Five candidates vie for open Fresno County District 4 seat

Buddy Mendes’ decision to leave the District 4 seat after more than a decade set off one of Fresno County’s most closely watched local contests, and early returns showed Margaret Mims in position to turn that opening into a first-round win. By election night, Mims had 64.63% of the vote, a margin that put her well above the majority needed under California’s top-two system.

Mendes announced in October 2025 that he would not seek reelection to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors and would finish out his term. He has represented District 4 since 2015 and endorsed Mims, the former Fresno County sheriff, as his preferred successor. That endorsement gave the race an immediate power-transfer feel: voters were not just picking a new supervisor, but deciding whether District 4 would stay on a Mendes-style path or shift in a new direction.

District 4 stretches across much of Fresno County’s west side and southwest rural communities, including Huron, Mendota, Firebaugh, Kerman, Parlier and Selma. The seat was drawn in the county’s 2021 redistricting cycle, making this the first supervisor race held under the newer map. That geography matters because the issues are intensely practical: water access for farmers and residents, roads, housing, public safety, healthcare in rural areas, and jobs that pay enough to keep families from leaving.

The five-candidate field reflected those pressures. Rey León, the Huron mayor, entered with backing from the Fresno County Democratic Party and framed his bid around volunteerism and community service. Alma Beltran, the Parlier mayor, said rural communities have been overlooked for too long. Narinder Nick Sahota, a Selma Unified trustee, said concern for the next generation pushed him into the race, while Charlie Soto, an IRS auditor and U.S. Navy veteran, said drought and poverty require county action, not just city-level fixes. Sahota also focused on the struggle working families face in affording homes.

The campaign also tracked a broader county fight over infrastructure. At an April 15 forum, four District 4 candidates backed the Better Roads, Safer Streets half-cent transportation sales tax proposal, which would fund road and sidewalk repairs and public transit over 30 years. That left District 4 voters weighing a familiar Fresno County question: whether to keep steady with Mendes’ approach or use the open seat to push harder on housing, roads and the county’s rural safety net.

County election officials said ballots postmarked by June 2 and received by June 9 could still count, and some signature cures could continue through June 24. But the early lead for Mims made the race look far less open by nightfall than it had in the spring.