Amanda Fleming, who ran for state Assembly last year, then won an election for Firebaugh city clerk in November, has been charged with election fraud.
The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office said Fleming, also known as Amanda Speakes, “is alleged to have submitted, under penalty of perjury, a candidate application that represented her Firebaugh business address to be her residential address when she ran for Firebaugh City Clerk in 2022. Fleming’s true residential address is outside the City of Firebaugh, which would have disqualified her from running for the City Clerk position.”
Also, on Thursday, the DA office accused Fleming of illegally voting in Fresno County while being a Madera County resident.
The DA office, in its news release, says Fleming is a resident of Madera. An unofficial voter database lists her voter registration address in Firebaugh, where she has been registered for at least two years.
Fleming faces four felony counts — two for voter fraud (illegally voting), one for perjury, and one for election fraud. She faces five years and four months in state prison if convicted.
The DA office said she is not in custody. No court date has been set.
Fleming did not respond to GV Wire’s requests for comment.
“The city council will be carefully monitoring this situation as the criminal investigation unfolds,” Firebaugh City Manager Ben Gallegos said.
Mom Gives Full Support
Fleming ran for Assembly District 27 in June, finishing third in a four-person race, eventually won by Esmeralda Soria.
Her campaign website called Fleming “Pro-Family, Pro-Medical Freedom, and Pro-Business.”
She ran unopposed for city clerk, an elected position, in November. She was sworn in last month.
Fleming touted her agriculture credentials, especially helping with her family business — Ag & Industrial Supply — in Firebaugh.
Her mother, Janie Fleming, gave a full-throated defense of her daughter, saying she is proud of her and stands by her.
“She’s doing things I feel like the right way. And some people might get their nose bent, but you know what? If you’re doing things right, then you don’t have anything to worry about it. If you’re doing shady s***, well, then frickin’ you better be tucking in your tail,” the elder Fleming said.
Janie Fleming offered other colorful observations about Firebaugh’s politics.
“Bad behavior only continues because other people just shut up. You stay in your lane and you shut up and you don’t say nothing. And that’s the way the big dog likes to run things,” she said.
Where Does Fleming Live?
Brady Jenkins, a Firebaugh councilman for 14 years, says Fleming lives in Eastside Acres in Madera County.
How does he know?
“I’ve known her all my life,” Jenkins said.
The city of Firebaugh, population 8,108, borders Madera County. The dividing line is the San Joaquin River, east of the city. Eastside Acres is a development just east of the river. The neighborhood is within Fireabugh’s planning area, according to the city’s general plan.
“It’s just right across the bridge. … but we’ve always known it as Firebaugh. Firebaugh takes the sewer from them. They’ve got a Firebaugh address, a Firebaugh phone number, but it’s Madera County,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins called the situation “heartbreaking.” He had no immediate opinion about whether Fleming should remain city clerk.
Fleming’s Voter Registration Address Is the Family Business
Fleming and her husband are registered to vote at the family business in Firebaugh, according to an unofficial voter registration database.
Jenkins says that the location is not a residence.
Janie Fleming disagrees.
“We have lived here for 34 years. I mean, my kids were raised here. All of my kids, including her. I don’t even get mail at home because I pretty much reside here,” Fleming said.
Asked specifically if her daughter lives there, Janie Fleming said, “All my kids have always had access to our building, our home. This is our home also.”
