Former California Assemblymember Juan Arambula and a well-known community activist say there is “substantial reason to believe” that former Fresno city councilmember and current county supervisor Luis Chavez used taxpayer funds to support his wife’s campaign for his vacated seat.

Chavez is married to Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, a Fresno Unified trustee who is running for Fresno City Council District 5 in a special election.

Arambula and Luisa Medina, a community activist and former Fresno Unified trustee, are calling on Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz to investigate Chavez.

A letter to Janz from Arambula and Medina claims that Chavez directed his staff to do campaign work, used his district newsletter to promote Jonasson Rosas, and contracted with political consultant Alex Tavlian, who is also editor of the online news site The San Joaquin Valley Sun.

Related Story: Fresno Supervisor Luis Chavez, Trustee Jonasson Rosas Allegedly Use ...

Calls made by GV Wire to Tavlian were not returned. Jonasson Rosas declined to comment for the story. A call to Janz was not returned.

“I am writing to formally request your office investigate violations of the California Political Reform Act,” the letter stated. “Based on publicly available information, there is substantial reason to believe that the former District 5 Council Member unlawfully used City resources to distribute a taxpayer-funded newsletter for the benefit of his wife, Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, to aid her candidacy for Fresno City Council District 5.”

Chavez rebutted the allegations in the letter and said “no city funds were used for political purposes in the district.”

He went on to say that the newsletter celebrated the opening of a health center in the Calwa community and also was intended to assure residents that their needs would be taken care of after Chavez moved on to the Board of Supervisors.

“There are phone numbers in the newsletter to report illegal dumping and loose dogs and to have trees trimmed and potholes filled, those sort of things,” Chavez said. “The newsletter was not mailed; it was handed to every single resident in the surrounding neighborhoods to let them know the health clinic was open and accepting new patients there.”

Asked his reaction to having Arambula and Medina, both Democrats like Chavez, seek the investigation, the supervisor said, “Juan is someone I consider a pioneer and a friend. It breaks my heart to see him engaging in mudslinging. We need to be working with each other, not cannibalizing each other.”

Complaint: City Employees Distribute Newsletter Featuring Jonasson Rosas

City documents show Chavez paid for two $100,000 contracts to Tavlian’s group Local Government Strategic Consulting with district funds. The contract was for “strategic communications and public relations.”

A city council resolution prohibits spending more than $100,000 with a single contractor in a fiscal year without council approval.

Contracts between Tavlian and Chavez’s city council office go back several years. Sources have told GV Wire about contracts between Tavlian and at least one other councilmember. GV Wire has filed a Public Records Act request with the city of Fresno for those contracts.

The contracts with Tavlian include reimbursement for data subscriptions, mass-texting subscriptions, and print, television, radio, or outdoor media placements.

The second contract, made after Chavez secured his win for Fresno County Supervisor, extends through the end of 2025.

“Why would I sign a contract if I’m not going to be around to execute it,” Medina commented to GV Wire about the 2025 contract.

One high-quality District 5 newsletter made by Tavlian — the complaint alleges — distributed throughout the community prominently featured Jonasson Rosas at the top.

Chavez addressed the placement of the photo featuring Jonasson Rosas on the newsletter’s cover: “She represents Calwa Elementary on the school board and worked on the agreement for students to get care at the health clinic. She was part of the celebration event.”

Political Consultant Jason Carns Responds

The complaint also alleges Chavez used part-time staffers to distribute the newsletter. The paid political consultant for Chavez and Jonasson Rosas, Jason Carns, directed the newsletter’s distribution, according to the letter.

Carns told GV Wire that he has not “directed any drops of any kind at Fresno City Hall during Elizabeth’s City Council campaign. Any claim to the contrary is 100% false.”

California law prohibits the use of public funds for campaign-related mass mailings. As recently as Feb. 25, staffers in Chavez’s former council office were distributing the newsletter featuring the couple, according to the complaint sent to Janz. Chavez vacated his seat in January. The special election will be on Tuesday, March 18.

“These violations are not minor oversights,” the letter states. “We are concerned that City funds have been used for improper campaign-related activities. A deliberate misuse of public resources justifies scrutiny and remedial action to prevent further violations and to promote fair elections and election integrity.”

In addition to Jonasson Rosas, the other candidates for the District 5 seat are Sanger Unified trustee Brandon Vang, nonprofit leader Jose Leon Barraza, Paul Condon, and write-in candidate Nickolas Wildstar.