In Fresno, with the absence of city or countywide races, most of the attention in the local election is on school boards. Candidates reported their final pre-election fundraising totals, through Oct. 17. State Center Area 2 Is the Most Costly Race For the State Center school board — which governs...
Is This Campaign Ad Racist? Or Does It Just Call a Candidate Corrupt?
The incumbent in a race for a college trustee seat says a campaign attack ad against him, mailed to voters, is racist. The flyer in question depicts Eric Payne, who is Black and is running for his third term on the State Center Community College District board, in less than...
Immanuel Schools, County Prepare for Renewed Court Battle
Despite a legal setback this week from the state Supreme Court, Immanuel Schools is set to resume battle Tuesday morning in Fresno County Superior Court Judge D. Tyler Tharpe's courtroom. Fresno County seeks a preliminary injunction to close the school — which has been open since Aug. 13 in defiance...
Anti-Payne Website Is ‘Opening Act’ of Election Circus, Says Trustee
It's political season, which means attacks come in all forms. A new website has launched against State Center Community College District Trustee Eric Payne and his re-election bid. Aside from the grammatical errors and ALL CAPS, the site mentions the negative aspects of Payne's eight years on the board. It...
Terry Cox Won’t Seek Another Term on Central Unified Board
The biggest development in Fresno-area school board races perhaps is who won't be on the November ballot. Longtime Central Unified trustee Terry Cox tells GV Wire℠ that she won't run for a sixth term. Cox says that after 20 years on the board she wants to focus on her job as...
Will City Settle High Profile Police Shooting Case? Fresno Council Considers Next Move.
A Fresno police shooting death that has received more attention in the era of George Floyd is on the Fresno City Council's agenda this week. The 2017 shooting of 16-year old Isiah Murrietta-Golding as he ran away from police officers rankled social justice advocates then and now. With the renewed...
Tateosian Challenges Embattled Payne for Trustee Seat
State Center Community College District Trustee Eric Payne will have competition for reelection. Payne, a two-term trustee, said he intends to run again on the November 2020 ballot. Sevag Tateosian, a longtime Fresno County employee, filed his intention to run for the District 2 seat, which covers much of Fresno...
How Valley Lawmakers Voted on Vaccine Exemption Bill
SB 276 is one of the most emotional bills debated in the state Legislature this year. It would create greater state oversight on how doctors grant medical exemptions from vaccines for public or private school students. Supporters, such as author Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), say the bill is needed to...
Oscar Sandoval Hopes Progressive Views Resonate in Council Race
Oscar Sandoval believes the traditionally conservative northwest Fresno voters will accept his progressive ideas. “We are about community, people power,” Sandoval said in describing his campaign for the area's District 2 seat on the city council. Last week, around 30 people attended an intimate setting at Intimo Cocktail Lounge in...
Did Fresno Parks Tax Pass? Court Delays Its Ruling.
Update, 7/08/19, 3:15 p.m.: A Fresno County Superior Court judge delayed a tentative ruling expected today on Measure P. Judge Kimberly Gaab pushed back a decision on whether the Fresno sales tax for parks was approved by voters with 53% of the vote. The city contends it needed two-thirds to pass....