Meet Kevin Crye for Shasta County Supervisor

This story is part of Shasta Scout’s citizen-powered election coverage. For the November 8, 2022 general election, we’re focusing on three races: the Redding City Council, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors, and the Shasta County Board of Education. View all of the Meet the Candidate interviews.

Four candidates are running for two open seats on the Shasta County Board of Supervisors this fall. Our elections reporting flips the script by asking candidates to answer questions from the community. We’re conducting long-form, in-person interviews that last about an hour each and utilize questions drawn broadly from your responses to our Scout reader survey. Candidate responses have been curated and paraphrased for this format.

For our county supervisor interviews we have added additional questions that address significant community concerns about governmental stability, cooperation and campaign funding.

10.22.22 3:11 pm We have updated this article with links to document resources, at end.

What should we know about you?

I graduated from Simpson University in ’99 with a degree in social science and I’ve taught in a number of different places including five years at Simpson as an adjunct. A few years ago I started the Ninja Coalition, a local gym focused on providing experiences for kids to experience the kind of joy that can help them overcome trauma. I also own a travel event company. And I’m a talent agent that works with 14–15 athletes, singer-songwriters, actors and others.

Why did you decide to run for the Shasta County Board of Supervisors?

I’m running because so many local people don’t feel like they’re being heard or listened to. I didn’t get into this for a title or prestige or position. I saw that I could really help my county, because it was really hurting, it was fractured. I realized that I was the candidate that could solve a lot of what’s wrong in our county. I want to help heal the county and see it become the Shasta County I remember again. 

My work is always about investing in people and the county supervisor race is no different. It’s about knowing the issues that are important to people and helping them with those issues. I’ve always been a champion of  fairness and truth and honesty. And that’s who I’m always going to be. I want to be the most accessible candidate in the history of politics of Shasta County. I give out my cell phone number and I visit people in their homes when they ask me to and I’ll continue to do that as a supervisor. Listening to people takes a lot of time, and it’s time that I used to spend with my family, coaching my kids. But it’s important to me. 

What are the Shasta County BOS doing well? And how can they improve? 

They’re listening to the community a lot better than they did in the past. That’s important because we’re a republic, not a democracy. In a republic we group together, take turns. In a democracy, people just legislate, without collaboration. Our job in government is to uphold the federal and state constitutions. And to listen to our constituents. They’re doing that a little bit better but likely because people are leaving office and there’s two seats up for grabs. I think the changing of the guards is supporting that listening.

I want to see less take place in closed sessions and as much out in the public as possible. And I’d like to see more discourse between board members during the meetings. Many times the conversation on the board feels very canned, very disingenuous. When I’m in office I will start my radio show back up. I will take time to meet with people outside the board chambers. I’m very approachable. I want people to find me when I’m out in public.

How do you describe yourself as a candidate?

I’m a political newcomer, but I’m also a political outsider. I’ll meet with any reporter, any station, any group. And I have spoken at events with many candidates that were on the same slate but I don’t want funding from any particular group because I don’t want anybody to control me or my decisions.

Can you respond to concerns about your funding sources?

I didn’t take any money from the Shasta Liberty Committee and I didn’t take any money from Reverge Anselmo. But I did take a donation from the Shasta General Purpose Fund the same day I decided to run. I regret taking that funding. The so-called Liberty Committee candidates are good people. I don’t always agree with them but I’m unapologetic about my friendships with some of them. But I still wish I would have been my own solo candidate because it would have allowed people to get to know me as I am, without comparing me to others. I’ve been labeled as a far-right extremist that wants to overthrow the government. And that’s crazy. 

How would you respond to people who call you an extremist?

Here’s an example. During the primary, we had the League of Women Voters forums and there was a whole debacle about pledging to the flag. Brian Caples did it his way and Bob Holsinger did it his way. I did it differently. I spoke to the forum organizer and to my fellow participants in the forum and I used my own forum time for the pledge of allegiance. That’s an example of leadership, finding a respectful way to follow my values. I stuck to my beliefs but I did it the right way.

It seems like you are saying you may have some similar beliefs to others but you want to take a different path to getting there? 

Yes. I’m very much for limited government. I’m for accountability with how we spend. I’m for transparency. I’m for making sure public officials don’t break the law so we won’t get sued. But it matters how we get there. 

Do you think it’s okay for Shasta County’s elected officials to refuse to follow state laws if they think they’re unconstitutional? 

There’s a fine line between pushing back within our legal rights and getting pitchforks.

Here’s another example. At our most recent political forum they told me they were not going to have the pledge of allegiance at all. And I could have taken a stand on this, but I understood their reasoning, and I respected it. So I didn’t push back.

I’ve been married for 23 years and you don’t get there without some give and take. People change.

What is law enforcement doing well in Shasta County and what can they do better?

When it comes to our deputies, they’re doing the best they can with the hand they’ve been dealt and I think there’s more we can do to come alongside them and support them. Recruitment is important, but it’s hard to keep up with the bonuses that the Redding Police Department is offering.

When it comes to the jail, I struggle with Sheriff Johnson suddenly closing a floor because of staffing. This lack of staffing issue must have been coming for a long time, he didn’t wake up one morning and notice it. His announcing it now was a political move because Sheriff Johnson wants us to build a $500 million facility that we can’t afford. Our local government is a bureaucratic mess. There needs to be more accountability and more transparency. Our community has lost trust in the process. And rightfully so. We need to get out into the community as elected officials and talk to people in community centers, and on social media, and actually get involved. It’s our job to educate people and to help them understand what’s happening in government.

I’d also like to push as much funding as possible towards eradicating illegal grows in our county, especially to protect our kids. 

What do you see as the most important issue or issues facing Shasta County right now?

We definitely have to find a way to work together as a board. We have to find ways to make that cord of five individuals as strong as we can. We need to meet every week. There is a county budget of $600 million and there is a lot to do. 

And at our first board meeting together as a newly elected board, we need to really get to know one another. Talk about our disagreements and our lives. We may not agree on everything but we can get along. I may make a balloon animal, just whatever it takes to relax a little. But I also want to take that time to talk about the things that matter to most of the constituents. And I think that what matters most is a cleaner, safer, more affordable Shasta County. I like to call it politics redefined. We never do things this way and that’s the problem. 

Of course we need to find a way to meet the need for jail beds and to address homelessness. 

How would you address the significant number of people living without housing in our community?

We have to work together with the three cities so we stop pushing people around and start addressing the problem. To me, the Nur Pon clean up was the biggest debacle. It’s almost like the way the U.S. exited from Afghanistan. All they did was move people around. And how did we not collaborate on that better with the county? We had people from Health and Human Services saying in the board meetings they didn’t even know what was going on and there were 150 people living out there. 

If people are on the streets, we have to find out why they aren’t qualified for housing. We need to look for the gaps that are there. Just getting housing isn’t enough because people often trash the housing, or it doesn’t work out there. We have to have services with housing. I get very tired of looking at how many beds we have and there’s not really a look at the fit between the people and those beds. Some people aren’t getting emergency shelter because they don’t qualify. We need to get a judge and a public defender out to these camps, and start clearing up people’s citations. Many of them have citations on their records and failures to appear in court.  

But we also need societal accountability. If you’ve had your record cleared and you can get housing and then you don’t do it, you have to be held to a higher level of accountability. There’s nothing more edifying and fulfilling than when somebody works and is able to pay their own way.  But some people just want to break the law. If they do that, they can be incarcerated, or they can move. I want to help the people that truly want to help.

How would you address concerns about our community’s access to water during a historic drought?

I’m not an expert on this situation, but I’ve spoken to people who are and the situation is really bad. Anybody who says that they have the answer to all of this is lying because we are seeing something that is unprecedented. I would be ignorant to say that I understand this situation but I’m trying to learn quickly.

How would you help our community prepare for and reduce the risk of wildfire?

We have to put money into that right away.  I don’t yet know enough about what money we’re spending and why it’s being spent the way it’s being spent. But wildfire affects everyone in the county and it’s one of my top priorities. 

Thank you for your time! How can people learn more about your campaign?

Well, if they want to really learn about me, they can call me and talk to me: 530-524-0005 . They can also go to my website, votekevincrye.com or find me on Facebook or Instagram.

*Ed Note: Crye references funding sources and political affiliations that may require a brief explanation. According to reporting by the Record Searchlight, the Liberty Committee and the Shasta General Purpose Committee share the same principal officer and both have received large donations from former county resident Reverge Anselmo. Funding from the Shasta General Purpose Committee supported the recall of former County Supervisor Leonard Moty. During the June primaries, the Liberty Committee funded ads for Kevin Crye, Chris Kelstrom, Erik Jensen, John Green, Bob Holsinger, and Bryan Caples.

Additional Resources:

• Here are Kevin Cry’s 460’s documenting direct donations to his campaign.
• Here is his official candidate statement.
• Here is his form 700, documenting potential conflicts of interest.

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