FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — On Wednesday morning, at Fresno City Hall, Councilmembers Brandon Vang and Nick Richardson held a last-minute news conference.<\/p>\n
With no introduction, they jumped into discussing the importance of contract oversight, transparency and accountability.<\/p>\n
Vang, representing District 5, referenced how some funds were used by the person representing the area before him, now Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez.<\/p>\n
“It did not sit well with me that a contract of this nature and its amount has been signed just before this councilmember left office. At the time, I was not aware of these contracts by my predecessor as more information came to light the practice is concerning to me,” said Brandon Vang.<\/p>\n
In March of 2025, Action News reported that Chavez was facing accusations of wrongful spending.<\/a><\/p>\n RELATED: Former Fresno City Councilmember Luis Chavez accused of wrongful spending<\/a><\/p>\n In a letter, community activist Luisa Medina and Former Assemblymember Juan Arambula outlined how they say Chavez unlawfully used taxpayer dollars to distribute a newsletter that prominently featured his wife, who was running for the seat against Vang.<\/p>\n In a statement sent to Action News, Chavez said…<\/p>\n “All contracts proposed by past and current council members are vetted, scrutinized and approved by the city attorney’s office.”<\/p>\n He added that Councilmember Vang’s “inexperience and ignorance is astounding and hurts the residents of District 5.”<\/p>\n Richardson only wanted to discuss his overall hope for transparency with contracts of any amount.<\/p>\n Currently, contracts less than $100,000 do not need to go through City Council for approval.<\/p>\n “I want to make it clear that I have no reason to believe that my colleagues here or any city department are operating outside of the law or against legal advice but we can always take steps to be more transparency,” said Nick Richardson.<\/p>\n Vang says he is taking legal action to investigate how money is being spent and hopes changes are made.<\/p>\n For news updates, follow Elisa Navarro on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2026 KFSN-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n