The new year comes with new Central San Joaquin Valley county supervisors helming their respective governing bodies.

In Fresno County, supervisors selected Garry Bredefeld as chair, replacing outgoing supervisor Buddy Mendes. Taking over as vice chair is Luis Chavez after Brian Pacheco declined the seat.

Both Pacheco and Mendes announced this would be their last year as supervisors. Pacheco is foregoing a supervisor run opting to instead run for Assembly District 27 held by Esmeralda Soria, D-Merced, who is campaigning for the state Senate.

If Nathan Magsig wins his state Senate run this year, this would bring the loss of three veteran supervisors from the largest local government in the region. Magsig is running for District 12, which will become an open seat with Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, termed out.

Given Bredefeld’s busy 2025, Pacheco said 2026 will likely be an eventful year for the county. Bredefeld in 2025 sponsored copper theft, dog breeding, and sex offender ordinances. Bredefeld also led actions against needle exchanges and excessive department spending.

“As chair, you always have an agenda of things you want to do. I can tell you you’ve done more in a year without the gavel, so I can’t wait to see what this year has in store when you have the gavel in your hands,” Pacheco said to Bredefeld at Tuesday’s board meeting.

Bredefeld Lets the Public Speak Their Minds

Bredefeld’s leadership style could be seen his first day at the center of the dais. In the Tuesday hearing of his and Pacheco’s ordinance limiting sex offenders in transitional housing, he accommodated the numerous people coming to speak..

While Mendes was chair, he always made it clear that anyone wanting to speak should immediately line up to the podium. Anyone lining up late would have at the least received a severe chiding, if they would have been permitted to speak at all.

Perhaps more similar to his city council days, Bredefeld never objected to people rising to speak well after the first people lined up.

Bredefeld’s tenure as supervisor began choppy in 2025 with palpable tension between himself, Mendes, and Pacheco. The three publicly dressed each other down.

A year later, the three came across far more amiable, with Bredefeld saying he’s come to respect the group.

“It’s a breath of fresh air for me to have people who are just straight and say it like it is,” Bredefeld said.

Pacheco did not want to be vice chair, saying that because he’s exiting, he would leave the job to Chavez.

“If you look back a year ago, who would have thought the two city guys are going to be the senior guys on the board in two years,” Pacheco said.

New Madera County Chair Macauley Inherits Budget Deficit

Madera County’s first Latina supervisor, Leticia Gonzalez, handed the gavel over to Robert “Bobby” Macauley, who oversees District 5, encompassing the mountainous region. This year will be Macauley’s last with the county, he said.

Supervisor Jordan Wamhoff became vice chair.

The new leadership comes as supervisors revealed a looming economic crisis in coming years, first reported by the Fresno Bee. The county could face bankruptcy without a new sales tax and $7 million in cuts through 2030, according to a November 2025 budget presentation.

In that same meeting, supervisors heard a presentation on raising building fees, which could portend increased developer costs for California’s fastest growing county.

Macauley addressed the report by “tabloids,” saying supervisors have been responsible in addressing cost cuts as expenses rise. He said by June supervisors would pass a balanced budget.

He said supervisors have put in “cost-saving measures” in response to escalating expenses over the past years. The November budget presentation said forecasters predicted up to a $3 million deficit which ended up a $1.3 million shortfall. The previous adopted budget called for a $1.2 million shortfall.

“We’ve continued to tighten our belts over the last three years,” Macauley said. “As a result, I’m very proud and very excited this June, we’re going to be able to pass our first balanced budget since I’ve been in office.”

Shuklian Takes Gavel for Tulare County

Tulare County’s new board chair, Amy Shuklian, replaces outgoing chair Pete Vander Poel. Shuklian represents Visalia and the areas south and west of that county’s largest city.

Shuklian has served on the board since 2016 after previously being on the Visalia City Council.

Representing Porterville and Tulare County’s mountain regions, Dennis Townsend took the vice chair position.

Water will be a major ongoing issue for Tulare County farmers, whose water districts are among the most impacted by California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

Shuklian and Vander Poel come from farming families, and many supervisors serve on groundwater sustainability agency boards.

Pumping mandates and balanced plans for water districts have been coming into effect with many agencies fighting with the state to get approval.

Kings County Confronts Water Issues

Kings County’s supervisors chose their new chair, Rusty Robinson, and vice chair, Joe Neves, last month.

A year ago, Robinson should have been the chair based on the county’s traditional rotation system. However the position went to Doug Verboon because of his farming experience.

Verboon is a walnut farmer and in 2025, Kings County took over the Mid Kings River Groundwater Sustainability Agency.

“I think it’s been helpful in the sense that I think the farmers are content now. I think they trust us,” Robinson said. “I think they believe that we’re genuinely taking their input into perspective as we work through the Mid Kings River GSA.”

Supervisor Richard Valle said Kings County will reorganize the GSA this year and Verboon could still chair that board.