Fresno City Council President Mike Karbassi wants to oversee elections in Fresno County.
Karbassi plans to challenge Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus next year, according to a report from GV Wire.
The big picture: After getting reelected last year to his second full term in office, Karbassi has his eyes set on running all elections in the county.
- Kus has served the role since 2021, when he was appointed by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. He was reelected in 2022 and did not face any challengers in that race.
Flashback: This is not the first time Karbassi has his sights set on another elected position.
- Karbassi ran for the 27th Assembly District in 2022 but did not advance out of the primary.
- He was reelected to the council last year with nearly three-quarters of the vote.
- Last year wasn’t a smooth sailing process for Kus, as hundreds of voters received the wrong ballots in the November election and as an election worker lost the key to a ballot drop box.
State of play: Karbassi reported having over $60,000 in his campaign account at the end of last year, compared to $16,500 for Kus.
What they’re saying: Karbassi said the current vote counting process in Fresno County is taking too long, also pointing to the issues from last November’s election – including lost keys to ballot dropboxes and hundreds of voters casting illegal ballots in the wrong races.
- “It’s really important that people have confidence in their elections,” Karbassi told GV Wire.
- Kus said his experience in the position is the reason why the county was able to correct last year’s errors.
- “Without years of experience, I wouldn’t have been able to actually identify that problem that we had there and be able to implement the changes that we have made,” Kus told GV Wire.
