FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Rene Campos filed his candidacy paperwork for the Fresno City Council District 7 race on Friday, submitting the documents by the filing deadline.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The video above is from a previous broadcast and will be updated.
According to an email from Nav Gurm’s campaign team, who is also a candidate for District 7, filing does not guarantee a place on the ballot. To qualify, Campos must also obtain 20 nomination signatures from registered voters who live in District 7. Those signatures must be submitted to the Fresno County Clerk’s Office by 5 p.m. Friday for verification.
Campos was charged with being in possession of child sex abuse material in 2018. The Fresno native says he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge.
When he launched his campaign to represent District 7 in February, he told Action News his focus is on safety.
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“They say let’s choose somebody outside the box, somebody who knows the system from the inside out, because me, I’ve experienced the laws that we are trying to reform right now,” says Campos.
On Tuesday, Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria of Merced introduced a bill that would block registered sex offenders from running or holding any local or state public office.
RELATED: CA bill would ban registered sex offenders from holding office after Fresno candidate sparks outcry
“It was very disturbing to hear the news that we would have in the City of Fresno, the fifth largest city in the State of California, have a sex offender, a registered sex offender, serve in the city council,” said Assemblywoman Soria.
Currently, state law does not prohibit registrants from running for council.
This is a developing story. Stay with Action News for updates.
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