Your guide to the Fresno City Council District 1 general election race

The race to succeed Fresno Councilmember Annalisa Perea for the seat that represents parts of Tower District and areas west of Highway 99 has been one of the city’s most turbulent.

Perea, a Democrat, opted to run for the Assembly District 31 seat and will face Republican candidate Jim Polsgrove in November.

The progressive candidate, school board trustee and nonprofit leader Naindeep Singh finished as the frontrunner for District 1 in the June primary with 38.69% of the vote. The establishment pick, Rob Fuentes, law professor and community college board trustee, was a close runner-up with 36.52%.

In the months after the primary, Fuentes, a now-former DOJ prosecutor, has faced scrutiny for arguing on behalf of ICE in immigration-related cases while also promoting the abolition of ICE in his campaign. He was placed on administrative leave one day after he made comments criticizing federal immigration policy, published by the nonprofit news publication Fresnoland in July. He quit his job and claimed the Trump administration pushed him out.

The Fresno County Young Democrats, a group that has endorsed Fuentes, called for Singh to withdraw from the race in September over his inclusion in a prior group letter of support for the appointment of Harmeet Dhillon, who holds the top civil-rights post in President Trump’s DOJ. She’s a 2020 election denier, and Singh says he “absolutely (does) not” support her today.

Where is the district?

The Fresno City Council’s District 1 covers a large portion of northwest and west-central Fresno, including a large portion of the Tower District, the Fresno High area and areas west of Highway 99.

Of the 39,582 registered voters in the district, 17,584 are registered Democrats and 9,008 are registered Republicans, according to Fresno County data. Another 9,266 voters have no party preference listed.

Rob Fuentes

Fuentes, the now-former federal prosecutor, is also a professor at the San Joaquin College of Law and the president of the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees.

Fuentes, 41, grew up in Fresno. The first in his family to graduate from college, he holds a BA from Stanford, an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School and a JD from Yale Law School. He moved back to Fresno to work after law school and has lived in the Fresno High neighborhood since early 2025.

If elected, Fuentes has said on the campaign trail he will prioritize affordability, supportive housing to address homelessness, and economic growth. He said community safety is his highest priority while addressing a shooting death in the Tower District online in late September.

“I am committed to working with law enforcement and community leaders to not only improve incident response time but to proactively prevent crime and tragedies such as this morning’s from occurring in the first place,” Fuentes said in a statement following the shooting.

Earlier in the month, Fuentes joined many local politicians in showing support for a moratorium on AI data centers in the city of Fresno.

Amid ongoing backlash related to his work as a former DOJ prosecutor, Fuentes called for “ICE out of Fresno.”

He has also faced criticism from some community organizers and his opponent for not attending recent forum events where community members can hear directly from candidates.

Fuentes did not attend a forum held on Sept. 22 in the Tower District, where all other candidates running for city council were present, or another held west of Highway 99 on Sept. 28 for District 1 county and city candidates. He said he could not attend because of a prior personal commitment for the first, and was invited but did not attend the second.

Fuentes, a registered Democrat, has establishment backing, with endorsements from Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and Fresno Councilmembers Perea, Tyler Maxwell and Nelson Esparza.

In an interview with The Bee ahead of the primary election, Dyer said he’s supporting candidates who align with his views on strong public safety, homelessness, downtown revitalization, business policy, fiscal management and the importance of infill development and smart housing.

“One of the things that I also look at for city council races is their ability to work well with other council members and the administration,” he said. “The last thing we need is a council member to come in and disrupt the sweet spirit that we have at City Hall right now.”

In August, during a speech at the Rotary Club, Dyer said that with at least three new city council members taking office, a potential change in culture and policy focus “scares him” if incoming members pursue agendas inconsistent with his own.

Other politicians who have endorsed Fuentes include Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez, Fresno County Board of Education Trustee Itzi Robles, and members of the SCCD Board of Trustees. Additional endorsements include the Fresno County Democratic Party, the Central Labor Council, the Building and Construction Trades Council, the Fresno Teachers Association, the Fresno City Firefighters, and the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.

Naindeep Singh

Singh, 48, is the executive director and founding member of the Jakara Movement, a Fresno-based youth leadership development nonprofit. He is also a Central Unified Board Trustee.

Singh grew up in Fresno, returned after college and has lived west of Highway 99 for a decade. He graduated from UCLA with a double-major in neuroscience and history.

Singh has been recognized for his work in community justice as a Punjabi Sikh leader in Fresno and across the state. In 2022, he received the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award for his work uplifting Sikh communities across California with his organization.

At a September candidate forum, Singh said he was called to run over his frustration with how he has seen city leaders operate. His campaign is built upon lowering the cost of living for working families in Fresno.

If elected, Singh has said he plans to introduce a utility hike rate capping ordinance, prioritize safe and reliable infrastructure, support local businesses and “restore trust” between the city and its residents.

Singh recently spoke out at a hearing at City Hall against Mayor Dyer’s controversial southeast expansion plan for Fresno, known as SEDA. He spoke out at another hearing against a proposed city charter amendment ballot measure that would have allowed elected officials to run for a third term, which ultimately failed.

Singh has also been outspoken in his support for Measure S, the countywide transportation tax measure. Amid an effort by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors to block the measure from appearing on the ballot, Singh called for the recall of the board’s chair, Garry Bredefeld.

As the progressive candidate, Singh has been endorsed by the Valley Voters Political Action Committee, the Working Families Party, Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, the United Food and Commercial Workers union, the Norcal Carpenters Union, some members of the Central Unified School Board and Fresno Unified School Board and other labor groups.

Who’s funding the races?

Most of Fuentes’ recent financial support has come from labor groups, as well as some real estate companies. Mayor Dyer and Councilmember Perea have also donated to his campaign. He raised $52,000 in the most recent reporting period - July 1 to September 19 - $119,946 total in 2026 and has $39,416 left in the bank.

Singh received contributions from many individuals, including lawyers, physicians, and business owners in recent months, as well as a few labor groups. He raised $82,821 in the most recent reporting period, $184,407 total in 2026 and has $84,005 left in the bank.