Multiple independent sources say former city councilmember Luis Chavez made a deal to get Fresno Unified administrator Misty Her selected as the district’s next superintendent in exchange for support from the Hmong community in his bid to become a Fresno County supervisor.

Chavez’s wife, Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, is a Fresno Unified trustee and a candidate for the vacated District 5 city council seat formerly held by Chavez.

One source, who asked to remain anonymous because of potential political backlash, told GV Wire that Chavez worked out the agreement with Pao Yang, president and CEO of The Fresno Center, a nonprofit that helps Southeast Asian immigrants become self-sufficient.

Under the deal, Jonasson Rosas was to push hard for Misty Her’s selection as superintendent.

“These political games of these political classes is on the backs of our most marginalized and most vulnerable students that need the most support,” one source said.

Chavez, who won the supervisorial seat in November, vehemently denied making a deal, saying it would be illegal. A call made to Yang was not returned, nor was a call made to Jonasson Rosas.

“100% completely false,” Chavez told GV Wire. “First of all, that’s illegal. People don’t engage in that type of activity. And two, as you know, The Fresno Center is a nonprofit that doesn’t get involved in politics, but it is a political cycle. I understand the rumors and innuendo. It’s that time of the year.”

Chavez also called it offensive to think of the Hmong community as a singular entity.

“They’re not one size fits all, even within the Hmong community, there’s disagreements, there’s differences of opinion, whether they’re Democrats or Republicans,” Chavez said. “For anybody to make that type of accusation shows me that they really don’t understand the Hmong community.”

Fresno Unified Communications Director Nikki Henry said Misty Her has been completely uninvolved in any board discussions around the superintendent search.

“Any suggestion otherwise is pure fabrication,” Henry said.

One source said Misty Her had no knowledge of the deal allegedly hatched by Chavez.

However, both sources said they have direct knowledge of the deal.

“We will get Misty through, don’t f— me on this,” one source said he heard Chavez say on a phone call.

The source said using a spouse’s political position made it out of the ordinary in the rough-and-tumble world of politics.

“This was another level. I have seen things people exchange through the power of their own seat,” the source said. “This was unusual because it’s through the power of his wife’s seat.”

Related Story: Fresno City Attorney Janz Launches Probe Into Attack Campaign Mailer

FPPC Rules on Exchanges

The Fair Political Practices Commission prohibits public officials from using their position to influence governmental decisions where that official could have a financial interest, according to Government Code Section 87100.

Fresno Center Leaders Endorse Candidates

Sources said that Chavez made the phone call during his 2024 race for supervisor.

Being a nonprofit, The Fresno Center cannot endorse candidates. The center that helps southeast Asians and other immigrants settle in the U.S. receives money from Fresno County.

However, former Supervisor Sal Quintero listed Yang as a “business leader” who supported him in his early campaign materials through the primary election. Yang pulled the endorsement for the run-off and Quintero lost to Chavez in November. Yang’s primary endorsement would have come earlier than the phone call.

Quintero said he used Yang’s name sparingly because The Fresno Center is not supposed to get involved in politics.

More recently, Fresno Center board member Claudia Soria-Delgado endorsed Jonasson Rosas in her race for city council as another “business leader.”

Jonasson Rosas Wanted to Limit Superintendent Search

Former Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson announced in January 2024 that by June he would leave the position to teach at Fresno State.

After Nelson’s retirement, four trustees — including Jonasson Rosas — voted to keep the initial replacement superintendent search internal, with Misty Her’s name at the top of the list.

The School Board’s majority decision to skip a nationwide search for the next superintendent of California’s third-largest school district, gained media attention and sparked community backlash.

In the face of mounting public pressure and a renewed focus on the district’s decades of academic shortcomings, the School Board eventually reversed its decision and decided to expand their search nationwide.

Before that decision, the search firm hired by the district to hold community listening sessions conducted one at The Fresno Center, attended mostly by Hmong residents. Many said they wanted somebody from the community to represent them and advocated for Misty Her.

Misty Her is now the interim superintendent and a candidate for the permanent position.

Superintendent Could Be Chosen Day Before Councilmember Sworn In

After promising that the superintendent search would be transparent and nationwide, some trustees want to accelerate the timeline.

Fresno Unified trustees originally announced a goal of hiring a new superintendent by the end of May. The district has since published a timeline indicating the superintendent’s contract would be presented to the board by April 23 after choosing a superintendent via a board vote on April 9.

The new District 5 city councilmember representing southeast Fresno neighborhoods could be sworn in the next day.

That’s because voters will go to the polls Tuesday, March 18, with the election certified by April 4, according to Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus. The council also has to certify the results.

Fresno City Council President Mike Karbassi said the earliest date a new council member could be sworn in would be April 10. That would require a candidate to get more than 50%. Otherwise, the top two candidates go to a run-off.

In addition to Jonasson Rosas, the other candidates are Brandon Vang, a Sanger Unified trustee; nonprofit leader Jose Leon Barraza, Paul Condon, and write-in candidate Nickolas Wildstar.

Now, Fresno Unified trustees are discussing moving the selection date up even earlier, sources told GV Wire.