What’s at stake?
Mike Karbassi announced plans to step down as Fresno City Council President, but will continue serving on the council.
Northwest Fresno Councilmember Mike Karbassi is stepping down from his role as City Council President, city officials confirmed Friday.
Karbassi did not immediately respond to Fresnoland’s request for comment.
First reported by GV Wire, Karbassi announced his resignation as president through an email to the other six councilmembers. Karbassi added that he endorses Council Vice President Nelson Esparza to replace him as president.
Esparza confirmed with Fresnoland on Friday that he’ll be running for the role.
“I appreciate Councilmember Karbassi’s service as Council President, and I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues to lead the Council for the remainder of my tenure at City Hall,” Esparza told Fresnoland.
Karbassi has been council president since January 2025 and lobbied his colleagues to become the council’s first two-term president on Jan. 15 under recent changes to its leadership rules.
In the email to his colleagues, Karbassi said he is handing off the president’s gavel to focus more on his campaign for county supervisor in the upcoming June primary election.
Karbassi is not resigning from the city council and will continue representing his northwest district while campaigning in a six-way race to replace outgoing county Supervisor Brian Pacheco.
The next Fresno City Council meeting will be on Thursday, March 19.
Fresnoland’s Danielle Bergstrom contributed to this story.
This is a developing story.
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