AJ Rassamni has long advocated for cleaning up Blackstone Avenue. Now the head of the Blackstone Merchants Association plans to officially do something about it.

Rassamni tells Politics 101 he is running for Fresno City Council District 7 in 2026. The district stretches from central Fresno at Van Ness Avenue in the west to the city’s eastern border at Locan Avenue.

“I am on the streets. I know what the people want. They want safety, prosperity, and they want the place to be clean,” Rassamni said.

Changing zoning laws to help businesses and bringing more tax revenue to the city are Rassamni’s top priorities.

He plans to officially file within a month. He recently moved to the district from Clovis, but has operated his car wash business in central Fresno for 15 years.

“I lived in Clovis, but I spent all day long on Blackstone. So whenever people ask me, where are you from, I always say Fresno,” Rassamni said.

Fled Lebanon’s Civil War for American Dream

Rassamni was born in Liberia, moved to Lebanon as a child, and endured the Lebanese civil war. Speaking several languages, he fled to America in the mid-1980s.

“I always knew I would come over here,” Rassamni said. “We knew of the American Dream.”

He first moved to Houston, then Los Angeles. He came to the Central Valley in 2010.

In Fresno, he operated the Great American Car Wash. In 2021, it closed because of a fire. Rassamni said he plans to reopen, and has worked as a business consultant in the interim.

Rassamni is also a registered lobbyist with the city of Fresno.

He also operates a nonprofit, Success From Within, which focuses on housing the homeless.

Third Entrant in the Race

At 61, Rassamni almost as old as the two other candidates who have filed to run combined — Ariana Martinez Lott, 38, and Nav Gurm, 25.

Rassamni is registered as no party preference. Martinez Lott and Gurm are Democrats.

“When you run for the city, the party should not be involved. It should be about the people in the city. And this is what I’m running for,” Rassamni said.

Technically, the Fresno City Council race is nonpartisan.

Gurm, a public affairs consultant and law student, said he is introducing himself by walking neighborhoods. He has also held a series of meet-and-greets.

“I’m humbled by the tremendous support we’ve received as our message resonates. Our community wants a fighter at City Hall, and I’m ready to be that advocate on Day 1. I welcome AJ Rassamni to the race and look forward to a respectful campaign where voters can compare and contrast the candidates,” Gurm said.

Gurm reported raising $50,101 as of Dec. 31, 2024. That includes a $15,000 loan to himself.

Martinez Lott has the backing of Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula. He contributed $5,500 on March 10 (and filed March 24) from his campaign account. Arambula intends to run for city council District 3 in 2026.

A former staffer for Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias, Martinez Lott has worked as a community organizer since.

Martinez Lott also lists Maria Lemus as one of the principal officers for her campaign account. Lemus is Arambula’s district director.

The incumbent, Nelson Esparza, terms out after the 2026 election. He is running for state Senate in District 14.

Politicker …

Brandon Vang continues to receive contributions, a week after the special election for Fresno City Council District 5. Kao Vang, a retired resident of Leominster, Massachusetts; and Meng Xiong, listed as a substitute teacher at Fresno Unified, each gave $1,500. Vang currently leads the race with a shade over 50%.

So far so good with the manual ballot tally from last week’s special election, Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus told Politics 101. Just under 4,000 ballots were hand counted, with about 600 remaining for today, Kus said. The county found no discrepancies.

“As we have both seen over the past five years, Fresno County’s Dominion tabulation system is incredibly accurate — the only issues we have identified in that period were due to human adjudication errors when reviewing write-in votes, which are low in number this election,” Kus said.

The next update will be 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Rob Fuentes, an assistant U.S. attorney, has launched his website for a Fresno City Council in 2026. Affordable housing is the on the top of his to-do list. Fuentes is a former city planning commissioner who is now a State Center Community College District trustee.

Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula paid $182 from his campaign account for his chief of staff, Eusevio Padilla to stay Dec. 18-20, 2024 at the DoubleTree hotel in Fresno. His campaign told Politics 101 Padilla comes down to Fresno occasionally for official and campaign work. State funds are not allowed for the latter.