Fresno County’s Measure A reversed: What’s next?

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – On Monday, Fresno Judge Tyler Tharpe ruled against Fresno County’s Measure A. It was passed by voters in March 2024 and would keep the sheriff and district attorney elections during gubernatorial election cycles.

This has been a fight between the State of California and Fresno County dating back to 2022. In September of 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 759, which required all counties to hold sheriff and district attorney elections during presidential election cycles.

However, Fresno County has historically held these elections during gubernatorial cycles and wants to keep it that way.

“We heard that Measure A has been defeated, and I’m very disappointed in getting that news,” said Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig.

After Fresno County residents passed Measure A by 55%, California Attorney General Bob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber filed a lawsuit to invalidate the measure.

In a statement released in July of 2024, Attorney General Bonta states:

Our democracy works best when everyone can participate and make their voices heard. Fresno’s Measure A unlawfully conflicts with California law and has the potential to suppress voter turnout.  
California Attorney General Bob Bonta

Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig worries that adding the Sheriff’s and DA’s races to a presidential election year will make the ballot too long. Plus, AB 759 extends the terms for both Sheriff John Zanoni and DA Lisa Smittcamp by two years.

“Voters voted them into a four-year term, not a six-year term,” Magsig explained.

Fresno County argues that, as a Charter County, the California constitution grants it “substantial” control over county elections. However, the attorney general’s office states that AB 759 applies to both general law and Charter Counties.

“We believed that because we’re a Charter County and how we were situated, that we had the authority to do what we did. But again, the courts have just ruled that no state law does trump this issue, even over the voices of what the public has said they want,” Magsig noted. 

The board of supervisors will discuss this issue during a closed session on June 10.

“Now, options that we have here at the county, we can appeal that ruling,” Magsig said.

YourCentralValley requested comments from both Zanoni and Smittcamp, who released the following joint statement:

As elected officials, it is our sworn duty to uphold the laws of the State of California. Following the ruling issued by Judge Tharpe regarding Measure A, we are prepared to serve the full six-year terms that resulted from the implementation of Assembly Bill 759. 

We were each elected by Fresno County voters in 2022 to serve four-year terms. However, under AB 759—passed by the Legislature and signed into law in 2022—District Attorney and Sheriff elections statewide have been moved from the gubernatorial election cycle to the presidential cycle. As a result, our current terms have been extended by two years, through 2028. This is a onetime extension. 

While the court’s ruling directly impacts the length of our current terms, neither the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office nor the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office played any role in placing Measure A on the ballot or in the resulting litigation. This matter rests between the Fresno County Board of Supervisors and the State of California. As noted in the County’s public statement, the Board will discuss potential next steps during its closed session on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.

We continue to have serious concerns about the legislative process that led to the enactment of AB 759. After sitting in the Senate Appropriations Committee’s suspense file for over a year, the bill advanced rapidly in the final weeks of the legislative session and was signed into law by the Governor on September 29, 2022—with little to no opportunity for public review. 

As a result, local governments and voters were excluded from a policy decision that directly affects the terms of their elected officials. While AB 759 remains the law, we remain committed to fulfilling our responsibilities with integrity and dedication for the full duration of our terms. We remain focused on serving the people of Fresno County and upholding the public’s trust.