![\"Fresno](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/FRS_EPZ_ROB_FUENTES_02.JPG\" "\\"Fresno")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Fresno City Council District 1 candidate Rob Fuentes, photographed Monday, July 6, 2026, in Fresno.<\/p>\n
ERIC PAUL ZAMORA<\/p>\n
ezamora@fresnobee.com<\/p>\n
Fresno City Council candidate Rob Fuentes said he is a \u201cproud\u201d board member of California Rural Legal Assistance on his campaign website<\/a>. CRLA said he recently resigned his position.<\/p>\n In a July 6 email to CRLA board members<\/a>, the nonprofit\u2019s president and CEO Jessica Manriquez Jewell wrote Fuentes resigned June 30 \u201cafter previously inquiring about a leave of absence during the pendency of his campaign for Fresno City Council.\u201d<\/p>\n His future on the board of the legal nonprofit \u2014 which provides \u201cfree civil legal services to low-income residents of California\u2019s rural counties,\u201d according to its website \u2014 was already in doubt, Manriquez Jewell added.<\/p>\n Fuentes earlier this week told The Bee<\/a> he also resigned from his job as federal prosecutor because of public criticism he made about ICE. He says he was already on administrative leave for 10 days. The Department of Justice declined to comment.<\/p>\n His opponent for the District 1 race Naindeep Singh and other groups criticized Fuentes\u2019 legal role, claiming he aided in deporting immigrants. Fuentes called the allegation a \u201cflat-out lie,\u201d saying his role was to defend the government in habeas corpus motions.<\/p>\n Manriquez Jewell wrote that Fuentes\u2019 board status \u201cwas already pending evaluation due to his absences from the last four board meetings and his failure to complete a conflict of interest statement for 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n She said CRLA has processes to identify possible conflicts and \u201cactivities that can cause harm to our client communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Fuentes joined the CRLA board \u2014 with 27 members as of July 1, with at least one-third attorneys and one-third community members \u2014 in 2021. Although the email to the board said he joined when he was in private practice, Fuentes\u2019 LinkedIn bio said he worked as a law clerk for the Eastern District of California federal court from 2019 to 2022. A year later, he joined the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office.<\/p>\n Fuentes said he normally worked on civil cases such as fraud and wildfires. He started on immigration detention cases in May.<\/p>\n That caught the attention of CRLA.<\/p>\n \u201cThose activities cause direct harm to our client communities and are in conflict with our organizational advocacy, position, and statements on the issue,\u201d Manriquez Jewell wrote. \u201cWe recognize that an individual\u2019s priorities can shift, and we support board members\u2019 efforts to pursue service opportunities that are more aligned with their priorities and their conscience. When those priorities no longer align with CRLA\u2019s advocacy, we respectfully request that directors reconsider their service on our board.\u201d<\/p>\n Manriquez Jewell thanked Fuentes for his service.<\/p>\n Fuentes responds<\/p>\n After this story published, Fuentes sent The Bee a response. He said the CRLA board president recruited him to serve, and he \u201cjoined enthusiastically\u201d because of his admiration for farmworkers.<\/p>\n “It is extremely disappointing that the CRLA executive director has fallen for the same misinformation put out by my opponent and his supporters. I\u2019ve never once defended an immigration raid. That is patently false and, frankly, defamatory,\u201d Fuentes said.<\/p>\n Fuentes denied failing to file conflict disclosures because \u201cI had none.\u201d His said his work as a prosecutor involved civil rights, fraud and wildfires.<\/p>\n \u201cI am proud of my record. I have represented individuals subjected to discrimination and retaliation. I\u2019ve represented immigrant children to legalize their status. I\u2019ve stood up for tenants subjected to sexual harassment by their landlords. I am the only person in this race who has stood up in court and prevented deportations. I stand by my record and am ready to continue fighting for the community I love,\u201d Fuentes said.<\/p>\n Singh, a Central Unified trustee and president of civil rights group The Jakara Movement, finished first in a four-person race for the District 1 seat. He finished with 39%; Fuentes received 37%. The two will meet in the Nov. 3 election.<\/p>\n Fuentes is a one-term trustee with the State Center Community College District, first elected in 2022.<\/p>\n Singh reported raising $98,486 from Jan. 1 through May 16, the most recent filing period. Fuentes reported raising $53,096.<\/p>\n District 1 covers west-central Fresno, mostly between Shaw and Shield avenues north to south, and areas west of West Avenue to the city border, on both sides of Highway 99.<\/p>\n This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 2:03 PM.<\/p>\n![\"Fresno](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/EPZ_FUENTES_SINGH.jpg\" "\\"EPZ_FUENTES_SINGH.jpg\\"")
Fresno City Council District 1 candidates Rob Fuentes, left, and Naindeep Singh, right, will face each other in the Nov. 3 election. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com CRLA letter<\/p>\n The California Rural Legal Assistance office in Fresno, seen July 7, 2026. DAVID TAUB The Fresno Bee Fuentes, Singh in November election<\/p>\n
A map of the Fresno City Council District 1 boundaries. Fresno County <\/p>\n