The David of Sassoon statue outside the Fresno County Hall of Records, seen Aug. 11, 2026.
David Taub
The Fresno Bee
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted to place a controversial transportation tax measure on the March 7, 2028, ballot, setting up a lawsuit over when voters might ultimately decide the measure.
Tuesday was the moment of truth for the supervisors, but the conflict remains when voters will really decide the half-cent Better Roads, Safe Streets sales tax for transportation projects. Despite the 3-2 vote by the supervisors for a March 2028 vote, Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus said a new state law requires him to place the item on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The supervisors also voted 3-2 to sue Kus, the initiative proponents and the state over a state law passed last week mandating the Nov. 3 date. It is not immediately clear when or where the lawsuit might be filed.
Supervisors Garry Bredefeld, Buddy Mendes and Nathan Magsig voted in favor of the March 2028 date and the lawsuit; Luis Chavez and Brian Pacheco voted against. The 2028 tax vote will be known as Measure S.
Separately, four councilmembers called for a special meeting for Wednesday to withdraw the city’s tax measure.
What is the real election date?
Both the supervisors and Kus said they were following state law regarding the real election date.
Last month, the supervisors ordered a financial impact study that delayed a vote on placing the Better Roads, Safe Streets plan on the Nov. 3 ballot. A state law (AB 1923) — crafted, approved and signed in four days on Aug. 6 — took away the supervisors’ ability to vote on placing the measure on the ballot, securing a slot in the Nov. 3 election for the half-cent sales tax to replace Measure C, which is expiring next year.
Supporters say Measure S would raise $7 billion over 30 years.
Andy Levine, the Better Roads, Safe Streets campaign manager, said his group is celebrating being on the November ballot.
“We have absolute confidence and have been assured by everybody involved that this will be on the November ballot and voters will be able to decide,” said Levine, who is also a Fresno Unified trustee.
Kus told The Bee he might have to hire an attorney just for his office. Usually, they are represented by Fresno County counsel, who now apparently will be filing the lawsuit.
He said that the election process for this matter is handled by state code. “So that’s where we’re going to be working off of,” he said.
Kus must legally deliver the first set of ballots on Sept. 19 to overseas voters and those serving in the military. He would need to send the ballot to the printers by Sept. 8 to meet the deadline.
Supervisors discuss
No supporters of Better Roads, Safe Streets spoke during public comment, leaving the discussion up to the supervisors.
Magsig found a conflict with state law AB 1923 and other election law, namely the Aug. 7 deadline to place measure on the ballot. “This is something the courts will have to figure out,” he said.
Chavez said that supporters of Better Roads, Safe Streets would sue if the election was not Nov. 3. He said he wanted to respect the wishes of the more than 32,000 people who signed the initiative.
“This body’s done nothing wrong. This body followed election state law,” Bredefeld said. He criticized supporters for crafting a state law specific to Fresno County. “We have every right to stand up to those special interests.”
Bredefeld also questioned the professional relationship between Central Valley Community Foundation President and CEO Ashley Swearengin — whose group bankrolled the signature gathering process — and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
City passed its own tax measure, Measure S says withdraw
City of Fresno voters will also have a second tax measure on the Nov. 3 ballot. This would also raise taxes a half-cent just in the city, once Measure C expires. The city-only measure would go to the general fund instead of being directed at transportation spending. The city measure would automatically expire if voters approve the Better Roads, Safe Streets.
Levine called for the city to withdraw its measure.
“We can all agree that we do not want to have two potentially … competing measures on the ballot, in this case, city of Fresno voters to have to figure out and complicate things. And so we would recommend for the city of Fresno measure to be pulled back by tomorrow’s deadline, so that we can all coalesce around one single countywide measure that assures voters exactly where the money will go, and specifically to local transportation improvement projects,” Levine said.
Fresno City Council President Nelson Esparza did not immediately respond on Tuesday. He indicated he would not call a meeting in a Monday statement to The Bee.
“The City’s measure is there simply as a backstop in the unfortunate event that AB 1923 is stymied through defiance or legal challenges. We can’t gamble the livelihoods of several hundred city employees on the judicial process,” Esparza said.
State election law gives the city until Wednesday to withdraw. Even though Esparza did not call a meeting, four other councilmembers did, as they are allowed to do. The meeting will take place Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Miguel Arias, Tyler Maxwell, Brandon Vang and Nick Richardson called for the meeting. The council is scheduled to vote on removing its tax measure.
Board received report
The board received the 500-page report it requested analyzing the financial impacts of the proposed tax measure.
The report said Measure S is “more prescriptive and less flexible than prior Measure C programs.” The measure would focus on fixing the “worst first” roads, even if it means lowering the priority of improving more traveled roads. If all roads were to meet the desired PCI 70 metric — meaning roads are in satisfactory condition — the county would need to send an extra $29.5 million.
The plan’s 4% allocation to regional roads could affect future funding. “(The) region’s ability to leverage matching funds through competitive programs would be diminished compared to Measure C’s performance,” the report said.
The report criticized several other aspects of Measure S, including governance, meeting needs, and economic benefit.
Magsig said he is concerned the Better Roads, Safe Streets plan would make it more difficult to expand roads to reduce congestion.
Melissa Montalvo contributed to this story.
This story was originally published August 11, 2026 at 2:17 PM.
The Fresno Bee
David Taub joined the Fresno Bee in 2026 after reporting 10 years for digital publication GV Wire. He has worked in the Fresno market since 2007. Prior to moving to the Central Valley, he worked for TV and radio stations on the Central Coast. He has also worked behind the scenes in local TV and radio. During his career, he has covered City Hall, the state Capitol, the White House and several houses of government in between. When not in a reporting capacity, he works tracking stats for the Fresno Grizzlies as an official scorekeeper, and also with televised basketball and football games. He has worked the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and several MLB games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue!