Fresno Supervisor Race Shifts as Pastor Changes Endorsements, Karbassi Leads Fundraising

A Fresno County supervisor candidate once had the support of westside pastors. At least one is now endorsing someone new.

In campaign materials, Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco, running for the District 1 supervisor seat, touted the support of pastors DJ Criner, Paul Binion, and B.T. Lewis.

Criner, of St. Rest Baptist Church, has since switched candidates. Fresno councilmember Mike Karbassi, also running for supervisor, lists Criner’s endorsement on his website. Criner was not available for comment on Tuesday.

“I did have the endorsements of Pastor Lewis and Criner, but they have rescinded their endorsements, and that flyer is no longer in circulation,” Pacheco told Politics 101. Their names no longer appear on her website.

Despite Pacheco’s comment, the endorsement of Lewis — of Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church — stands, GV Wire has learned. Binion, of Westside Church of God, did not return calls to GV Wire. Pacheco said she changed the wording from Binion endorsing her to “supporting” at his request.

Pacheco and Karbassi are running in a six-person race for supervisor District 1. Incumbent Brian Pacheco (no relation) is not running for reelection, opting to run for state Assembly instead.

Pastor Edward Thomas of Impact Church Fresno is supporting Eric Payne, a nonprofit executive and former SCCCD trustee, in the race.

“I’m focused on my own campaign. I’m not focused on who is endorsing whom else, besides who’s endorsing me,” Pacheco said.

Supervisor Fundraising Totals

Two well-known names in politics have raised the most money in their respective Fresno County supervisor races.

Karbassi leads the pack for supervisor District 1, which covers northwest Fresno County, including a significant portion of the city’s western area. Former Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims is the leading fundraiser for the District 4 race. The campaign figures cover Jan. 1 through April 18.

About half of Karbassi’s funds are transfers from his city council account and an account set up when he considered running for Fresno County clerk. He reported raising $188,901.

Karbassi’s top contributor is Shiralian Enterprises at $32,500 ($2,500 of that is slated for the general election; $30,000 per election cycle is the county limit).

West Hills Community College District Trustee Omar Hernandez pulled in $47,740. Nearly two-thirds came from a $30,000 contribution from Youth Save Democracy PAC. The Fresno-based organization is co-founded by one-time congressional candidate Johnathan Burrows. It has raised $1.5 million from Jan. 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, according to FEC records. Most of the contributors are small-dollar amounts, with the most being $3,500 from two individuals.

The PAC said on its website its mission is to “mobilizing young voters to strengthen democracy, protect voting rights, and fight against authoritarianism in America.”

Pacheco raised $42,242. Her top contributor is $10,000 from Luz Cabrera, a Kerman property manager.

(Disclosure: Granville Homes contributed $4,700 to Karbassi’s city council campaign account in 2019. That contribution was later transferred to his supervisor campaign account. Darius Assemi, CEO and president of Granville Homes, is the publisher of GV Wire.)

Mims Leads District 4

Mims raised $72,607, leading the District 4 race to replace Buddy Mendes, who is not running for re-election. He endorsed Mims. Her top contributor is $20,000 from developer Lance-Kashian & Company.

Nick Sahota, a Selma Unified trustee, raised $49,455, which includes a $5,500 loan to himself. Several gave $1,000 — the highest amount raised from individual contributors.

The other three candidates, Parlier Mayor Alma Beltran, Huron Mayor Rey Leon, and tax agent Charlie Soto, reported raising in the four-figures.

Video in Perea IE Is Familiar

An independent expenditure group called California Leads has produced at least three 30-second TV ads supporting Annalisa Perea for state Assembly. The spots have aired on ABC30 and KMPH Fox26 and may also air on other Fresno stations.

California Leads is funded by Google and Meta Platforms Inc. As the name implies, independent expenditures must be produced without coordination with the candidate it is supporting. A disclaimer at the end of the ad says it is “not authorized by a candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate.”

The three ads look suspiciously like the standard candidate ad — Perea is at a construction site; she is talking with a hardware shop owner; she is engaged in conversation with constituents; she is walking outside of Fresno City Hall looking busy.

The same footage can be found in a video on Perea’s own campaign website.

While sharing video directly is not allowed, any IE can use publicly posted video for its own purposes. Perea’s campaign conveniently has a 10-minute sizzle reel posted on Vimeo. Those shots are used in both Perea’s video and the California Leads ads.

The only invoices posted so far are from KMPH, showing California Leads buying more than $93,000 of TV time.

Above: An ad supporting Annalisa Perea from intendent expenditure group California Leads. Below, footage released by the official Perea campaign.

Former Madera Mayor Dies

Santos Garcia, a former Madera mayor and city councilmember, died on Saturday. He was 69.

Garcia, a retired mail carrier and union leader, served on the city council from 2018 to 2020, then as mayor from 2020 to 2024.

A Madera city spokesperson said Garcia’s passing was unexpected.

“Mayor Garcia never forgot where he came from or who he was fighting for. He came up through the union and brought that perspective with him into office. He pushed for a Madera that worked for everyday people, and that’s how he’ll be remembered as someone who genuinely gave everything he had to this community,” City Manager Arnoldo Rodriguez said.

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