ENDORSE: Fresno City Council District 3, bringing state experience to the local level
Seven candidates are vying for the open Fresno City Council District 3 seat in the June 2 primary election. The current council member, Miguel Arias, has held the position since 2019 and will term out at the end of the year.
The district covers the southwest areas of Fresno, including downtown, Chinatown, the Tower District, and Edison and Lowell neighborhoods. It also includes most of the city’s industrial parks in south Fresno.
The slate of candidates includes: tradesman Charles Montoya, Fresno County School Board Trustee Fernando Alvarez, Fresno County Department of Health administrative caseworker Jalen Swank, Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula, Fresno Unified Trustee Keshia Thomas, real estate broker and contractor Larry Burrus and crisis response manager Tiffany Apodaca.
With seven candidates, we expect there to be a runoff in the November general election. With that in mind, we’re offering a main endorsement and another candidate to consider:
Joaquin Arambula: An emergency room physician, Arambula has served in the California State Assembly representing Fresno since 2016. He is set to term out of the Assembly District 31 seat at the end of the year.
We are all in on experience here and value Arambula’s years as a state assemblyman. We believe he could help balance a council that will likely be filled with new members without much experience as local elected leaders.
Watch the full District 3 candidate forum here: Fresno City Council D3 candidates answer key questions during Fresno Bee forum
The Fresno Bee Editorial Board consists of editors and community advisors. We plan to expand the board following the June 2 primary to include more community members.
Read about our plans for a community editorial board
In this year’s endorsement cycle, we’ve left out SEDA in our considerations because most of the candidates across the four city council races say they do not support the current plan but might in the future with some revisions. We looked for a combination of fresh perspectives and practical experience.
Here’s where City Council candidates stand on SEDA, Fresno’s massive development plan
The Bee editorial board thinks a new council should rethink the anti-camping ordinance and support sensible economic development projects that can increase economic activity in downtown and elsewhere in Fresno as they raise the city’s profile, such as a new downtown soccer stadium.
Economic development: Arambula says he is a “true believer” in High-Speed Rail and that it will transform Downtown and Chinatown neighborhoods and improve Fresno’s economy. He’s committed to supporting it at the local level, but he said that businesses and residents who live in the area must be protected from displacement.
“The station will bring economic development, housing and create a thriving downtown, but that cannot be at the expense of people living there,” Arambula told The Bee. “We must invest and support our local small business community and our neighbors.”
Anti-camping ordinance: Arambula, like other candidates, says the county needs to be more involved in providing services that might prevent homelessness to begin with, such as ramping up the CARE court. The sometimes-controversial program allows for court diversion for some in mental health distress into programs focused on providing services and a personalized housing plan.
Arambula was one of the few candidates to directly address the controversial anti-camping ordinance.
“We cannot arrest our way out of this problem,” he said at The Bee’s candidates’ forum. “I don’t think the ordinance has worked terribly well for us.”
We liked Arambula’s solutions-oriented approach. He pointed to several successful tiny home initiatives sponsored by churches and nonprofits that hold promise for making a dent in the homelessness crisis in Fresno. Changes to state law allow for more home construction on connected fallow land astride churches.
The city should be “addressing the root issue, which is we need to get people housed,” he said at the forum. “We should not be focused on how we punish everyone. But we do need stability. Businesses need to be able to operate and not have people directly out in front of them.”
Another choice
Keshia Thomas
Thomas has dedicated herself to public service and truly understands the travails faced by some of the less fortunate in the Fresno community. She has governing experience and unlike many candidates, she directly addressed some of the important issues at The Bee forum, such as facing problems with the city’s anti-camping ordinance.
“It worries me when we move in this direction because we’ll overfill the jails, and they really haven’t done anything, except for not having a place to live,” she said at The Bee forum. “We have to find different avenues to help and invest in these people.”
We believe she is worth a look by voters.
Thomas is a former Fresno Unified middle school teacher and current member of the district’s Board of Trustees. She also serves as assistant director of the Homeless Ministry through the Women’s Missionary Union and as assistant director of Children’s Church at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church. Thomas has said neighborhood maintenance, such as repairing and expanding roads and sidewalks, installing traffic lights and trimming trees, is a top issue.
“Our northern neighborhoods have the best, but the south side of the city often gets overlooked,” Thomas said. “This must change. I will be a fierce advocate that my neighborhoods get the resources and attention they deserve.”
Other priorities for her include safe neighborhoods, good jobs and affordable housing, she said.
This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 11:00 AM.
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