James Martinez, who is running for the Fresno Unified School Board in the Fresno High region, paid the final $194 in court costs for his 2020 drunk-driving case after they went to a collections service, according to court records.

GV Wire learned that Martinez’s court costs went to collections after receiving an anonymous email from an “Area 5 Parent” questioning Martinez’s fitness as a candidate and also why the Fresno Teachers Association would bankroll his campaign.

The anonymous sender’s email included a series of court records for defendants named James Martinez, but other than the 2020 DUI case that Martinez pled guilty to in 2022, it’s impossible to know if he was a defendant in any of the cases. Charges in those cases included speeding, running red lights, and failing to have a valid driver’s license.

Martinez said he wasn’t responsible for any of the citations other than the DUI, adding, “The last time I got a speeding ticket was in college.”

Blood-Alcohol Level Was High

Court records show Fresno police pulled Martinez over in November 2020 in the Tower District for running a red light or stop sign. Martinez was accused of having a blood alcohol level of 0.15% or higher — nearly double the legal limit of 0.08% and a criminal enhancement.

Martinez said he initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea in 2022 when prosecutors dropped the enhancement charge.

The court records sent anonymously to GV Wire for defendants named James Martinez included an overpayment that the California Employment Development Department was trying to recover in May 1995. Martinez the candidate, now 38, would have been 8 years old at the time.

Martinez questioned why GV Wire would write a story stemming from an anonymous source about his well-publicized DUI case and his delay in paying his court costs.

“I missed one payment and they went to collections. And when I found out I rectified it, and that’s all there is to it,” he said. “I don’t see why that has to be a bigger story than what it is.”

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Missed Payment Not Uncommon

As for why voters would trust him with Fresno Unified’s billion-dollar annual budget when his court costs wound up in collections, Martinez said, “I’m not the only one who has forgotten to pay a bill at some point unless it’s on auto-pay or something. And I’m sure that many other people can relate to it.”

The anonymous emailer also questioned FTA’s financial support of Martinez’s candidacy. According to campaign reports filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission, the Fresno Teachers Assocation political action committee has thus far contributed more than $66,000 to Martinez’s campaign, much of it in in-kind services such as canvassing.

Manuel Bonilla, president of the Fresno Teachers Association, was not immediately available Tuesday for comment.

Martinez labeled the email a political attack. “This is a bit of a stretch, if it wasn’t I wouldn’t be pushing back on it,” he said. “And the fact that it was sent anonymously is — clearly this person knows me personally. And it’s meant to be a political attack.”

Martinez now serves as board president for the Fresno County Board of Education, having won election as a trustee in 2020. Instead of running for reelection to that board, he chose to challenge Fresno Unified incumbent trustee Andy Levine. The three-candidate race also includes Emma Villa.