he “literally” knows everyone in the district and will get his “good friend” Elon Musk to come to Fresno and help him.
Bee Editorial Board’s endorsement
We believe Jonasson Rosas is the best qualified candidate. She deserves the vote of southeast Fresno residents.
Jonasson Rosas has a keen understanding of the city’s $2 billion budget, and its looming $20 million deficit. She knows that a mere hiring freeze fails to solve the problem.
“Though the total budget of the city is $2 billion, the general fund is only about $483 million because the rest of it is enterprise or special revenues (Measure C, trash and such),” she said. “So, a blanket hiring freeze wouldn’t make much sense.”
Jonasson Rosas said strategic hiring freezes will be warranted to make sure that vacancies in the police and fire departments get filled first. She also said municipal workers can suggest areas for savings.
Jonasson Rosas’ thoughts on other major issues of importance to district residents:
▪ Housing: Red tape and city processes add time and delays that end up costing money for developers, which is passed down to buyers. “There are processes that the city can do to better communicate without lessening our standards,” she said. The city’s approval of accessory dwelling units (UDIs) will help expand housing units, she said.
▪ Southeast Development Area Specific Plan (SEDA), which would lead to the construction of approximately 45,000 housing units in an area of 9,000 acres east of the city limits: “It’s important for us to plan for the future. We have sprawled as a city, making it difficult for us to provide services at the quality that we want,” she said. “For us to be able to plan systematically a part of town is important and critical to the future of our city.”
Asked how her views on SEDA would differ or be similar from those of Supervisor Chávez, she said, “I will vote based on my assessment of SEDA, even if it differs from that of any other person, including Luis.”
▪ Parks: “We do have Measure P dollars that I understand have been focused on fixing facilities; but the next phase is implementing the parks master plan, which has identified several new parks in southeast Fresno,” she said.
Jonasson Rosas said she can get the job done while working another full-time job. “I’ll dedicate all the time that it takes to get the (council) job done,” she said. “The fortunate part about this is that it’s a short-term election; so, I’ll be up for election in two years.
“It’ll be a short window for people to be able to judge the effectiveness of the incoming council member.”
The Editorial Board believes Jonasson Rosas is the best candidate to represent District 5.
This story was originally published March 6, 2025 at 5:30 AM.