Fresno’s police chief imploded in spectacular fashion. A novice pulled one of the city’s biggest political upsets. And, a move by two Fresno councilmembers to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors may finally thaw a frosty relationship.

Those are just some of 2024’s top Fresno political stories.

Remember Paco Balderrama?

Paco Balderrama had the respect of the city of Fresno —the public, elected officials, maybe even criminals. The third-year chief out of Oklahoma City helped reduce violent crime in the city.

But, he couldn’t keep it in his pants. And, he messed with the wrong man’s wife. In February, the city launched an investigation into Balderrama regarding allegations he had an affair with the wife of an officer under his command.

The city kept that investigation under wraps until June, when GV Wire’s inquiries forced the city to reveal the problems. Within hours, Balderrama went from a budget presentation to the city council, to a disastrous impromptu news conference, to paid leave, to resignation.

Respected veteran Mindy Casto took over as acting, then interim chief. The city is in the hiring process, wit a job posting available through its consultant’s website.

The listed deadline to apply is Friday, Jan. 3.

Semper Fi, City Council Hi!

On paper, Nick Richardson was a longshot to win an open Fresno City Council seat. Of four candidates in the primary, his only discerning credentials: being a Marine Corps reservist and a safety consultant.

But, those credentials play well in northeast Fresno. Richardson finished second, but good enough to force a runoff with attorney Roger Bonakdar, who outraised Richardson 8-to-1 and had many more prominent endorsements.

However, Richardson outworked Bonakdar. He walked knocked and met with dozens of groups — including those on the fringe. That attitude and regimen earned Richardson a seat on the dais at City Hall for the next four years.

A New Era for City-County Relations?

What might be the best way to improve city-county relations in Fresno? Have two city councilmembers defeat two incumbents on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.

Garry Bredefeld defeated Steve Brandau for the seat covering north Fresno and parts of Clovis; Luis Chavez won the south Fresno seat over Sal Quintero.

Earlier this month, the city and county approved a tax sharing agreement for land annexed into the city. Both entities went years without such a deal that slowed down new development.

Two new supervisors could lead to more cooperation between the city and county for homeless care.

Bredefeld campaigned on changing the status quo nature of the supervisors. He had harsh words for the remaining board on the campaign trail. Insight into how Bredefeld and his new colleagues get along will be gleaned at the first meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

As Granite Park Turns

Terance Frazier continues to operate the Granite Park sports complex, through a lease with the city. However, the acrimony between parties escalated in 2024.

The city, tired of what it says is covering the bills for Frazier’s Central Valley Community Sports Foundation nonprofit, said no more. It took steps to cut off CVCSF from leasing and operating the sports complex from the city.

That action included threats of evicting CVCSF. However, as of this writing, no eviction letter has been sent, Frazier said. Nothing appears in the court docket.

This followed a summer’s worth of nasty letters between CVCSF and the city, each claiming legal high ground on performance of the lease. This is on top of CVCSF and its neighbor — the entity that operates neighboring Club One Casino — in litigation over parking lot issues.

Frazier’s civil rights lawsuit against the city — originally filed in 2020 —resumes March 11, 2025.

Soberal and Olguin Head to Prison for Bitwise Fail

One of greatest business collapses in Fresno history finally came to a conclusion, with the former CEOs of Bitwise Industries pleading guilty and sentenced to jail.

Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr. pleaded guilty to two federal wire fraud charges for defrauding investors of $115 million. Soberal received an 11-year sentence; Olguin got nine years.

The two leaders portrayed themselves as martyrs — they lied, cheated and stole from investors to keep their company alive for their workers. A federal judge was not impressed, imposing a sentence between what the federal government wanted (12.5 years), and what the defendants requested (five years each).

Workers won a bit of solace — settling a class action lawsuit led by Bonakdar for what was left of the bankrupt company for $20 million.

Did Arias Tick Off Colleagues One Time Too Many?

Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias had a rough year. But, in his streetfighter style, he will never admit to that.

He fought with media, made baseless accusations from the dais, and took an electoral beating.

Arias failed to advance beyond the primary for the Supervisor District 3 seat — eventually won by Chavez. Even his own Democratic Party declined to vote Arias in as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

One of the more public rifts between Arias and his city council colleagues happened when he accused Supervisor Brian Pacheco — but not by name — of verbally abusing a City Hall employee during the tax negotiations. Two other councilmembers quickly and publicly refuted Arias’ comments.

The city council took steps to prevent Arias from automatically becoming city council president in 2026. In December, the city council changed its leadership-deciding rules to require a vote of any president rather than an automatic rotation. The latter would have elevated Arias.