A GV Wire investigation reveals that the dark money group behind a controversial attack campaign mailer in the Fresno City Council special election is linked to well-known local political operative Alex Tavlian.

Mailers sent to voters in the March 18 District 5 special election alleged that candidate Brandon Vang committed statutory rape in 1993, a charge he denied. The independent expenditure group disclosed on the mailer, Fresno Future Forward, listed an address of a downtown Fresno mail/shipping store.

However, that address differs from what the group filed in its official campaign document with the Fresno City Clerk.

The address listed on Fresno Future Forward’s Form 410 — the statement of organization — is for a north Fresno store providing mailbox services. That isn’t the address on the mailer.

The store tells GV Wire that the mailbox is registered under Alexander E. Tavlian, with Fresno Future Forward as the company name.

Tavlian is known for his political work for several successful election candidates, ballots measure, and even directly with the city of Fresno. The licensed attorney is also executive editor of a digital news publication, The San Joaquin Valley Sun.

The listed principal officer/treasurer of Fresno Future Forward, Riley Moore, is not listed on the north Fresno mailbox.

Related Story: Fresno Candidate Brandon Vang and Wife May Lee Emotionally Respond to Attack ...

Political Consultant Denies Link to the Attack Mailer

Tavlian denied any connection to the mailer.

“I can tell you the ParkWest Associates had no role in the production of that mailer,” Tavlian said.

ParkWest Associates is one of Tavlian’s public affairs firms. He would not directly answer if he personally, or any of his other companies, were involved in the mailer.

Tavlian also didn’t comment when GV Wire asked if he knew Moore.

Vang is one of five candidates vying to succeed Luis Chavez for the southeast Fresno council seat. Chavez vacated the seat after winning election to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors in November. Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, a Fresno Unified trustee who is married to Chavez, is also running for the seat.

Lisa Murray, the owner of the downtown Fresno UPS Store, said neither Fresno Future Forward nor Moore ever owned a mailbox at her store. Tavlian once rented a personal mailbox there in 2022, she said.

The listed address on the attack mailer is 700 Van Ness No. 120, Fresno, CA 93721.

“It’s my store’s (physical) address, not my mailbox system address. My mailbox system has a separate address of 710 Van Ness and then anybody’s box number. So (they) never had a title to that,” Murray said.

Fresno Future Forward initially did not file necessary paperwork with the city to run an independent expenditure campaign. City Attorney Andrew Janz publicly announced an investigation, including a possible subpoena for The UPS Store.

When Fresno Future Forward finally provided its overdue campaign documents a day later, Janz stopped his investigation and did not issue subpoenas.

Janz levied a $1,000 fine against Fresno Future Forward for the late paperwork.

Related Story: Vang Inches Closer to Outright Fresno Council Victory

Complaints Filed

Murray — who previously served as a president of the Fresno Sister Cities program — said being dragged into the controversy hurt her business. Friends asked her how the court case was going, believing she was under some sort of legal trouble.

“I feel wronged. I feel disrespected,” Murray said. “I don’t think that my interests were taken into consideration as a victim in all of this and my reputation … I had nothing to do with it.”

She asked the city attorney to retract statements implying she had something to do with it, but that didn’t happen.

“I didn’t do anything. But the city attorney never came out and said the UPS Store was harmed in this as well, that … federal law was broken, that a fraud and abuse using my address, and he never apologized for saying that, my business was involved or anything, or that we were cleared. He just said it was a moot point,” Murray said.

Janz, the city attorney, addressed Murray’s concerns, saying:

“Unfortunately Ms. Murray is confused about subpoenas.  If an individual receives a subpoena, there is no implication of wrongdoing.  During my career as a prosecutor, I have issued hundreds of subpoenas to police officers and victims of crime who were in possession of relevant information or evidence. No one has ever suggested Ms. Murray engaged in criminal conduct.”

Murray said she filed complaints with the State Bar of California and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office Public Integrity Unit.

Both agencies said they do not confirm or deny complaints received.

Murray’s complaint, among other things, alleges that the use of her address on the mailer is a violation of federal law, mainly mail fraud. She also said other independent expenditure groups used her address in prior elections.

Murray sent a cease-and-desist letter to Tavlian, Moore, the Fresno City Attorney, Fresno City Council, Fresno Future Forward, Neighborhood Watch Alliance, and Professional Print and Mail, Inc.

The letter directed the groups to stop using the 700 Van Ness, No. 120 address and stop committing the alleged mail fraud.

The Neighborhood Watch Alliance was a independent expenditure committee in 2022 that sent mailers opposing city council candidate Cary Catalano. The group’s mailers also used the 700 Van Ness, No. 120 address.

Campaign finance documents show the group was financed by an LLC related to developer Peter Stravinski of Madera County.

The pre-paid postage number for Professional Print and Mail, Inc. is listed on the anti-Vang mailer.

Related Story: Janz Reveals Treasurer of Group Behind Attack Mailer, Issues $1K Sanction

Murray Conducts Her Own Investigation

Murray also has another reason to believe Tavlian is connected.

Wanting to clear her name, she called the phone number listed on Fresno Future Forward’s campaign filing. She left a message.

Although the number had a 916 area code, the call forwarded to a message box with a 559 area code. In documents viewed by GV Wire, the 559 number displayed on Murray’s phone belongs to Tavlian.

GV Wire also called the 916 number associated with Fresno Future Forward on Friday, March 28. The automatic voice message provided a 559 number that GV Wire verified is the cell phone for Tavlian.

(GV Wire redacted Tavlian’s phone number after the area code in the video below and didn’t publish it in this story to protect his privacy.)

In an interview on Friday, Tavlian said he had “no clue” why his number was on the outgoing message.

“I didn’t know who the number belonged to. I just assumed it was Riley Moore, because Riley Moore’s name is what was on the (Form) 410,” Murray said.

Murray said she did not know who Tavlian was, but asked around and learned about his background.

Tavlian’s Work with the City

Another Tavlian consulting firm — Local Government Strategic Consulting — is under current contract with the Fresno City Council District 5 office, signed Dec. 17, 2024, running through Dec. 31, 2025 for $100,000.

The contract between Tavlian and Chavez, who officially left office Jan. 7, is for “strategic communications and public relations services.”

LGSC also had contracts with Chavez in 2022 and 2023 ($45,000 each), and a six-month contract signed July 1, 2024 for $100,000.

Tavlian’s group also had outreach contracts with District 2 Councilmember Mike Karbassi in 2022 and 2023 for $45,000 each.

There is no record of the council voting to approve the contracts for District 2 and District 5 with Tavlian’s group.

The city council did approve a $145,000 contract in 2021 with LGSC; expanded to  $450,000 in 2022, to provide public education for a ballot measure proposal for a sales tax for veterans’ services and facilities. Chavez was the original author of the sales tax measure.

Voters rejected the item, Measure M, in November 2022. It needed two-thirds to pass, but received 59%.

The Controversial Mailer

Responding to the Fresno Future Forward mailer, Vang, and his wife, May Lee, explained that she was 15 and he was 20 in 1993 when they had their first child. They have raised a family ever since, marrying in 1995.

Vang and Lee told GV Wire in an interview that there was never a criminal investigation, and their statements were confirmed by the Fresno County District Attorney’s office.

Fresno Future Forward’s campaign documents state that it was formed to oppose Vang’s candidacy.

The attack mailer did not appear to hurt Vang’s campaign, although he and his wife said they and other family members suffered emotional harm. Vang has 50.16% of the votes, and if he finishes with a majority, he will be sworn in April 10 as a city councilmember.

Jonasson Rosas is the runner-up with  34.98% of the vote.

The next vote tally and certification is scheduled for Friday, April 4.