Fresno didn’t have much of a mayoral campaign during the 2024 election cycle.
The city’s voters overwhelmingly reelected Jerry Dyer during the March primary by choosing him on 80% of their ballots – the highest percentage of any second-term mayor since Fresno’s strong mayor form of government took effect in 1997.
Dyer has the next four years to enact policy and cement his legacy. That much is certain. But what happens in 2028 when Dyer is termed out? How is the race to become the next mayor of Fresno shaping up?
Since election night, I’ve posed those questions to 15 local politicians and insiders on both sides of the aisle with the promise that anything they say will be used anonymously. Given the freedom to speak without their names attached, the replies were interesting and varied.
A fair number responded it was too soon to forecast the 2028 mayoral race, or that a darkhorse might still emerge. But as of right now, the names most frequently mentioned as positioning themselves for a run are Tyler Maxwell and Joaquin Arambula.