A registered sex offender, Rene Campos, has launched a campaign for Fresno’s District 7 City Council seat, sparking intense local and national backlash. Campos, who pleaded no contest to a 2018 misdemeanor charge for possessing child sex abuse material and remains on California’s sex offender registry, argues that he has rehabilitated and wants to turn his “lived experience” with the justice system into reforms focused on public safety.
Campos has told local media that “Fresno deserves leaders who are honest from the very beginning” and says he is “putting [his] life out there,” insisting that people “are not [their] past” and that his conviction gives him unique insight into fixing laws from “the inside out.” California law does not bar registered sex offenders who have completed their sentences and regained voting rights from running for local office, and Fresno County’s registrar has confirmed that Campos is legally eligible to appear on the ballot if he files in time.
Opponents in the crowded District 7 race, including fellow candidate Nav Gurm, contend that Campos’ status should effectively disqualify him from office, pointing out that a registered sex offender cannot visit school campuses and questioning how someone under such restrictions could fully represent families and children in the district. Several Fresno city council members have also said they plan to pursue an ordinance to prevent registered sex offenders from holding city office in the future, arguing that people convicted of crimes against children should not serve in positions where minors regularly visit city facilities.
On social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, reaction has been overwhelmingly negative, with viral posts describing Campos as a “literal sex offender” running on a “public safety” message and questioning how he can campaign on protecting children while being barred from school grounds. Commenters on high-traffic accounts and local news reels have called the candidacy “insane” and “only in California,” with many users demanding that lawmakers “change the law” so that registered child sex offenders cannot seek public office at all.
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