Luis Chavez to run for Fresno County Supervisor, challenge his former boss Sal Quintero

Fresno City Councilmember Luis Chavez, who has served on council since the start of 2017, is making plans to run against his former boss for a seat on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.

The District 3 seat on the county board encompasses much of central and southeast Fresno, as well as the community of Calwa. That post is currently held by two-term incumbent Supervisor Sal Quintero, who says he plans to seek re-election in March 2024.

“After much deliberation with my family and members of the community across central and south Fresno, I believe we deserve a strong, responsive advocate on the Fresno County Board of Supervisor. That is why I am excited to launch my campaign for Supervisor in the Third District,” Chavez said in a statement to The Bee.

Should he win the seat, Chavez said his priorities would include “fighting to bring better paying jobs to our community, improve our neighborhoods with clean streets and safe parks, and deliver a collaborative and comprehensive solution to our region’s homelessness crisis.”

Chavez said he would also fight for foster kids, saying that as a foster parent he was heartbroken after news came out children were sleeping on the floor of a Fresno County Child Protective Services building. “I look forward to hitting the pavement and talking to my neighbors about on-going issues affecting our county and developing solutions for a brighter future,” he added.

The county district has a great deal of overlap with Fresno City Council District 5, the post now held by Chavez. Chavez’ current term runs through the end of 2026.

A supervisorial run by Chavez would pit him against Quintero, for whom Chavez worked for six years when Quintero was a member of the Fresno City Council. When Quintero ran for the county board in 2016, midway through a term on the City Council, Chavez won a special election to replace him.

Chavez was re-elected in 2018 and in 2022.

Quintero confirms re-election bid

In the meantime, Quintero, 75 – who recently became chairman of the Board of Supervisors – said he is content to wait and see who eventually enters the race to challenge him in the 2024 primary.

“All I know is I am running for re-election,” Quintero told The Bee in a brief phone interview Monday. “I’ll know if anyone runs when the filing deadline comes.”

“I’ve been in politics a long time,” Quintero added. “ This is my 20th year as an elected person, and I’ve seen a lot of campaigns come and go.”

Quintero first served on the Fresno City Council for two terms from 1994 to 2002, when he was succeeded by his council assistant Mike Dages. Dages, in turn, hired Quintero to work in his council office. In 2010, when Dages was prevented by term limits from running again, Quintero ran and won a return ticket to the City Council.

Chavez was Quintero’s chief of staff when Quintero was elected to the county board. Like Quintero, Chavez is no stranger to political campaigns.

In fact, Chavez was among the other candidates besides Quintero in the 2010 City Council race, in which Quintero was the top vote-getter in the primary before winning a November runoff.

In 2012, while working on Quintero’s council staff, Chavez ran for and won a seat on the Fresno Unified School District Board of Trustees. Two years later, Chavez made an unsuccessful run to unseat then-incumbent Andy Vidak, R-Hanford, for a four-year term in the California State Senate.

Challenging a mentor

Chavez said he doesn’t feel awkward about running against his former boss.

The two were colleagues and friends during their time working together when Quintero was on the City Council. But Chavez said the pair experienced some divergence after Quintero was elected to the county board and Chavez was elected to the council.

“We had some disagreement of approach when it comes to engagement in the district,” Chavez said. “I did consider Sal a mentor, but a long time ago he told me something I’ll never forget: ‘In politics, if you want a friend, get a dog,’” a twist on a saying long attributed to President Harry Truman about finding friends in Washington.

Chavez noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, southeast Fresno – an area represented by both elected officials – “was one of the national hot spots for COVID. But while public health is a county responsibility, Chavez said he and the city of Fresno, rather than Quintero, took the lead in organizing coronavirus testing events and food drives to help residents.

“The city of Fresno had to show up and do a lot of the work,” Chavez added. “The city purchased two health mobiles that went out to senior centers” instead of the county. “And I was also able to secure $5 million for a new health clinic in Calwa that’s going to be breaking ground.”

Quintero and Chavez have both won multiple elections to represent southeast Fresno on their respective agencies, “so it’s not like either one of us are strangers to the voters in the district,” Chavez said.

“But nobody owns these positions,” he added. “I see it as a very long job interview. The question is, ‘What have you done for the constituents you represent?’”