The two-way race to represent central and west-of-Highway-99 Fresno neighborhoods heated up in August with both candidates raising big money ahead of the November general election.

The contest also comes with new immigration controversies, this time lobbed at candidate Naindeep Singh, the Jakara Movement’s executive director.

In a neck-and-neck primary, voters chose Singh to face off against State Center Community College District board president and former federal prosecutor Rob Fuentes.

Singh pulled in 4,535 votes to Fuentes’ 4,281 in the June 2 primary, or 38.69% to 36.52%.

Fuentes, whose June financial report paled in comparison to Singh’s, reported a strong August, bringing in $29,800 in the second half of the month in campaign contributions. Fuentes collected money from builders, professionals, and unions.

Not to be outdone by his rival, Singh pulled $55,300 into his campaign, tapping into the Sikh community, with some union representation backing him as well.

The District 1 incumbent, Annalisa Perea, is termed out and running for Assembly.

Fuentes’ Financial Breakdown

Fuentes started the general election with his finances largely exhausted. At the end of June, he reported having $6,365 cash on hand. No donations were reported in July.

By August, donations started coming. The highlights:

• $5,900 business owner Karen Spencer
• $5,000 Fresno Firefighters Legislative Action Committee
• $2,000 Central Valley Council
• $1,000 Vista Consulting
• $1,000 State Center Community College District Trustee Danielle Parra
• $2,000 Cook Land Company
• $5,900 attorney Kevin Little
• $1,000 business owner Brooke Ashjian
• $5,000 Fresno Teachers Association

Singh’s Financial Breakdown

Singh attracted his own union support in August, not to mention large donations from professionals. The highlights:

• $5,900 Fresno City Employees Association PAC
• $5,000 United Food and Commercial Workers 8 Golden State PAC
• $5,900 physician Simren Claire
• $5,000 attorney Deepak Ahluwalia
• $5,000 Pannu Insurance Services Inc.
• $5,000 physician Inderjit Dhillon
• $5,500 physician Harcharan Chann
• Various $1,000, $1,500, $2,000 donations from individuals totaling $18,000

Will SEDA Play a Role?

The city’s controversial Southeast Development Area has been a hot button issue in all city council races, with opponents lobbing accusations at one another for supporting it, even though no candidates have openly endorsed the plan.

Singh has actively participated in opposition to SEDA, appearing at Fresno City Council meetings and planning commission meetings talking about how it will overextend the city and overly indebt it with infrastructure costs. As a trustee of Central Unified School District, he joined all the other board members to unanimously adopt a resolution opposing SEDA.

Singh also has gone so far as to lob accusations of backdoor deals between developers and city administration.

Fuentes, who has been endorsed by Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, has previously said he doesn’t support the current version of SEDA. Dyer, however, previously told GV Wire that he supports Fuentes for being flexible on issues.

Vista Consulting, which contracted with the city in December 2025 for “outreach and education services” on SEDA, gave Fuentes $1,000. Danielle Parra, vice president of Vista, also gave $1,000 to Fuentes’ campaign. Parra, who ran unsuccessfully against Fresno City Council incumbent Brandon Vang for his southeast seat, serves alongside Fuentes on the State Center board.

Vista Consulting executive Tal Eslick told GV Wire he supported Fuentes because of his knowledge of local issues. He said SEDA did not play a role in his support of Fuentes.

“I have known Rob for a few years and have always found him to be a thoughtful community leader,” Eslick told GV Wire. “I appreciate that he’s focused on the issues that impact people who live in his neighborhood. My hope is that he would approach the role in the same manner as those who have endorsed him; like Mayor Dyer and councilmembers (Tyler) Maxwell, (Nelson) Esparza, and Perea.”

Singh Gets Pushback for Endorsement of Harmeet Dhillon

A previous endorsement by Singh of famous conservative attorney and former California Republican Party vice chair, Harmeet Dhillon, has the city’s progressives and Democrats divided.

On Monday, the Fresno County Young Democrats called on Singh to pull out of the race because of his support of Dhillon, who holds the top civil rights post in President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice.

Despite being aligned with progressive values, Singh allegedly supported Dhillon, a 2020 Joe Biden election denier who has prosecuted immigrants for the Trump administration.

“Dhillon’s record was so notorious and so extreme that Singh could only have turned a blind eye to it before lobbying the Senate for her confirmation,” an Instagram post stated. “Singh declined to disclose any of this to the Democratic clubs and committees whose endorsements he sought.”

The Young Dems membership includes Fresno city councilmembers such as Maxwell, Esparza, and Perea, as well as many current and former staffers.

Many have moved on to their own races, including Nav Gurm, running for City Council District 7, and Carmen Flores, a staffer for Dyer and candidate for Central Unified School District board.

Maxwell, Esparza, and Perea have all endorsed Fuentes.

Fuentes himself got into controversy when news broke that as a federal prosecutor he assisted with immigration enforcement while also calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ultimately, Fuentes left his job as a federal prosecutor after being placed on leave.