Meet Eric
For the past 11 years, Fowler has been home.
My wife grew up in Kingsburg, and I'm from Fresno — neither of us has deep family roots here. But when it came time to decide where to raise our family and build our future, we chose Fowler. It's been one of the best decisions we've ever made.
Since then, I've had the privilege of serving this community in ways big and small: as a lector at St. Lucy's Catholic Church, as a Cub Scout leader, and for the past four years as Secretary of the Fowler Lions Club. I've spent early mornings building the bandstand for the Fall Festival, guided Scouts through Panzak Park, and packed Thanksgiving meals for neighbors in need.
Those experiences taught me something simple but important: what makes Fowler special isn't its buildings, parks, or streets. It's our people — a community rich in history, diverse in background, and full of promise.
Professional Background
I attended San Joaquin Memorial High School, earned a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Saint Mary's College of California, and completed my MBA at the Craig School of Business at Fresno State.
Today, I serve as Executive Director of the Water, Energy, and Technology (WET) Center at Fresno State — the longest-running business incubator and accelerator in the Central Valley. There, I lead a team of professionals and manage a $3 million budget, working with entrepreneurs from across the country and around the world to commercialize innovative technologies in water, energy, and agriculture.
To date, the WET Center has supported more than 500 entrepreneurs and helped accelerate over 90 companies, attracting nearly $500 million in investment and creating more than 800 jobs.
In this role, I regularly collaborate with business, government, and community leaders at the local, state, federal, and international levels to advance economic development throughout our region.
Why I'm Running
There are three key reasons why I am running:
Economic Growth:
I want to see continued economic growth in our city. I spend my professional life working with entrepreneurs and innovators from all over the world, working to convince them of the opportunities that exist in the Central Valley. I want to see more small business growth within Fowler City limits, whether that be by adding new businesses or promoting the existing small businesses we have within our city.
Tax revenue makes up nearly 25% of our city's general fund revenue, and for the past several years, those numbers have been declining.
We need to support and grow our small business tax base. We need to give you, the residents, a greater opportunity to spend your hard-earned money locally. If we want to see our city prosper without having to depend on property tax revenue and new housing construction, economic development is a way to secure our future.
Why I'm Running (continued)
City Beautification
A clean city is a welcoming city — welcoming for our residents, for visitors, and for potential business owners. Too often, we see a city where beautification efforts have fallen behind: overgrown lots, faded signage, streets and parks that don't get the attention they deserve. This isn't a reflection of our public works employees — they're some of the hardest working people you'll find, and they deserve better direction than they're getting.
This is an issue of management and leadership.
We need greater accountability from our city manager and our public works director to ensure your tax dollars are well spent and that our city looks its best.
Why I'm Running (continued)
Accountability and Communication
For the past six months, I have attended City Council meetings, and I've lost count of the number of times I've watched residents' concerns brushed aside. We need a real change in the culture inside our City Government — one built on transparency, responsiveness, and a commitment to the people it serves.
Let's not forget: your tax dollars fund their salaries. They work for you, not the other way around. Every voice that shows up to speak deserves to be heard, not just tolerated. It's time to put an end to business as usual and build a government that actually listens.
I'm running to change that culture — to make "Fowler First" more than a slogan, but the standard our City Government operates by every single day. That means open communication, honest answers, and decisions that put the needs of our residents ahead of politics as usual