This story was originally published by Fresnoland.
Brandon Vang secured victory Friday, more than three weeks after the Fresno City Council’s special election for the District 5 seat.
The Fresno County Clerk’s Office on Friday certified the final tallies from the March 18 special election, with Vang holding 50.19% of the vote — just nine votes above the threshold needed to win the race outright.
The Vang campaign shared a news release Friday afternoon declaring victory in the dragged-out and controversy-filled race.
In an interview, Vang’s campaign manager Pedro Ramirez said he was excited to see the Hmong community represented on the council once again. Vang will be the second Hmong councilmember in Fresno following Blong Xiong’s historic election to the council in 2006.
He added that the results of the District 5 election suggest Fresno voters are moving away from candidates with “establishment” backing — a theory one political expert echoed in an interview with Fresnoland last month.
“He’s the second council member elected that is independent from the establishment groups – him and Nick Richardson,” Ramirez said, referring to the District 6 councilmember elected in November.
“It shows that voters are now moving towards candidates that are independent and community-driven and not beholden to all the establishment political groups,” he said, “whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican in this case. Nick’s a Republican and now Brandon’s a Democrat.”
In a brief statement to Fresnoland, Elizabeth Jonnasson Rosas — Vang’s closest competitor in the race — conceded and extended her best wishes to Vang.
“I congratulate Brandon,” she said, “and wish him the best in tackling District 5’s needs and challenges in the upcoming months.”
Vang finished the race with a total of 2,324 votes, just slightly above the 50% threshold. Jonnasson Rosas carried a little more than 35% or 1,621 votes. Candidates Jose Leon Barraza and Paul W. Condon finished with 12.27% and 2.29%, respectively.
The Fresno City Council southeast seat opened up earlier this year when Luis Chavez stepped down after winning a seat on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. Chavez is married to Jonasson Rosas.
Vang, 52, has represented the Sunnyside area on the Sanger Unified school board since 2016. He has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
He’s worked various jobs over the years, including as a deputy probation officer when he lived in Riverside County, but more recently, he’s been a stay-at-home dad.
“I’m just your average person – average refugee boy who had to flee his homeland because of war, famine, disease,” Vang told Fresnoland earlier this year, alluding to his experience fleeing Laos at the age of 6 during the Secret War.
During the campaign, Vang expressed cautious support for a massive housing development, called for a more compassionate response to homelessness, said he supports rent control and eviction protection programs and said he opposes any new taxes on residents to address the city’s looming budget shortfall.
Vang is expected to be sworn in at the next Fresno City Council meeting April 10.