FRESNO, Calif. – Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco surged to a commanding lead on election night in her bid to represent northwest Fresno County on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
Pacheco garnered 57.7% of the votes in District 1 following the latest count late Wednesday morning compared to 42.3% for Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi.
The next update from the Fresno County elections office is expected by Thursday evening.
Despite increasing her margin with each update throughout the evening, Pacheco stopped short of declaring victory.
“We’re feeling hopeful as the results continue to come in, but the night isn’t over yet,” Pacheco wrote in a Facebook post. “Looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds!”
Karbassi has not yet shared any public comment about the race.
Maria Pacheco is poised to succeed Brian Pacheco (no relation) on the Board of Supervisors in a seat that includes portions of northwest and west Fresno, the cities of Kerman, Mendota and Firebaugh and some unincorporated areas.
Brian Pacheco opted to run for the California State Assembly, where he has a sizable lead over Merced Mayor Mike Murphy in District 27.
In recent weeks, Maria Pacheco garnered widespread news coverage for her confrontations with federal immigration officers, including a video she took Oct. 8 of ICE agents during a raid outside a Kerman bakery.
Less than a week later, however, Pacheco was accused of tailing a Fresno hairdresser in her car for almost 30 minutes and mistakenly calling him an ICE agent. She later called the story “ridiculous.”
Brian Pacheco is one of three supervisors exiting the board. Buddy Mendes is retiring, and former Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims won his seat in the June primary. Nathan Magsig has not left the board but holds a comfortable lead in his District 12 California State Senate race.
Mims – and Maria Pacheco, if she wins – will become the first female county supervisors since Debbie Poochigian’s exit in 2016.
A special election will likely be held next spring to replace Magsig in District 5. The declared candidates are Clovis Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua, Clovis Mayor Pro Tem Diane Pearce and Fresno County Board of Education Trustee Allen Clyde.
