An incumbent has not lost a Fresno County Board of Supervisors in 26 years, the last time being when Judith Case defeated Tom Perch in 1998.

Now, it appears it happened twice Tuesday, with Garry Bredefeld and Luis Chavez poised for victory.

County election results as of 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 6 show Bredefeld leading incumbent Steve Brandau 56% to 44% in District 2.

In District 3, Chavez leads incumbent Sal Quintero 54% to 45%.

If the leads hold, Bredefeld and Chavez — both current Fresno city councilmembers — will take office Jan. 6.

Related Story: Early Voting Shows Bredefeld, Chavez Leading in Supervisor Races

The change to come, however, will not alter the political ideology of the board. Bredefeld and Brandau, both Republicans, have similar conservative views.

Quintero and Chavez are both moderate, business-friendly Democrats.

“We’ve had a very clear message that the good old boy club is coming to an end and it’s coming to an end. And I said it was going to start today. And no more is there going to be a lack of transparency,” Bredefeld told GV Wire at his election night party at Pardini’s on Tuesday.

Chavez appreciated his support.

“One of the most humbling things is going up to complete strangers’ doors and asking them to support me. And I take that responsibility very seriously,” Chavez said.

Bredefeld is already termed out on the Fresno City Council and Chavez is in the middle of his second full-term (and third overall term).

Early numbers did not deter Quintero, he told GV Wire at his party Tuesday at the Fresno Sheriff’s Deputy Association office. He had no regrets about his campaign.

“We did everything according to the plan that we had and we were in a good position in terms of that plan. We followed it and it is what it is,” Quintero said.

Fresno County election officials estimate 98,000 votes remain to be counted, although not all will be in the respective supervisor races.

Related Story: Where Do Quintero and Chavez Stand on Rent Control?

Candidates Future Plans

Bredefeld ran on a campaign of changing the attitude of the board.

“We’re going to bring accountability. The public is going to be allowed to speak at council meetings with at board meetings without being restricted to 15 minutes. Foster kids are not going to sleep on floors anymore. There’s going to be real change coming to that board,” Bredefeld said.

Chavez told GV Wire he wants to work on road repair and the homeless.

“Those are the top issues that I’m that I’m going to focus on, making sure that we’re improving the quality of life for our residents,” Chavez said.

The city-county relationship has been strained for several years, with a tax-sharing agreement for new development that expired years ago. Chavez wants to repair what he called an “adversarial relationship.”

“I’m going to do away with that. I’m going to bridge that,” Chavez said.

Chavez wants to hold a joint city council-supervisor meeting.

District 2 covers much of north Fresno, parts of Clovis and county islands. The district holds a 39% to 35% Republican registration advantage over Democrats, with 18% no party preference.

District 3 covers much of south Fresno and surrounding areas with a 47% Democrat to 24% Republican advantage. Another 19% have no party preference.

Special Election Possible

If Chavez’s lead holds, he must resign his city council position. Last elected in 2022, his term would expire in January 2027.

The Fresno City Charter mandates that, within 30 days of the vacancy, the city council call for a special election between 90 days and the date of the next scheduled election (March 2026).

That means a likely April 2025 special election, with a runoff if no candidate wins a majority.

Just like the Fresno City Council, Chavez will succeed Quintero. When the latter won election to the Board of Supervisors in 2016, Chavez won a special election to fill the remainder of the term.

Chavez shied away from suggesting a potential successor. Political pundits suggested his wife, Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, could be a contender. She leads in her re-election bid Tuesday to the Fresno Unified school board.

For Bredefeld, his successor for Fresno City Council District 6 — the close race between Roger Bonakdar and Nick Richardson may take some time to finalize — takes his seat on Jan. 7, leaving a possible one-day gap of no representation.

Related Story: Chavez-Quintero Debate: How Would You Rate City-County Cooperation?

Both Races Pit Friends Against Each Other

The two races shared similarities. Both pitted an incumbent supervisor against a current Fresno city councilmember. Both challengers could be considered trying to unseat former friends.

Brandau and Bredefeld served together on the city council, and both had a likeminded conservative approach.

Bredefeld criticized Brandau for his handling of the pandemic, homelessness, and lack of transparency when code enforcement officers discovered an illegal biolab in Reedley. The lab’s operator remains in jail on federal charges.

Chavez once served as Quintero’s chief of staff when the latter served as a Fresno city councilmember. When Quintero won his first term to the Board of Supervisors in 2016, Chavez succeeded him.

During the election cycle, the county sued Bredefeld and Chavez, alleging they violated local campaign finance law by transferring more money than allowed, in excess of the $30,000 cap. Both candidates switched money from their city council accounts to the county accounts.

Bredefeld and Chavez prevailed in court.

Bredefeld raised just a tad more than Brandau, through Oct. 19 by $3,720. Both raised in excess of three-quarters of a million dollars.

Chavez also had a thin contribution margin over Quintero by $1,637. Both raised more than a quarter-million dollars.