Veteran Fresno Unified School Board Trustee Claudia Cazares eked out a win over her heavily-financed opponent in the Nov. 5 election, the third of three incumbents to win re-election to the  board.

However, there will be new faces on the Clovis Unified and Central Unified school boards and the Fresno City Council.

Meanwhile, all the local school and community college bond measures passed by the 55% margin required for approval.

Thursday was the deadline for all election results to be certified.

Cazares’ Comeback Brings Her a Third Term

Cazares won election to her third term representing the Hoover region after taking a 31-vote lead on Nov. 27. She wound up winning by 93 votes, with 50.32% to 49.68% for her opponent, Dan Bordona.

On Friday morning Cazares, housing programs manager for the city of Clovis, acknowledged that she wasn’t optimistic even after pulling ahead on Nov. 27 but remained hopeful.

“I’m so proud of my family and my campaign team for pulling out a win,” she said. “But I’m just even more proud of all of the voters that came out.”

Bordona, a retired Fresno Unified teacher, conceded in a Facebook posting on Monday.

Bordona said Friday morning he will not ask for a recount.

“I’m not interested in a recount. I feel like the county, they certainly took their time to count everything, and I have confidence that they did their job well,” he said.

Substantial Support from Unions

Bordona was one of three local candidates to received substantial support, both in cash and in-kind contributions such as canvassing, from labor unions.

His campaign finance reports to date report contributions from the Fresno Teachers Association PAC of $86,049.51.

Bordona, who had initially filed paperwork attesting that he planned to spend less than $2,000 on his campaign, said he was appreciative of all the support he received from the teachers union. He believes that support made the race more competitive than it would have been otherwise.

Cazares, who had enjoyed support from the teachers union PAC in her previous elections, said she was not sure what changed this year. But that lack of support made the campaign harder, she said.

Was the union backing of some candidates designed to get more union-friendly trustees on the School Board to support the appointment of FTA executive director Louis Jamerson as the district’s new superintendent? Jamerson had sought trustees’ support back in March and April when they were initially considering an appointment before they opted to name Misty Her as interim superintendent and conduct a national search.

Cazares said she wasn’t clear about the union’s motivation in financing Bordona’s campaign instead of supporting hers.

“It’s possible, but they’ve always had union-friendly trustees on the board,” she said. “So, mystifying as to why something was different this year.”

Union President Manuel Bonilla did not respond Friday morning to a text message seeking comment about the election results.

Other Fresno Unified Races

The Fresno teachers’ PAC also was a heavy contributor to James Martinez’s unsuccessful campaign to unseat Andy Levine in the FUSD Fresno High region race. Martinez, who switched in June from seeking reelection to the Fresno County School Board to run against Levine, came in second in the three-person race.

Levine, a Fresno State instructor seeking election to his first full term, had 43.44%; Martinez, general manager of Fresno State’s ASI, had 29.08%; and Emma Villa, a special education advocate and mother, had 27.47%.

According to Martinez’s most recent campaign finance reports, the Fresno Teachers Association PAC contributed $110,825.18 to his campaign.

Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, a Westlands Water District executive, easily defeated her opponent, Fresno State student Joseph Aquino. But Jonasson Rosas may not be on the board much longer — she announced this week that she’s planning to seek election to the District 5 seat on the Fresno City Council now held by her husband, Luis Chavez. He was just elected to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.

Related Story: Fresno Unified Trustee Says She’s Running for Southeast City Council Seat

Other Trustee Races

Fresno teachers also kicked in $5,000 to the campaign of Pablo Villagrana, president of the Iron Workers Local 155 who tried to unseat incumbent Nasreen Michelle Johnson in the State Center Community College District Area 2 race. According to the latest campaign finance reports Villagrana’s campaign raised more than $100,000, almost all of it from labor union PACs.

Johnson, who unsuccessfully sued campaign strategist Jason Carns after he abandoned her campaign to work for Villagrana’s, used her skills as a communications consultant to mount a low-cost campaign and beat Villagrana by 53.46% to 46.54%.

In the Clovis Unified School Board Area 2 race, Wilma Tom Hashimoto held her lead against opponents Molly DeFrank and Janet Kardashian. Hashimoto, executive director of CASA of Fresno Madera Counties and a former Clovis Unified employee, won with 41.99% to DeFrank’s 39.38% and Kardashian’s 18.63%.

DeFrank, an author and mother, sought to win the seat held by her husband, David, who decided not to seek reelection. She received financial support from current and former district officials as well as endorsements from several trustees. She led on election night and in subsequent days but was overtaken by Hashimoto in a vote update in mid-November. Kardashian is a retired Clovis Unified teacher.

Incumbent Hugh Awtrey, an insurance broker, handily defeated challenger Gina Vue, owner of autism centers, in the Clovis Unified Area 4 race by 59.05% to 40.95%.

Two challengers will take their places on the Central Unified School Board after trouncing incumbents seeking third terms.

Jaspreet Sidhu, a registered nurse, toppled retiree Richard Solis in the Area 5 race, 70.98% to 29.02%, and Natalie Chavez, an educational consultant, beat medical supplies salesman Phillip Cervantes, 61.32% to 38.68%.

In the school and community college bond measure elections, Fresno Unified’s Measure H, Central Unified’s Measure X, and Sierra Unified’s Measure U all passed with approval margins higher than 60%. Clovis Unified’s Measure A and Sanger Unified’s Measure M, both losing on Election Night, both won with more than 57% approval.

The closest bond measure election was State Center’s Measure Q, which wound up with 55.85% across its four-county region.

Fresno City Council

Nick Richardson solidified his upset in the Fresno City Council District 6 race. The final tally showed Richardson — a Marine Corp reservist and private sector safety consultant — with a 3-point victory, or 990 votes.

Richardson defeated attorney Roger Bonakdar, a much better funded and prominently endorsed candidate. Richardson’s term officially starts on Jan. 7.

Two members of the Fresno City Council officially won their races for the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. Garry Bredefeld defeated incumbent Steve Brandau, 54% to 46%.

Chavez defeated incumbent Sal Quintero, 57% to 43%. For Chavez, that means vacating his city council seat. A special election is expected on March 18.

Expected contenders include Jonasson Rosas, Sanger Unified Trustee Brandon Vang, and possibly Quintero.

If a candidate does not win a majority at the special election, the top-two finishers will meet in a runoff.

Recount Sought in Laguna Race

Two candidates for the Laguna Irrigation Division 2 race tied. Incumbent Frank Zonneveld and challenger Wes Harmon both received 101 votes. Harmon called for a recount, which will take place Tuesday, Dec. 10, 9 a.m., at the Fresno County Election Warehouse. Harmon would be responsible for costs.

Final turnout for Fresno County saw 65% of voters cast ballots. In the last presidential general election in 2020, 75% cast votes.

Fresno County voters selected a Republican president for the first time since 2004. Donald Trump won 51% of the votes on Nov. 5.

Trump’s raw total — 165,924 — was similar to his 2020 number of 164,464. The difference is Kamala Harris did not generate support similar to what Joe Biden got in 2020.

Biden received 193,025 or 53% in 2020; Harris received 151,628 or 47% on Nov. 5.