by Gregory Weaver, Fresnoland
August 10, 2026

If you aren’t already, the deadline to register to vote for this November is Oct. 19. Here’s how to register or check your status. 

For more information on local races check out the county election clerk’s website. For state races, go see the California Secretary of State. 

Ballot Measures

A replacement of Fresno County’s Measure C called Better Roads, Safe Streets — though as of Aug. 10, the measure has yet to appear on the ballot and members of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors have promised a legal challenge to the new state law that was supposed to guarantee the Measure C replacement a spot on November’s ballot.

Fresno Public Safety, Infrastructure Restoration, and City General Services Tax Ordinance

Fresno County Transient Occupancy Tax Measure 

City of Orange Cove Special Parcel Tax Measure 

City of Coalinga Sales Tax Renewal Measure

Sierra Kings Health Care District Hospital Lease Measure

Fresno County Board of Supervisors

District 1 (incumbent Brian Pacheco is running for State Assembly)

Maria Pacheco — Mayor/Student
Mike Karbassi — Council President/Businessman

Fresno City Council

All three council seats are open. No incumbent is running for re-election.

District 1 (incumbent Annalisa Perea, running for Assembly)

Naindeep Singh — Nonprofit Director/Trustee
Rob Fuentes — Educator/College Trustee

District 3 (incumbent Miguel Arias, running for Fresno Unified)

Joaquin Arambula — Doctor/Assemblymember
Keshia Thomas — Fresno Unified School District Trustee

District 7 (incumbent Nelson Esparza, running for Board of Equalization)

Nav Gurm — Attorney/Small Businessman
Ariana Martinez Lott — Small Business Owner

Statewide offices

These are the top-two finishers from the June 2 primary.

Governor (incumbent Gavin Newsom)

Xavier Becerra, Democratic — Voting Rights Attorney
Steve Hilton, Republican — Small Business Owner

Lieutenant Governor (incumbent Eleni Kounalakis)

Fiona Ma, Democratic — State Treasurer/CPA
Gloria Romero, Republican — Educator/Businesswoman

Secretary of State

Shirley N. Weber, Democratic — incumbent
Donald P. (Don) Wagner, Republican — Orange County Supervisor

Controller

Malia M. Cohen, Democratic — incumbent
Herb W. Morgan, Republican — Chief Investment Officer

Treasurer (incumbent Fiona Ma)

Eleni Kounalakis, Democratic — Lieutenant Governor of California
Jennifer Hawks, Republican — Retired Business Executive

Attorney General

Rob Bonta, Democratic — incumbent
Michael E. Gates, Republican — Deputy United States Attorney

Insurance Commissioner (incumbent Ricardo Lara) — a Democrat-vs-Democrat runoff

Ben Allen, Democratic — California State Senator
Jane Kim, Democratic — Attorney/Consumer Advocate

State Superintendent of Public Instruction (incumbent Tony Thurmond)

Richard Barrera — State Superintendent Advisor
Sonja Shaw — School District President

State Board of Equalization, District 1 (incumbent Ted Gaines)

Nelson Esparza, Democratic — Teacher/Economist/Councilmember
Shannon Grove, Republican — State Senator/Businesswoman

Congress

Fresno County is split across six congressional districts.

District 5

Michael Masuda, Democrat — Foreign Affairs Officer
Tom McClintock, Republican — incumbent

District 13

Adam Gray, Democrat — incumbent
Kevin Lincoln, Republican — Small Business Owner

District 18

Zoe Lofgren, Democrat — incumbent
Shane Lewis, Republican — Engineer/Failure Analyst

District 20

Sandra Van Scotter, Democrat — Disability Community Advocate
Vince Fong, Republican — incumbent

District 21

Jim Costa, Democrat — incumbent
Kyle Kirkland, Republican — Entrepreneur/Nonprofit CEO

District 22

Randy Villegas, Democrat — Teacher/Business Owner
David G. Valadao, Republican — incumbent

State Legislature

State Senate, District 12 (incumbent Shannon Grove, running for Board of Equalization)

Nathan Magsig, Republican — County Supervisor/Businessman
William Brown Jr., Libertarian — Social Worker/Businessman

State Senate, District 14 (incumbent Anna Caballero)

Esmeralda Soria, Democratic — State Assemblymember
Darin S. DuPont, Republican — Councilman/Water Attorney

State Senate, District 16

Melissa Hurtado, Democratic — incumbent
Guillermo Asuncion Gonzalez, Republican — Small Business Owner

Assembly, District 8 — only one candidate qualified

David Jariustokaeutulelei Tangipa, Republican — incumbent

Assembly, District 27 (incumbent Esmeralda Soria, running for state Senate)

Brian Pacheco, Democratic — County Supervisor/Farmer
Mike Murphy, Republican — Small Business Owner

Assembly, District 31 (incumbent Joaquin Arambula, running for Fresno City Council)

Annalisa Perea, Democratic — City Councilmember/Mother
Jim Polsgrove, Republican — Retired Engineering Technician

Assembly, District 33

Hipolito Angel Cerros, Democratic — Public Policy Fellow
Alexandra (Ali) Macedo, Republican — incumbent

Courts

Two Fresno County Superior Court seats are contested, and both sitting judges are off the ballot.

Superior Court, Office No. 6 (incumbent Jon Conklin)

Ashley S. Paulson — Chief Assistant City Attorney, City of Fresno
Steven R. Ueltzen — Senior Deputy District Attorney, County of Fresno

Superior Court, Office No. 7 (incumbent D. Tyler Tharpe)

Jeff Hammerschmidt — Attorney
Jose L. Salazar — Attorney

Retention questions — no candidates file for these; voters vote yes or no.

5th District Court of Appeal No. 1 — Arlan L. Harrell
5th District Court of Appeal No. 3 — Amy Guerra
5th District Court of Appeal No. 4 — Kathleen A. Meehan
5th District Court of Appeal No. 5 — Mark W. Snauffer
5th District Court of Appeal No. 6 — Thomas DeSantos
Supreme Court No. 6 — Kelli M. Evans
Supreme Court No. 7 — Joshua P. Groban

County education offices

Fresno County Superintendent of Schools

Michele Cantwell-Copher — Fresno County Superintendent (incumbent)
Eimear O’Brien — District Superintendent/Businesswoman

Fresno County Board of Education, Trustee Area 1

Kimberly Tapscott-Munson — incumbent (unopposed)

Fresno County Board of Education, Trustee Area 4

Marcy Masumoto — Board Member/Farmer (incumbent, unopposed)

Merced County Board of Education, Trustee Area 5 (shared district)

Geneva Marie Brett — incumbent
Jesse D. Perez — filed; not listed as qualified

Community colleges

State Center Community College District, Trustee Area 1

Destiny Rodriguez — Businesswoman/Board Trustee (incumbent)
Nicholas Salinas — Business Owner/Contractor
Omair Javaid — Insurance Broker

State Center Community College District, Trustee Area 4

Magdalena Gomez — incumbent (unopposed)

State Center Community College District, Trustee Area 5 (incumbent Rob Fuentes is running for Fresno City Council)

Terance Frazier — Businessman/Nonprofit Director
Marcos Osorio — Educator/Small Businessman

West Hills Community College District, Trustee Area 1

Kenneth Stoppenbrink — appointed incumbent (unopposed)

West Hills Community College District, Trustee Area 2

Salvador Raygoza Godoy — incumbent (unopposed)

School districts

Trustee Area 1 — four candidates, and incumbent Keshia Thomas is not among them

Daren Miller — Retired School Educator
DeShunna Monay Ricks — Chief Executive Officer
Rizpah Bellard — Educator/Rancher/Entrepreneur
Miguel Arias — Parent/Councilmember/CEO

Trustee Area 3

Valerie F. Davis — incumbent
Riley Talford — Juvenile Corrections Supervisor

Trustee Area 4

Genoveva “Veva” Islas — incumbent
Karen Steed — Retired Teacher
Mirna Garcia — Small Businesswoman/Mother

Trustee Area 7

Susan K. Wittrup — School Psychologist/Trustee (incumbent, unopposed)

Central Unified

Trustee Area 1

Joshua Sellers — incumbent
John Nale — Farmer/Vintner

Trustee Area 2 (incumbent Yesenia Carrillo is not on the ballot)

Aimee T. Diener — Business Owner/Mother (unopposed)

Trustee Area 3, short term

Harman Singh — Central Unified School Trustee
Erica Gonzalez Piedra — Educator
Lavera Smith — no ballot designation

Trustee Area 4 (incumbent Nabil Kherfan is not on the ballot)

Carmen Flores — Small Business Owner
Jomar Rushdan — Management Analyst/Parent

Trustee Area 7 (appointed incumbent Naindeep Singh is running for Fresno City Council)

Richard Martinez Jr. — Businessman
Diljot Singh Rai — Student Family Coordinator

Clovis Unified

All three seats are uncontested.

Trustee Area 1: Clint Olivier — Businessman/Parent/Trustee (incumbent)
Trustee Area 3: Tiffany Stoker Madsen — Parent/School Trustee (incumbent)
Trustee Area 6: Deena Combs-Flores — incumbent

Sanger Unified

Trustee Area 2

Peter Filippi (incumbent)
David “Pat” Biddy Jr. — Agronomist/Businessman/Parent

Trustee Area 6 

Jesse Solorio — incumbent (unopposed)

Trustee Area 7

Jesse Vasquez — incumbent (unopposed)

Trustee Area 3, short term

Tang M. Yang — Trustee/Parent (unopposed)

Selma Unified

Trustee Area 3

Joel Fedor — incumbent
Mariana Guerrero-Meza — Parent
Regina Pallares — Correctional Officer

Trustee Area 4

Estella Kessler — incumbent
Sandra “Sandy” Mendoza Aguilera — Retired School Principal

Trustee Area 5

Mark Morales Medina — incumbent
Kent Hitch — Veterans Service Officer
Ronald Sa — Retired Teacher

Kerman Unified

Trustee Area 1 (appointed incumbent Jim Volkoff is not on the ballot)

Marco A. Cortes Arredondo — Bank Manager (unopposed)

Trustee Area 4

Kindra A. Melgoza — incumbent
Louie Y. Vallejo — Principal
(Espi Sandoval filed and then withdrew.)

Trustee Area 5 (incumbent Julie Gragnani is not on the ballot)

Efrain Guizar — no ballot designation
Davinder K. Sidhu — Educator
Maria Medina — Bilingual Project Coordinator

Kings Canyon Joint Unified

Trustee Area 1

Lori Wolter — Retired Educator
Efrain Tovar Jr. — Parent/Educator

Trustee Area 2: 

Sarah Rola — incumbent (unopposed)

Trustee Area 3: 

Monica Benner — incumbent (unopposed)

Trustee Area 4

Robin J. Tyler — incumbent
Juan Reynoso Sandoval — Retired School Superintendent

Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified

Trustee Area 1

Eliseo V. Gamino — incumbent
Rayan Octavio Gonzalez — Secretary
Javier Marquez — Business Owner

Trustee Area 4 (appointed incumbent Fernando Campa is not on the ballot)

Antonio “Tony” Gonzales — Business Owner
Rene Munoz — Special Education Teacher

Parlier Unified

Trustee Area 1

Librado “Nathaniel” Cid — incumbent
Joseph Vasquez Jr. — Quality Assurance Analyst

Trustee Area 2

Eric Molina — incumbent
Enrique Maldonado — Father
Oscar Laurel Izazaga — Educator

Trustee Area 3

Mary Marquez Sanchez — incumbent (unopposed)

Mendota Unified

Three seats, five candidates.

Sherry Rocio Charles — incumbent
Sergio Valdez — incumbent
Jose Zavala — incumbent
Kevin Gilbert Arias-Romero — School Crossing Guard
Celeste Cabrera-Garcia — City Clerk

Sierra Unified

Three seats. Two sitting board members, Otis Qualls Jr. and Ginger Cardoza, are not on the ballot.

Constance Schlaefer — Appointed Incumbent
Nicole Hamilton McManus — Realtor/Mother
Jake Wright — General Manager

Riverdale Joint Unified

All four seats are uncontested.

Trustee Area 1: Robert Alfred Martin — incumbent
Trustee Area 2: Tiffany Cantieri — Educator/Parent (appointed incumbent Charles Cox is not on the ballot)
Trustee Area 3: Connor McKean — appointed incumbent
Trustee Area 5: Michelle Schultz — appointed incumbent

Golden Plains Unified

All four seats are uncontested, all by incumbents.

Trustee Area 1: Emily Parra-Lopez — Educator
Trustee Area 2: Leticia E. Fernandez
Trustee Area 3: Betty R. Vallejo
Trustee Area 4: Thomas J. Fairless

Caruthers Unified

All three seats are uncontested, all by incumbents: 

Trustee Area 3: Darren Gilmore 
Trustee Area 4: Kathy Spate
Trustee Area 5: James Cummings 

Fowler Unified

All three seats are uncontested, all by incumbents:

Trustee Area 1: Adrianna Castaneda
Trustee Area 2: Danielle Lopez
Trustee Area 3: Art Rojas

Coalinga-Huron Unified

Trustee Area H2: Jose Cruz Diaz — incumbent 
Trustee Area C1: Tom D. Crawford — incumbent 

Washington Unified

Trustee Area 5: 

Darrell Carter — incumbent

Trustee Area 6: 

Henry A. Hendrix — incumbent

Trustee Area 7:

Steven Barra (incumbent)
Mark Vivenzi — Farmer/Father

Kingsburg Joint Union High

Trustee Area 5: Steve Nagle — incumbent (unopposed)
Trustee Areas 2 and 3: appointed incumbents Brent R. Lunde and Mike Serpa each filed as the only candidate but are not yet listed as qualified.

Laton Joint Unified

Two seats. No candidates filed. Appointed incumbents Holly Lorene Torres and Jose Alfredo Ibarra Macias are not on the ballot.

Shared districts

Two districts that straddle the county line have a Fresno County seat up, and in both cases the lone filer is not listed as qualified.

Dinuba Unified, Trustee Area 3 (shared with Tulare County; incumbent Beverly Keel-Worrell) — Felipe Martinez, Retired Sergeant
Dos Palos-Oro Loma Unified, Trustee Area 2 (shared with Merced County; appointed incumbent Jeremy Obanion) — Jarred M. Pigg

Elementary districts

Alvina Elementary (2 seats): James D. Hill; Richard A. Gonzales — both incumbents, uncontested
Big Creek Elementary (2 seats): appointed incumbent Stephanie Fincher-DeMillo is the only filer and is not yet listed as qualified. Short term: Daniel Wilson
Burrel Union Elementary (3 seats): Gerald Leoni, incumbent — the only candidate
Clay Joint Elementary: Area 2, John Shepard (incumbent); Area 3, Chelsea Ketelsen — Sales Marketing Representative
Kingsburg Elementary Charter: Area 1, Brad Bergstrom (incumbent); Area 3, Milia Mahfoud Staggs — Parent/Therapist; Area 5, Karyll Smith (incumbent)
Orange Center (3 seats): Veronica Salazar, Rosa Depew, Melinda Cerrillo Moralez — all incumbents, uncontested
Pacific Union Elementary (3 seats): Paul Jaurigue, Susan Markarian, Rachelle Mendez — all incumbents — plus Jennifer Schmall, Air Quality Professional
Pine Ridge Elementary (3 seats): Pedro R. Arroyo (appointed incumbent); Nicholas J. Rogers — Tradesman/Father; Nathan Banton
Raisin City Elementary (2 seats): Tina Medina and Anthony A. Monreal, incumbents, plus Maria G. Hernandez de Gonzalez — Business Owner
Washington Colony Elementary: No. 1, Stephanie Morris (incumbent), with challenger Sue Ruiz not yet listed as qualified; No. 3, James Dack (incumbent) vs. Hector Sicairos — Father/Realtor; No. 5, Adrian Rene Mendoza — Retired Maintenance Worker
West Park Elementary (3 seats): Araceli Lopez, Yaritza Astudillo, Sylvia M. Higgins — incumbents — plus Kimberly Vivenzi, Parent
Westside Elementary (2 seats): Linda Ann Vasquez (incumbent) and Bryant Aguilera — Crop Manager

Cities
Clovis

City Council District 1: 

Mason L. Magsig — Commercial Banker/Businessman
Maeketah Sayasane — Analyst/Mother

City Council District 4: 

Matt Basgall — Clovis City Councilmember
Brian Wilson — Retired Fire Captain

CIty Council District 5:

Drew Bessinger — Clovis City Councilmember
Sarah Almond — Small Business Owner
Des Haus — Business Woman/Mother

Coalinga

Every seat is uncontested.

District 1: Roger Schindler — incumbent
District 2, short term: Jeremy Lowder — appointed incumbent
District 3: Nathan Vosburg — Business Owner
District 5: Abel Arroyo — appointed incumbent

Firebaugh

2 seats

Felipe Perez — incumbent
Silvia Renteria — incumbent
James “Big Jim” Fraser — Small Business Owner

Fowler

2 seats

Amarjeet Gill — incumbent
Patric Jones — Business Owner
Eric Hadden — Executive Director
Gurjant S. Khosa — Businessman

Huron 

City Council — 3 seats. Incumbent Arely Arellano did not file.

Roberto C. Pimentel — incumbent
Mike A. Morales — incumbent
Joel Mora — Administrative Coordinator
David Mercado — Operation Manager

City Council, short term: Eduardo Lopez Mendoza filed and is not yet listed as qualified.

Kerman

Mayor (incumbent Maria Pacheco is running for supervisor):

Gary K. Yep — City Council Member
Yazmine Enriquez — Small Business Manager

District 1 (incumbent Gary Yep is running for mayor):

Mayra Galvez — Family Outreach Liaison
Charles “Charlie” Jones — Retired Bank Officer
Michael Mudgett — Small Business Manager

District 3: 

Maria Berber Orozco — Care Manager (unopposed)

Kingsburg

District 1: David M. Silva — incumbent (unopposed)

District 4: Staci Smith — incumbent (unopposed)

District 5: 

Vince Palomar — incumbent
Charlie Soto — Tax Auditor

Mendota

3 seats

Joseph R. Riofrio — incumbent
Victor M. Martinez Ayala — incumbent
Libertad “Liberty” Lopez — Clinician/Mother (incumbent)
Oscar H. Rosales — Maintenance Operations Director

Orange Cove

Mayor: Gilbert Garcia — appointed incumbent (unopposed)

City Council — 2 seats: 

Jaime Casillas
Derek Greenwood (Fire Fighter)
Alex Garcia (filed but not yet listed as qualified.)
Isaiah Lopez (filed but not yet listed as qualified.)

Parlier

Mayor: 

Alma M. Beltran — incumbent;
Fernando Banuelos — Retired Instructor
Lionel Lopez Jr. — Licensed General Contractor

City Council District 2: 

Trinidad “Trino” Pimentel — Father 
Marcie Villalpando — Student
Yesenia “Yesi” Flores — Administrative Secretary

City Council District 4:

Diego Garza — incumbent
Andrew Lopez — Patient Care Technician

Reedley

City Council District 2: (Incumbent Mary Fast is not running)

Eddie Jimenez (Retired Communications Professional), 
Lee Ky (Manager)
Luis Plaza Muniz (Real Estate Agent)
Sara M. Montemayor
Joe Garza, retired police chief (not yet listed as qualified)

District 4: 

Scott Friesen — incumbent
June Bracamontes — Retired City Clerk

District 5, short term: 

Dustin Brook Dobbins — Loss Prevention Agent
Emily J. Medina-Delgado filed and is not yet listed as qualified

Sanger

Mayor: 

Frank Gonzalez — incumbent
Gavino Barrera — Code Compliance Supervisor
Victor Ruiz

City Council District 2:

Dolores Melendez — incumbent
Hilda “Monique” Reyna — College Program Coordinator

City Council District 4: 

Michael Montelongo — incumbent
Juan Alvarez-Tovar — Groundskeeper

San Joaquin City Council

2 seats, 2 candidates

Dora “Martha” Mejia — School Secretary/Councilmember
Adam Flores-Cornejo — School Secretary/Councilmember

Selma

Mayor: 

Scott Robertson — incumbent
Naripjeet “Narip” Josan — Business Owner
Rosemary Alanis — Secretary/Chaplain
Theresa H. Guzman Salas — Retired HR Technician

City Council District 2:

John Trujillo — incumbent
Bryan Ramirez — Food Service Assistant

City Council District 3:

Sarah Guerra — incumbent
Louis Franco — Electronic Technician

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