\t\t\t\t\tWhat’s at stake?<\/p>\n
Mike Karbassi announced plans to step down as Fresno City Council President, but will continue serving on the council.<\/p>\n
Northwest Fresno Councilmember Mike Karbassi is stepping down from his role as City Council President, city officials confirmed Friday.<\/p>\n
Karbassi did not immediately respond to Fresnoland\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n
First reported by GV Wire<\/a>, Karbassi announced his resignation as president through an email to the other six councilmembers. Karbassi added that he endorses Council Vice President Nelson Esparza to replace him as president.\u00a0<\/p>\n Esparza confirmed with Fresnoland on Friday that he\u2019ll be running for the role.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI appreciate Councilmember Karbassi\u2019s service as Council President, and I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues to lead the Council for the remainder of my tenure at City Hall,\u201d Esparza told Fresnoland.<\/p>\n Karbassi has been council president since January 2025 and lobbied his colleagues to become the council\u2019s first two-term president on Jan. 15 under recent changes to its leadership rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the email to his colleagues, Karbassi said he is handing off the president\u2019s gavel to focus more on his campaign for county supervisor in the upcoming June primary election.<\/a><\/p>\n Karbassi is not resigning from the city council and will continue representing his northwest district while campaigning in a six-way race to replace outgoing county Supervisor Brian Pacheco.\u00a0<\/p>\n