One Fresno City Council seat still vacant after swearing in ceremony

They call it an obligation, taken freely.

“I want to thank my 80,000 bosses, the 80,000 people that live across East and Central Fresno for putting their faith in me yet again to represent them on the City Council,” District 4 City Councilman Tyler Maxwell said.

Familiar to City Hall are District 1’s Annalisa Perea, District 2’s Mike Karbassi who is now council president, District 3’s Miguel Arias who is now council vice president, District 4’s Tyler Maxwell and District 7’s Nelson Esparza.

“I love this job. It’s my dream job. It’s not over yet,” Karbassi said.

The new face behind the dais will be District 6 Representative Nick Richardson.

“We didn’t end up here today because we were told that we could. We ended up here today because we were galvanized by every time that we were told that we couldn’t,” Richardson said.

Richardson is a military veteran and Buchanan High School alumnus. He is taking over Garry Bredefeld’s former seat as he joins the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.

Richardson promises “to always show up to the conversation, to always tell you the truth, and to outwork those around [him].”

There is still a question over who will represent District 5. The seat was vacated by Luis Chavez, who is also taking on a supervisor position.

The City will hold a special election for District 5 on March 18.