VOTER GUIDE: Here’s who, what’s on the March 5 primary ballot in Fresno, San Joaquin Valley

Tim Sheehan
·8 min read

Welcome to The Fresno Bee’s Voter Guide to California’s March 5 primary election. Early mail-in voting for the March 5 presidential primary election opened this week, and voters in various parts of Fresno and Fresno County have much more to choose than simply who will advance to the general election in November.

Three of the seven Fresno City Council districts – District 2 in northwest Fresno, District 4 in east-central Fresno and District 6 in northeast Fresno – will be on the ballot, as well as a citywide election for mayor.

At the county level, three of the five seats on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors are also up for election, and each of the incumbents is facing challengers in the March primary.

Add in a convoluted race for Congress to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, some local ballot measures, and other state legislative and Congressional districts – as well as contests in neighboring Madera and Merced counties – and it makes for a full ballot for Valley voters to navigate.

We’ve compiled everything you need here to navigate the extensive ballot and help you make informed decisions, including links to election stories and profiles of candidates and measures up for consideration. We’ve also included answers to race-specific questions we asked each candidate to submit for this guide. You’ll also find links to Bee editorial staff endorsements for various races and measures.

What’s on the ballot?

Here are various select contests for voters to decide, depending on where you live. Click a link for more details about the candidates in that race:

CITY OF FRESNO

FRESNO COUNTY

MADERA COUNTY

MERCED COUNTY

  • Board of Supevisors District 2: Incumbent Josh Pedrozo, challenger Annissa Fragoso.

  • Board of Supervisors District 1: Incumbent Rodrigo Espinosa, challengers Sonia Fernanda Alshami, Jim Pacheco and Maria Soto.

  • Board of Supervisors District 4: Incumbent Lloyd Pareira, challengers Dennis Brazil and Jim Soria.

  • Superior Court Judge: Candidates are Regina Adams, Carlos Dammeier and Monika Saini-Donabed.

CITY OF MERCED

  • Measure C: Renewing a half-cent sales tax in the city of Merced to pay for public safety and essential city services.

CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY

  • Assembly District 8: Candidates are educator Caleb Helsel, a Democrat; Republicans George Radanovich and David Tangipa; and Michael Matheson, no party preference. (Also: See The Bee’s Editorial Board recommendation)

  • Assembly District 27: Incumbent Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, Republican challenger Joana Garcia Rose.

  • Assembly District 31: Incumbent Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno; Republican challenger Solomon Verduzco.

  • Assembly District 32: Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield.

  • Assembly District 33: Candidates are Democrats Ruben Macareno and Angel Ruiz; Republicans Xavier Avila and Alexandra Macedo.

U.S. CONGRESS

U.S. SENATE

HOW TO VOTE

WHERE’S MY BALLOT? You’ve probably read or heard about certain other states where voting can sometimes be a challenge. California offers several options for casting your ballot. On Feb. 5, county elections officials began mailing vote-by-mail ballots to all active voters. If you mail it back, it must be postmarked no later than Election Day (Tuesday, March 5) and received by March 12. You can also take it to a secure ballot drop box, a voting location or your county voting office any time before 8 p.m. March 5. You can find the nearest one here.

NEED TO REGISTER? If you are not yet registered to vote, and you’re 18 or older on Election Day, you have until Feb. 20 to register by mail or online. After that, you have until the polls close on March 5 to conditionally register and vote at your county election office, vote center or polling place. Once officials verify your eligibility, your vote is counted.

WHERE DO I VOTE? Every registered voter will receive a ballot in the mail. Voters have several options to cast their ballot: returning their ballot by mail in the envelope that’s provided; voting in person at the county elections office from Feb. 5 through March 5, voting in person at one of dozens of voting centers that will be set up starting Feb. 24 or March 2; or dropping their completed ballot, sealed in the provided envelope, at a vote center or at one of dozens of ballot drop-off boxes.

You can find interactive maps of vote centers and ballot drop-off boxes across Fresno and Fresno County by clicking this link.

FRESNO CITY COUNCIL RACES

Among the liveliest local contests is Fresno City Council District 6 in northeast Fresno, where current Councilmember Garry Bredefeld is barred by term limits from seeking a third four-year term. While Bredefeld is now running for a seat on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, four candidates – each vying to position themselves as conservatives in the minds of voters – are on the ballot. If no candidate receives an outright majority of 50% plus one vote, the top two vote-getters will square off in a November runoff.

By contrast, first-term incumbent Councilmember Tyler Maxwell is unopposed for re-election in District 4, which covers much of east-central Fresno. And then there’s District 2 in northwest Fresno, in which incumbent Councilmember Mike Karbassi faces a challenge from nonprofit executive Matthew Gillian..

Citywide, Mayor Jerry Dyer – who was a member of the Fresno Police Department for 40 years, including 18 as police chief before retiring in 2019 – is wrapping up a four-year term as mayor and is being challenged by a pair of relative political newcomers in the primary. They are high school English and math teacher James Barr and wife/mother Samantha Dussell. If any candidate wins an majority of the votes case, he or she will win; otherwise, the top two vote-getters will be in a November runoff.

FRESNO COUNTY CONTESTS

In Fresno County’s Supervisor District 2, which covers much of northwest and northeast Fresno, incumbent Steve Brandau faces a field of four challengers in his re-election bid. They include term-limited Fresno City Councilmember Garry Bredefeld, county Assessor-Recorder Paul Dictos, social worker Dion Bourdase and business owner Bryce Herrera.

But incumbent Sal Quintero is also facing a vigorous challenge, confronting three candidates in District 3 to represent parts of southeast and southwest Fresno. They are current Fresno City Councilmembers Miguel Arias and Luis Chavez, and music teacher Edward “EJ” Hinojosa. Chavez worked as a member of Quintero’s staff for six years when Quintero was a member of the Fresno City Council. When Quintero ran for the county board and won in 2016, Chavez won a special election to replace him on the city council.

In both District 2 and District 3, if no candidate receives an outright majority of 50% plus one vote, the top two vote-getters will move on to a November runoff.

In the foothills and mountains of eastern Fresno County, incumbent Supervisor Nathan Magsig represents sprawling District 5. He’s facing a challenge from Jennifer Cruz, manager of a nonprofit organization. Whoever is tops between the two will be the outright winner.

Voters in Fresno County will also decide a trio of ballot measures. Measure A is a proposal by the county Board of Supervisors to amend the county charter to specify that elections for sheriff and district attorney be held in non-presidential election years – a bid to counteract a state law that requires counties that did not otherwise specify election dates for those two offices to move them to years with presidential elections, when voter turnout is significantly greater. The measure requires a simple majority of 50% plus one vote to pass.

Measure B is another charter amendment put on the ballot asking voters to provide authority to the Board of Supervisors to change names of places in unincorporated areas of the county. It’s a direct reaction to state and federal officials mandating that the name of Squaw Valley, an unincorporated community in the county foothills along Highway 180 east of Fresno, to Yokuts Valley, because the word “squaw” is considered by many a dehumanizing term for Native American women. It requires a simple majority to pass.

Measure E is a proposal to increase the sales tax in Fresno County by .25%, or a quarter of a penny extra tax on each $1 spent on taxable goods and merchandise, to raise money for improvements to facilities at California State University, Fresno. A similar measure failed in the 2020 election. It requires a simple majority to pass.