In 10 months, voters in four Fresno City Council districts head to the polls to begin a major reshaping of the seven-member panel.

Candidates have filed and are already raising money ahead of the June 2, 2026, primary in an election with just one incumbent, District 5’s Brandon Vang.

The question is, who is pounding the pavement and working the phone lines to raise the necessary funds to get their message out?

Vang raised the most between Jan. 1 and June 30 of 2025, winning a special election for the vacant seat on March 18. The district covers southeast Fresno.

He collected $130,359 during the reporting period. And, after the election, Vang raised $12,100 — including a $5,500 contribution from the Fresno City Employees Association.

Meanwhile, Fresno Unified Trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, who finished second in the special election, raised $122,360 for the year, with a single contribution since the election.

Jonasson Rosas set up a new committee for 2026; Vang has yet to set up a 2026 committee.

District 7: Businessman Rassamni Leads

District 7 — covering east central Fresno — will be wide open as councilmember Nelson Esparza is term limited and running for state Senate.

Business advocate AJ Rassamni raised the most for the first half of 2025, reporting $51,200. Rassamni is president of the Blackstone Merchants Association, and has recently clashed with city officials over homelessness enforcement.

Several of Rassamni’s supporters are fellow businessmen with shops along Blackstone. They include Mohamed Alhalemi, owner of the local Einstein Bagels ($5,900) and Steve Cornelius, owner of Blackstone Cadillac ($5,900).

Nav Gurm, recent law school graduate and former staffer to Esparza, raised $21,558, with $53,355 cash on hand. He started fundraising last year. The figures include a $15,000 self-loan.

Mayor Jerry Dyer is a believer, contributing $2,000 from his campaign funds to Gurm’s account.

Michael Tubbs, running for state lieutenant governor, contributed $250. Pawanpreet Dhaliwal, a San Francisco civil rights attorney, gave Gurm $5,601.

Community activist Ariana Martinez Lott raised $20,301 and is backed by Joaquin Arambula, the Assemblymember who is running for city council in District 3. Arambula contributed $5,500.

Another District 7 candidate, Rene Campos, did not report any financials.

District 3: Thomas Outraising Arambula

Arambula only posted one previously-reported contribution —$5,900 from Bay Area Democratic megadonor Elizabeth Simons. He also reports $3,041 cash on hand from his Assembly account.

Keshia Thomas, a Fresno Unified trustee running for city council, reported $21,009 raised.

Fresno Laborers Local 294 PAC contributed $4,000. Several other unions contributed to her account.

She also received $1,000 from Charter Public School PAC. Thomas is a co-founder of Golden Charter Academy, founded by her son-in-law, Robert Golden.

Fernando Alvarez, a school board member with Westpark School District and former Fresno Chamber of Commerce staffer, entered the race after the campaign finance deadline.

The district covers southwest Fresno, including downtown.

District 3 Councilmember Miguel Arias is term limited.

District 1: Fuentes Raises Most

Councilmember Annalisa Perea is running for state Assembly, forgoing a second term representing District 1 in west central Fresno.

Her staffer, Mayra Campa, is running, and she reported $500 raised — all from Husam Kaileh, a family practice physician.

Rob Fuentes, a federal prosecutor and State Center Community College District trustee, reported raising $36,350.

Richard F. Spencer, developer and frequent financier of local and national campaigns, contributed $5,900. Spencer contributed the same amount to Rassamni.

District 4 Councilmember Tyler Maxwell gave Fuentes $5,900.

Jakara Movement Executive Director Naindeep Singh filed to run after the campaign finance deadline for the period.

Perea, Esparza Running for State Offices

Perea, running for Assembly District 27, reported raising $300,814.

She is running against nonprofit Building Health Communities President/CEO Sandra Celedon, who reported $108,736 raised.

Esparza is running for State Senate District 12 against one-time city council colleague Esmeralda Soria.

Soria, the Assemblymember for District 27, reported raising $382,508. Esparza reported raising only $6,255 in the first six months of 2025.

Combined wither her existing Assembly account, Soria’s campaign says she’s raised more than $600,000 total, with $693,083 cash on hand.

She also raised $60,900 for her legal defense fund account. Soria is defending herself in a defamation suit filed by Fresno City Council President Mike Karbassi — stemming from when they both ran for the Assembly seat in 2022.

Soria is filing a countersuit against Karbassi, expected by October, according to court records.