Reality Check is a Fresno Bee series holding those in power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a tip? Email tips@fresnobee.com.
ISSUE | PRIVATIZING THE LIBRARY: Fresno County’s top administrator has been looking into the pros and cons of privatizing the Fresno County Library after board chairperson Supervisor Garry Bredefeld voiced the idea during budget season this summer.
CAO Paul Nerland has been studying what a private library would look like in Fresno County, and planned to present his findings at the Oct. 20 county meeting. The board this week told Nerland they believed the decision should be held off until the new year, when two and likely a third seat on the board will be vacated.
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After the majority of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors sparred with employees of the library and supporters of Pride Month last year and again in June, Bredefeld directed Nerland to study the issue.
A vote to privatize the library would take approval from four of the five supervisors. While Bredefeld and supervisors Buddy Mendes and Nathan Magsig have voted in lockstep for issues around Pride and the library, Supervisor Luis Chavez has voted against the majority.
Mendes, who represents District 4, did not run for re-election and his term ends at the end of the year while District 5’s Magsig appears poised to vacate his seat, assuming he wins the state Senate District 12 general election. Supervisor Brian Pacheco has voted against the majority but leaves the District 1 seat this year.
Here’s where candidates Mike Karbassi and Maria Pacheco, who are headed for a run-off for District 1, stand on privatizing the Fresno County Library:
Mike Karbassi
In his second term on the Fresno City Council, Karbassi said “hell no” on a potential privatization of the Fresno County Library catalogue.
“I absolutely do not support privatizing our libraries. This comes up every few years when they talk about cost-cutting and cost saving,” he said. “My only problem is I live by the old adage: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I think that people that actually go to the libraries and use the library system want things to stay the same. When we privatize libraries, we lose control. We lose quality.”
He said many parts of the district lack library resources, and leaders should be trying to expand access.
“I’m very fiscally responsible, but if I’m going to be responsible, you have to look at the overall picture,” he said. “I don’t want to trade short-term cost savings for long-term impacts on the kids and the families that use the library system. I don’t see any real benefit to privatizing our libraries.”
Maria Pacheco
Pacheco has been mayor of Kerman since 2022, having won re-election for a second term in 2024.
“I’m against privatizing the library, and I’ve been very public about that. With any kind of proposal like this from Fresno County, we have to figure out what is the problem here?” she said. “What problem are they trying to solve? And I think that libraries are more than just books. For many families, libraries provide internet access. That’s a huge issue that we have out here in rural Fresno County.”
Pacheco, who is not related to the incumbent, also noted the educational programs provided at the library. She said residents should be able to find books and other resources they want despite their political leanings.
“I myself would not make decisions based on my own ideology,” she said. “I want the librarians, the employees, the community, to actually use the libraries openly the way that they have been. It’s a safe space, and they have access to all of this wonderful, beautiful knowledge, and privatizing that would change things.”
Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi and Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco are headed to a runoff in the general election on Nov. 3 for the Fresno County Supervisor District 1 seat. Courtesy of respective campaigns
This story was originally published September 26, 2026 12:36 PM.
Merced Sun-Star
Reporter Thaddeus Miller has covered cities in the central San Joaquin Valley since 2010, writing about everything from breaking news to government and police accountability. A native of Fresno, he joined The Fresno Bee in 2019 after time in Merced and Los Banos.