Third Judge Assigned to Decide Fresno County’s Transportation Tax Ballot Fight

A Fresno County Superior Court judge with family ties to a major local developer will decide whether voters see a controversial transportation tax measure on their November ballot or wait until March 2028.

Judge Lisa Gamoian inherited the case after both sides used their one-time right to disqualify a judge — the state removing Judge Robert Whalen, then the county removing Judge Virna Santos. The first hearing is set for Aug. 25 at 3:30 p.m.

The lawsuit challenges Assembly Bill 1923, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which requires Fresno County to place the “Better Roads, Safe Streets” measure on the November 2026 ballot despite the Board of Supervisors voting 3-2 to delay it until March 2028.

Gamoian won her seat in 2014 with more than $600,000 in campaign funds, most of it from her uncle, developer Ed Kashian. As of January 2026, she’s listed as a board officer with his development company, Lance-Kashian & Company.

Kashian has supported officials on both sides of this fight. He’s contributed to Supervisors Garry Bredefeld and Buddy Mendes, who oppose the state’s intervention, and he’s backed Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer’s initiatives — Dyer is a Better Roads supporter and one of the defendants named in the lawsuit.

Kashian’s company also employs former Supervisor Henry Perea as a consultant. Perea traveled to Sacramento earlier this month to speak against AB 1923 and backed a rival Measure C replacement that never turned in signatures.

The county filed the lawsuit Aug. 12 against the State of California, county elections chief James Kus, and the Better Roads campaign. County counsel argued the state law is unconstitutional and that delaying the measure to March 2028 follows proper election guidelines.

Kus told supervisors he must follow the state law and will place the measure on the November ballot regardless of the board’s resolution. “I have been given direction from the state, through the state via Assembly Bill 1923, to continue to place any initiative found in the County of Fresno, sufficient as of July 8th of 2026 on the November 2026 ballot,” he said.

The lawsuit notes a ruling is only meaningful if it comes before Sept. 9, when ballot materials go to the printer. That gives Gamoian roughly two weeks after the Aug. 25 hearing to decide.

The first judge, Robert Whalen, was disqualified by Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office. Whalen previously served on the Clovis City Council alongside current Supervisor Nathan Magsig, who opposes the state’s intervention, and current Councilmember Lynne Ashbeck, a Better Roads supporter named in the lawsuit.

The second judge, Virna Santos, was removed by the county. Before becoming a judge, Santos represented Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria — a co-author of AB 1923 — in a Brown Act lawsuit. She also represented Fresno City Councilmembers Miguel Arias, Tyler Maxwell, and Nelson Esparza, all of whom voted unanimously in June to support Better Roads.

Supervisor Luis Chavez, one of two who voted against the lawsuit, said using taxpayer dollars to sue the state, citizens, and the county’s own clerk isn’t a good use of public funds. “I think we should let democracy be democracy and let people vote,” he said.

Soria responded that the lawsuit is “further proof that the County Board will do anything it can to suppress the vote. This was never about an economic study, this was about predetermining the outcome of the successor Measure C.”

The Better Roads measure would replace Measure C, Fresno County’s longtime half-cent transportation tax funding road and infrastructure projects, which expires in June 2027. The campaign gathered roughly 32,000 signatures and has backing from 11 Fresno County mayors.

The Breakdown

• Fresno County supervisors voted 3-2 to delay the Better Roads transportation tax to March 2028 after ordering a $100,000 study that caused it to miss the 2026 deadline.
• Gov. Newsom signed AB 1923, requiring the county to place the measure on the November 2026 ballot anyway if it qualified as of July 8.
• The county sued the state, the county clerk, and the Better Roads campaign on Aug. 12, arguing the state law is unconstitutional.
• Both sides disqualified one judge each — the state removed Robert Whalen, the county removed Virna Santos — leaving Judge Lisa Gamoian to decide.
• A ruling must come by Sept. 9, when ballot materials go to the printer, giving the judge roughly two weeks after the Aug. 25 hearing.

What This Means for You

Your November ballot is at stake. If the county wins, you won’t vote on this transportation tax until March 2028 — eight months after the current Measure C expires in June 2027. If the state wins, you vote this November.

This is also a vote on who gets to decide when you vote. Three supervisors — Bredefeld, Magsig, and Mendes — used a county-ordered study to delay the measure, then filed a lawsuit when the legislature overrode that delay. Two supervisors — Chavez and one other — say the lawsuit wastes taxpayer money and blocks voters from deciding. Your vote in future supervisor races will shape whether this board continues fighting ballot measures or puts them to voters.

What You Can Do

The first hearing is scheduled for Aug. 25 at 3:30 p.m. in Fresno County Superior Court. Court proceedings are public, and you can attend to see the arguments firsthand.

If the measure does appear on your November ballot, you’ll decide whether to approve the replacement tax. The board will prepare arguments for and against it — Supervisor Chavez leads one committee, Supervisor Bredefeld leads the other.

What to Watch

Judge Gamoian’s family ties put her in a real position: her uncle has financially supported officials on both sides of this lawsuit. That doesn’t disqualify her — both sides already used their one automatic disqualification, so she stays unless someone proves actual bias. But it means a developer with interests across Fresno County politics now has a family member deciding a case that developer’s own allies are fighting on opposite sides.

Watch the Sept. 9 printer deadline. If Gamoian misses it, the decision becomes moot — the measure either goes on the ballot or it doesn’t, and the lawsuit won’t matter. A ruling that comes after that date is just an opinion with no real-world effect.

The lawsuit itself raises a question: is this about the study the county paid $100,000 for, or about blocking a vote the current board majority doesn’t want? Assemblywoman Soria says it’s the latter — “predetermining the outcome” rather than letting voters decide. Supervisor Chavez, who voted against the lawsuit, agrees it’s a waste of taxpayer money. Bredefeld says the state “changed the law, created a whole new law targeting Fresno County residents” because they didn’t like the county following state guidelines. Whose version is true matters — it’s the difference between a board protecting process and a board protecting its own preferences.