Fresno County Democratic Party headquarters. Photo by Dee Barnes
On September 2, the Fresno County Democratic Central Committee (FCDCC) held its endorsement vote for 15 local races including city councils and school boards throughout the county.
Nine candidates received the FCDCC endorsement during votes taken early in the meeting when most of the members or their alternates were in attendance either in person or via Zoom.
But late into the night, just before the meeting adjourned and when most of the attendees had already left the meeting, Nelson Esparza, Fresno’s District seven city councilmember, moved to reconsider the vote on one of the State Center Community College District (SCCCD) races.
The motion drew a negative response from several members. The FCDCC chair, Ruben Zarate, ruled that the body would not reconsider the endorsement. Esparza then moved to overrule the chair and his motion passed.
A new vote was taken and the candidate favored by Esparza ultimately received the endorsement. This was not the will of the body as a whole, but the will of those remaining at the very end of the meeting.
“How did we get here?”
Ahead of the March 2024 primary election, city councilmembers Esparza, Annalisa Perea and Tyler Maxwell each contributed $4,900 from their city council campaign accounts to fund New Horizons Political Action Committee to help elect friends and loyalists to the FCDCC.
To put that in perspective, typically the average candidate for the FCDCC spends anywhere from zero to $500 on their campaign.
The PAC helped elect Esparza, his partner Sandra Garcia and eight associates. The new members and their alternates (assigned to vote on their behalf when absent) combined with existing allies on the FCDCC has allowed Esparza to serve as kingmaker within the body.
Esparza has largely exercised that influence in the endorsement process and to get his people appointed as chairs to key standing committees, like the Candidate Development & Recruitment Committee, which oversees the endorsement process.
Esparza has also been actively involved in the Youth Save Democracy (YSD) PAC, and his personal consulting firm is one of six local consulting businesses benefiting financially from the YSD PAC.
The large amounts of capital raised with the promise of turning red districts blue, have largely been used to benefit friends and candidates supported by YSD co-founder and Fresno city council candidate Nav Gurm and Esparza—both of which have received large consulting fees and campaign donations.
The Fresno Bee published several pieces on the YSD PAC, exposing its questionable practices, especially in local politics.
According to The Bee, Youth Save Democracy spent $1.45 million of its $1.74 million total expenditure to pay for political consultants, texting software, legal compliance, fundraising and website software and more between January 2025 and March 2026.
Moreover, Gurm and Esparza were the driving force behind the decision to ban the Community Alliance newspaper from the Fresno County Democratic Party Headquarters and discontinue the FCDCC sponsored page in the newspaper because they disliked published content that criticized councilmembers.
And in the category of “you can’t make this stuff up,” Gurm is advertising his candidacy in the Community Alliance newspaper.
Research and Vote!
Under the direction of former chair Michael D. Evans, the FCDCC was focused on building the party and engaging with local Democrats and like-minded organizations—not advancing the political careers of FCDCC members and their friends.
There are excellent FCDCC members doing the important work of connecting with allies, running the headquarters, engaging local Democrats to phone bank and sending postcards to voters ahead of the fall election—work that has been ignored by the Esparza regime.
Esparza’s delegation secured endorsements in three Fresno city council races for the primary election: District 1 candidate Rob Fuentes, District 5 candidate Danielle Parra and District 7 candidate Gurm, all of whom were also endorsed by Jerry Dyer, Fresno’s Republican mayor.
Voters also have the option of choosing District 1 candidate Naindeep Singh and District 7 candidate Ariana Martinez Lott in November’s general election. Incumbent District 5 councilmember Brandon Vang defeated Parra in the June primary.
Many community members and leaders believe that Dyer is looking for the next city council to greenlight his coveted Southeast Development Area (SEDA) project, the controversial $4.3 billion mega-development plan to convert 9,000 acres of mostly agricultural land.
The FCDCC also endorsed District 1 Board of Supervisors candidate Mike Karbassi, who will soon be terming out of his Fresno city council seat. In this Democrat versus Democrat race, the party did not take a position in the primary. Esparza’s collective was able to secure his endorsement for the general election.
Karbassi is another politically ambitious candidate. He previously ran for State Assembly and planned to run against James Kus for County Clerk/Registrar of Voters. He recently moved into District 1 and appears to be unfamiliar with the constituency or the problems in the district. His opponent, Maria Pacheco, is the current mayor of Kerman, a key municipality in this largely rural District.
Instead of accepting the Fresno County Democratic Party endorsements at face value, do some research to decide for yourself who the best candidates are. Ballots for the November 3 general election will be mailed out on October 5. Plan to vote early.
Your Local Democratic Party
The Fresno County Democratic Central Committee (FCDCC) consists of 23 elected Democrats representing each of the county’s supervisorial Districts and ex-officio members of the Democratic candidates receiving the highest number of votes in the primary election for state and federal offices overlapping Fresno County.
The election for the 23 members occurs during the Presidential primary, and candidates file at the Registrar of Voters office a few months before that election.
You can learn more about your local Democratic Party by attending the monthly meetings of the FCDCC in person or via Zoom. The meetings are at 6 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month at the Democratic Party HQ, 1033 U St.,Fresno). E-mail fresnocountydemocraticparty@gmail.com to be added to the FCDCC mailing list and to receive the Zoom link to the meetings.
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