Luis Chavez

Regional Member, central | City of Fresno

Councilmember Luis Chavez was re-elected to the Fresno City Council as the District 5 representative for his second full term in June of 2022 to be sworn into office in January 2023. Councilmember Chavez first served as a Fresno City Councilmember, representing District 5, after winning the special election in 2016 to fulfill the last two years of the former City Councilmembers term, who left City office early. Councilmember Chavez then followed that with re-election to his first full term in November of 2018 and served as Council President in 2021. Councilmember Chavez will have the distinction of being the only Fresno City Councilmember to serve 10 consecutive years during the city council term limit era.

Prior to his election to the Fresno City Council, Luis served as a Fresno Unified School District Board Member, including serving one year as the School Board President. He was at the time the Chief of Staff to the Fresno City Councilmember, who proceeded him in District 5. His experience as a School Board Member, Chief of Staff to a City Councilmember, along with his current service as the District 5 City Councilmember, has allowed Luis to dedicate his life to the children and families of District 5.

Raised in Fresno and the Central Valley, the son of immigrant farm workers Luis graduated from Roosevelt High School, home of the Rough Riders. His education continued as he earned an AA Degree in Business Administration from Fresno City College leading him to earn both a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Public Administration from Fresno State University.

After college Luis seeked to find work that would allow him to reinvest in our community. He has dedicated his career to helping children and youth as a mentor, community college educator, youth program leader, literacy volunteer and ultimately as a Fresno Unified School Board Member. Luis gained experience working in the classroom as a teacher in Fresno County Schools and at Fresno City College where he taught courses to help first generation college students succeed. He also served as Program Director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central California, covering Kern, Kings, Fresno and Tulare counties, where he learned how investing in a child’s life can make a world of difference.

His twin daughters inspired Luis to seek election to the Fresno Unified School District Board, where as a Trustee he worked to reduce classroom size, boost graduation rates, and expand the arts, sports and after school programs that are so vital to the success of many of our kids. Luis fought for universal access for pre-kindergarten aged children and expansion of “Parent University”, a program that has trained over 12,000 parents to navigate the educational system and help students apply for college. His tenure at Fresno Unified culminated with him being elected Board President and leading the 4th largest school district in California, which encompasses 10,000 employees and a $1 Billion dollar plus operational budget.

Knowing that we need to reinvest in our workforce and prepare our children for the jobs of tomorrow, Luis has supported vocational training programs so that graduates are trained for jobs in healthcare, business administration and auto mechanics to name a few. As a Fresno City Councilmember, Luis has worked closely with law enforcement to reduce gang activity and to find ways to keep youth from trouble that would derail their futures.

Now serving in his 3rd term as the District 5, Fresno City Councilmember, Luis strives to be the voice of the people he represents and looks forward to providing continuing service to the constituents of southeast Fresno.