Karbassi, Mims lead early Fresno County supervisor fundraising battles

Mike Karbassi has opened the District 1 supervisor race with the strongest treasury, and he now has a pastor endorsement that once sat in Maria Pacheco’s camp. In a seat that runs from west Fresno through Easton, Biola, Tranquility, Three Rocks, Cantua Creek, Kerman, San Joaquin, Firebaugh and Mendota, that combination gives Karbassi an early advantage in the places where turnout and trust usually decide county races.

In the April 18 filing period, Karbassi reported raising $188,900 and said he had $130,700 on hand. That kind of lead matters because Fresno County elections reward early spending on mail, field operations and the kind of local outreach that builds name recognition long before most voters start paying close attention. Omar Hernandez, the West Hills Community College District trustee, and Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco posted similar fundraising totals in the same reporting window, but Hernandez had more cash in reserve. The filing also showed how quickly the race is becoming a spending contest, with one report saying Karbassi had raised about four times as much as his District 1 rivals.

That money is only part of the picture. The endorsement shift from a pastor who had backed Maria Pacheco to Karbassi gives him a different kind of currency in Fresno County politics, where clergy, churches and community networks can carry real weight in neighborhoods that do not vote on ideology alone. In a district where Kerman, Mendota and the westside communities often respond to family ties, church ties and neighborhood credibility, a visible validator can help a candidate reach voters who may not be following every campaign forum or fundraising report. It also weakens one of Maria Pacheco’s early signals to social and faith-based voters.

The race is still crowded and still fluid. Six candidates are on the June 2 primary ballot: Lupe Flores, Omar Hernandez, Mike Karbassi, Maria Pacheco, Eric Payne and Felipe Perez. If no one wins more than 50%, the top two will move on to a November runoff. Karbassi has also stayed in the public eye after stepping down as Fresno City Council president on March 13, while remaining a councilmember through January 2029. He has been active at candidate forums, including recent events where District 1 contenders talked about Measure C, development, agriculture, schools, water and westside growth.

Endorsements elsewhere in the race have already shifted. The Fresno County Democratic Party passed on endorsing in the crowded contest, and Fresno Stonewall Democrats initially backed Maria Pacheco before rescinding that endorsement after finding an inconsistency in her questionnaire. Against that backdrop, Karbassi’s cash advantage and the pastor switch do more than pad a résumé. They suggest a campaign that is building the kind of coalition that can reach church pews, community groups and high-turnout pockets in northwest Fresno County before the field hardens.

District 4 has its own early front-runner dynamic. Buddy Mendes announced on October 8 that he would retire at the end of his term in January 2027 and endorsed former Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims to succeed him. Mims, who retired from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office in January 2023 after 42 years in law enforcement, is leading fundraising in the District 4 race, where Danielle Para and Alma Beltran are also in the field. Mendes has said his support for Mims reflects her experience and the learning curve ahead on the Board of Supervisors.