Fresno City Council candidates Keshia Thomas, left, and Joaquin Arambula.

Fresno City Council candidates Keshia Thomas, left, and Joaquin Arambula.

Fresno Bee File

Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula and Fresno Unified Trustee Keshia Thomas are facing off to succeed Councilmember Miguel Arias for the Fresno City Council District 3 seat.

Arias will term out and is running for a seat on the Fresno Unified School Board.

With seven candidates vying for the spot in the June primary, Arambula finished as the frontrunner with 29.99% of the vote. Thomas was not far behind with 27.60%, and the two advanced to the November 3 general election. Vote-by-mail ballots are expected to be sent out in the first week of October.

The race has been absent from a few key endorsements. Republican Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and the Fresno County Democratic Party each selected the same candidates to support in the two other City Council races, but neither took a side in District 3.

Where is the district?

The district covers the southwest areas of Fresno, including downtown, Chinatown, the Tower District, and the Edison and Lowell neighborhoods. It also includes most of the city’s industrial parks in south Fresno.

Of the 30,225 registered voters in the district, 14,604 are registered Democrats and 5,088 are registered Republicans, according to Fresno County data. Another 7,531 voters have no party preference listed.

Joaquin Arambula

Arambula, an emergency room physician, has served in the California State Assembly representing Fresno in the District 31 seat since 2016. He decided to run for Fresno City Council instead of seeking re-election for a possible final term in the Assembly.

Arambula, 49, grew up in Fresno and has lived in Tower District for over a decade. During his time in the Assembly, he led California’s efforts to expand Medi-Cal access regardless of immigration status and served as Chair of Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services from 2016 to 2023.

If elected, Arambula has said some of his priorities include investment in the revitalization of existing neighborhoods, public safety, high-speed rail, housing affordability and supporting small businesses.

Arambula is from a political family and the son of former Assemblyman Juan Arambula, who previously held the same Fresno area seat, and also served on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.

In January, Araumbula made headlines after his wife filed for divorce and alleged in court documents that he had struggled with alcohol, marijuana and gaming. He voluntarily completed a 30-day rehabilitation program in early 2026. They have three children together.

Arambula is endorsed by the Fresno City Employees Association, the Central Labor Countil, the North Coast States Carpenters Union, the Central Labor Council, the Central Valley Progressive PAC, Planned Parenthood, California Environmental Voters, Fresno Teachers Association and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1027 PAC.

Fresno City Council District 3 candidate Joaquin Arambula is seen greeting supporters at a campaign gathering Tuesday night, June 2, 2026 in Fresno. Fresno City Council District 3 candidate Joaquin Arambula is seen greeting supporters at a campaign gathering Tuesday night, June 2, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com Keshia Thomas

Thomas, 53, has been a Fresno Unified School Board Trustee representing the Edison High region since 2018, and is not seeking re-election. She is also the executive director of the nonprofit Fresno Career Development Institute.

She’s spent the last 23 years with Fresno Unified, serving as a middle school math teacher, the Director of Career Programs and a vice principal before being elected to the school board. Thomas has lived her entire life and raised her three children in Fresno’s District 3.

If elected, Thomas’ priorities include housing affordability, economic development, homelessness, and enhancing public safety and neighborhood maintenance, like repairing and expanding roads and sidewalks.

She also serves as assistant director of the Homeless Ministry through the Women’s Missionary Union and as assistant director of Children’s Church at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

Thomas has faced criticism and calls to resign from the Fresno Teachers Association in recent months over a defamation lawsuit against her, for which the school district has helped pay legal fees. The suit accused Thomas of defaming a former Bullard High School teacher and coach in 2022 by accusing him of calling her son a racial slur. Her son issued a statement in August revealing that he was not telling the truth when he told his mom that the coach called him a slur when he was 14.

Thomas issued a public apology and rejected calls to resign.

Politicians who have endorsed Thomas include Assemblymembers Esmeralda Soria and José Luis Solache Jr., Councilmember Analisa Perea, Former Councilmember Cynthia Sterling and some members of the Fresno Unified and Clovis Unified school boards.

She has also received endorsements from the Fresno Building Trades Council, the Fresno County Women’s Democratic Club, the National Women’s Political Caucus and some other labor and democratic groups.

Fresno City Council District 3 candidate Keshia Thomas. Fresno City Council District 3 candidate Keshia Thomas. Provided by Keshia Thomas Who is funding the race?

Arambula raised $38,813 in the most recent reporting period — July 1 to Sept. 19 — $116,261 total in 2026 and has $29,299 left in the bank. Most of Arambula’s recent financial support came from labor groups and individuals. He also received some recent contributions from family members, according to the report.

Thomas raised $22,874 in the most recent reporting period, $61,239 total in 2026 and has $31,970 left in the bank. Most of Thomas’s recent financial support came from political action groups as well as some labor groups and politicians, according to the report.