As election results finalize, Shasta board waits to reconsider censure against elections official Clint Curtis
In April, after the county substantiated findings of misconduct by Curtis against staff, supervisors promised to circle back to a decision about a vote of censure after the June 2 primary. As election results begin to finalize, questions remain about whether supervisors will act on their word.
In April, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors pushed back a formal vote of censure against current Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis, citing the timing right before the election as the reason for the delay.
Since then, Curtis appears to have lost the election, though results remain unofficial for now. With the June 2 primary expected to be certified in the next few weeks, questions remain about whether the board will follow through on its promise to reconsider censuring the elections official in response to substantiated findings of abusive conduct towards staff.
Two publicly released investigative reports about Curtis’ behavior have detailed threats of violence, retaliation and verbal abuse.
In April’s board meeting, Shasta County Support Services Director Monica Fugitt reported on those findings — which Curtis has categorically denied — and recommended that the board request Curtis to be separated from staff or that staff from the personnel’s office be sent in to monitor interactions in the elections office, the latter of which has since occurred.
At that same meeting, the board also considered censuring Curtis. While a censure holds no legal power, it would formally condemn Curtis for his behavior.
At the time, District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye, District 3 Supervisor Corkey Harmon and District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom voted 3-2 to push back the decision until after the election. The three were part of the same narrow majority who appointed Curtis to his position as Registrar of Voters in a controversial decision last May.
While Kelstrom said in the April meeting that he believed Curtis was deserving of a censure, “if even 10% of those allegations are true,” he did not want to vote on a decision because he believed it would influence election results.
“I want to do nothing that will sway an election,” he said.
Crye’s comments during the meeting indicated that while he also condemned some of Curtis’ behavior, if true, he believed the investigation against Curtis to be maliciously targeted.
“What I read in that report is people thinking, ‘Oh, goody, we got something,’ and they ran to HR with it,” Crye said. “That bothers me, because we’re two or three weeks from an election.”
District 2 Supervisor Allen Long and District 4 Supervisor Matt Plummer cast the dissenting votes in April, with Long expressing concern that Curtis would continue the behavior saying, “We must protect our employees.”
Plummer pushed back on the idea that censuring Curtis would be tantamount to interfering with election results, saying he saw the situation from the opposite perspective. “It would actually be more interference to withhold this information until after,” Plummer emphasized, “and not allow that to be something that’s discussed publicly.”
During the board’s routine meeting last week, supervisors faced questions during public comment about when a reconsideration of censure might occur. When asked the same question by a reporter this week, Kelstrom noted that election results haven’t been certified yet.
“Once that’s over, it’s a very good possibility that we will take another look at it,” he said.
Neither Crye nor Harmon responded to requests for comment today.
While likely winners have already been identified for most races, election results have not yet been certified with the exception of the Congressional District 1 Special Primary Election. The deadline for Shasta County to officially certify all races is July 2.
Curtis’ opponent, Joanna Francescut, appears poised to become the next Registrar of Voters after receiving a 58% majority of votes but he’s still slated to serve the remainder of his term, which runs until January.
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Fire Curtis and hire Joanna as intrum Rov until her term starts in Jan
Voters have spoken. Curtis, you’re fired! A censure will have zero impact correcting the poor decision Crye, Kelstrom and Harmon made for Shasta County citizens but could impact future grifting opportunities Curtis may seek. It will be a red stain on his election denier resume for any reasonable governing body that considers appointing him or electorate who might consider voting for him.
For that reason, Clerk-elect Joanna Francescut should publicly and formally request that the Shasta County Board of Supervisors authorize a comprehensive independent review of the Registrar of Voters office, conducted by outside attorneys, certified public accountants, compliance professionals, and public-administration experts with no political stake in the outcome.
Such a review should thoroughly examine financial controls, personnel practices, procurement activities, litigation exposure, workplace-governance issues, records-management procedures, and election-administration operations to ensure that the department Ms. Francescut will inherit in January 2027 is fully understood and prepared for the future.
The current BOS, which we’re stuck with until the end of January 2027, isn’t going to turn the lights on so that we can all see their pants are down around their ankles. They’re stupid, but they ain’t dumb. Crye in particular seems to have a Trumpian teflon-coated talent for self-preservation even while engaging in the cringiest of shameless and self-dealing graft.
1. I know you like to post under different names, but you sound like a worn out record, Mr T.
2. Where would all this money to hire CPAs, lawyers, etc, etc, come from? I guess you haven’t been paying attention to Shasta county’s budget issues.
3. The only people that had a mistrust in elections were that same small group of election deniers of Mr Curtis hired.
4. If there’s any mistrust in elections right now, it’s because Mr Curtis is running the show.
5. And throughout all of this clown show, there still hasn’t been ANY shred of evidence for massive election fraud under previous ROVs in Shasta county.
Mr. Turner and others in the MAGAsphere believe that no money should be spared in defense of their crackpot, paranoid mental constructs.
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Richie Gallardo stated so explicitly in his comments to the BOS just the other day, when he told the Supes that it was their duty to finance local MAGA’s Quixotic war against tyranny even if the war was sure to fail. To do any less is cowardice, said Gallardo, doing his best Patrick Henry impersonation, with his liquid refreshment cannister (filled with gin that morning?) resting on the podium.
I’m curious if Harmon has ever responded to a request for comment? With how difficult it is to get ahold of him, one has to wonder if he even knows how to use a phone.
I really enjoy his word salads.
He is a walking, talking manifestation of Elmer Fudd.
Can’t a fella watch He-Haw re-runs in peace?
and who does his work out in the district.. reads his confidential emails… and responds if at all… from all reports its not him
Hey Corky.. you have people starving in your district yet I have never heard you even address it once…. not even educate yourself.. come to the food bank sometime
Hey Corky.. all those illegal grows behind the cemetery… never heard you even go out with the Sheriff to investigate
Corky.. what are you doing about the wolves and ranchers?
Corky is way out of his weight class…he wont run again.. he was simply a shill for JCK
Corky is it true you dont read your emails and let a non county employee read them for you?
Go ahead …deny it…but you can’t can you
What effect would censuring Curtis now have on the certification? Kelstrom said he didn’t want to do “nothing” to sway the election.
That was the reason NOT to censure at that time. They can now do so without swaying the election. It seems like a cowardly way to kick the can down the road instead of putting on his tall-sized big boy pants and dealing with the issue.
By not continuing the censure charge, was in fact, swaying the election. Voters have a right to know. It is not a smear campaign, if they are the facts.
Plummer was right. Sweeping the issue under the rug until after the election deprived the voters of information that was absolutely pertinent. In the end it didn’t make a difference—Curtis managed to alienate a big majority of voters without any help from the BOS.
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A censure after the fact does nothing. At this point I’m more interested in the possibility of the SOS and AG going after Curtis and his gonzo goons for any election-related crimes that can be proved.
The honorable thing for Curtis to do is to resign the remainder of the term and for the BOS to appoint Francescut to fill it. Something in the winds tells me that’s all unlikely to happen.
Honorable? LOL
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Curtis will walk away from a $180k per year employment package when pigs fly. He needs the dineros.
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There might be some loose money he can scoop up on the MAGA Rally / Freedom 250 circus circuits, but that’s hard work and will have diminishing returns as MAGA continues to atrophy.
I totally agree with your first sentence.
If Kelstrom’s the swing, it’ll be put off and off and off. He’s facing a runoff and wouldn’t want to do anything that jeopardizes how votes for him are handled. The only thing holding Crye back is his ego as he’s already lost. Harmon? I doubt he knows what he’s going to do minute to minute unless Crye hands him a roadmap. The censure issue will die of neglect.
But I’d enjoy being wrong. Enjoy it a lot.
“The Shasta Skirmish” was not quite as elegant as the “Miracle on Market Street “ but was accomplished and will be certified
Amazing work unto itself – in the face of relentless distractions and brutal circumstances
Hopefully the band aid security upgrades carry forward and one day Shasta even strives for open source / paper ballot voting systems !!
Congrats to the staff that worked so hard to protect democracy!!
Congrats also to the voters who started the countdown to the day when you and Chaotic Clint are in our rear-view mirror and on the way to becoming an increasingly distant bad memory.
Hi Brent – I truly appreciate you popping in with your comments here. I’m also fine with your public self-pat on the back, but that wasn’t the topic here. Would you mind commenting also on the topics in the article? I believe that is the norm in this type of format.
218 days Brent- Tick Tock
So, you and your master did the job you were hired to do. You want a cookie? Elections don’t need catchy nicknames. Your self-congratulatory cheer leading is tacky and embarrassing. Just go away.
Selah
“…in the face of relentless distractions and brutal circumstances…”
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All of which were self-inflicted.
This election was not a ‘skirmish’, it was an illustration in pure unmitigated chaos. From abysmal recruitment and training of poll workers, to some of the more egregious issues found at polling places (precincts operating without everything set up because inspectors and poll clerks were not properly trained), to the AG wandering around with perpetual “WTF?” faces at all manner of problems with the processes.
One consolidated polling place ‘swapped’ the delivery of ballots to Market street, effectively disrupting the chain of custody– something the AG commented on to one of my team’s observers and asked her to provide follow-up to them while they went to observe other activities.
There was the continued use of ‘ballot flipping’ underneath cameras that neither video ALL the ballots nor provide any real transparency for an observer in the process created delays in ballot totals on election night until 3:30am Wednesday morning. This is a protocol which provides no benefit in terms of election integrity or security, and was called by the deputy secretary of state, “duplicative” and “likely to lead to delays in counting and reporting.”
I could go on with a whole lot more of what my team saw the entire first week of June, but suffice to say, it was not the picture of efficiency, election integrity, or basic ballot security.
It will an enormous relief to have an actual professional elections official back in the building come January– an adult in the room, if you will. We have all had enough of the emperor running amok mismanaging our ballots while figuratively wearing no clothes.
They will do everything possible to avoid this because censuring Curtis is tantamount to admitting error in putting him in the position. Crye’s ego will never permit this. Harmon is irrelevant. Kelstrom will be the swing vote.
Selah
No doubt this will be Kelstrom’s call. It’ll turn on what he thinks will benefit him in November—if he’s smart, he’ll take note of which way the wind is blowing.
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I’ve said before that Kelstrom seems like a nice enough guy, but we haven’t seen much evidence that he’s smart. If he asks his old pal and mentor PHGWMF Jones for advice, for damned sure he’ll get it wrong. A good rule of thumb for Special K would be to do the opposite of what Yertle the Turtle advises.