Candidates File for Fresno Tower District Council Seat as Perea Runs

The race to represent Fresno City Council District 1 is taking shape after Councilmember Annalisa Perea launched a bid for the California State Assembly, creating an open seat that will be decided in the June 2, 2026 primary. Local filings and candidate descriptions name Mike Briggs and Cary Catalano among those positioning to lead a district that mixes historic neighborhoods with newer subdivisions.

District 1 covers most of the older neighborhoods of the Tower District, the Fresno High area, Quigley Park and parts of greater Fig Garden incorporated within the city. The district also reaches into newer west-central Fresno neighborhoods, areas west of Highway 99 in Central Unified and Highway City. Those varied blocs mean voters in the Tower District, Fresno High neighborhood and adjoining areas will confront different priorities from development and design review to business corridor vitality and school and park services.

Mike Briggs is a real estate broker and businessman who previously served on the Fresno City Council in the 1990s and in the state Assembly until 2004. Briggs operates Central Valley Talk and Tower District Properties/Mike Briggs Properties and teaches music and history courses at Heald College. Briggs lives in the Tower District.

Cary Catalano is a marketing and government affairs professional and business owner who has served on the Fresno Housing Authority, the Fresno Planning Commission and the Fresno Chamber of Commerce. Catalano is chief executive of Catalano, Fenske and Associates and lives in the Fresno High neighborhood.

Annalisa Perea remains District 1’s incumbent but is running for Assembly District 31. Perea serves on the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees, on the Tower District Design Review Committee and was a member of the City of Fresno’s Police Reform Commission. Professionally she is a senior planner for QK, an urban planning firm that consults for public agencies and private developers. Perea said her approach to planning emphasizes broad community involvement and language access: “My goal would be to involve community members and local stakeholders in the plan development process to the greatest extent possible. I will work to ensure that everyone, especially the people most impacted, is able to influence how we address the most pressing issues. This means ensuring that all of our public outreach materials and events are conducted in multiple languages. If a proposed project is located within the Tower District Specific Plan area, it’ll be important for staff to make the case for how this proposed project is in conformance with the approved specific plan. The same process should be applied to all approved City plans.”

An unattributed line in the materials captures a grass‑roots organizing instinct often heard in local races: “Simply getting out and speaking to business owners and residents, bringing them together and figuring out the common ground.”

For District 1 voters, the contest will center on land use and economic stability in a neighborhood where design review, project conformance with the Tower District Specific Plan and multilingual outreach matter in daily life. The June 2, 2026 primary will narrow the field; city clerk filings will confirm who appears on the ballot. Expect development proposals, neighborhood preservation and small business support to drive debates as candidates court residents in Tower District, Fresno High, Quigley Park, Fig Garden and Highway City.