It’s ​​Unclear Who’s Behind New Lawsuit Against Shasta County Board Over Rancheria Agreement

A lawsuit against the County Board of Supervisors was filed on February 13.

On February 13, the California Land Stewardship Council filed a civil complaint against the Shasta County Board of Supervisors. The lawsuit alleges that the board’s vote on a services agreement with the Redding Rancheria was illegal.

The deal, which was struck last July by the current board majority, “gave away millions of dollars of public funds,” the lawsuit alleges, by approving a services agreement for the Tribe’s new casino site through a process that did not involve sufficient cost analysis, ignored the recommendations of key county staff members, and was not in line with county policies.

The California Land Stewardship Council is an LLC that was incorporated just eight days before the lawsuit was filed, through a 1505 incorporation process that essentially shields the identities of those behind the suit. The corporate filing for the organization lists a San Francisco attorney as the signatory for the 1505 corporation. California’s business registry lists a series of names with the same Sacramento address backing to Corporation Service Company, which offers business filing services. According to the lawsuit itself, at least one individual represented by the case is a Shasta County resident.

Page 2 of 2024-02-13 California Land Stewardship – File-Endorsed Writ Petition

You can view the full lawsuit here.

On February 21, the Redding Rancheria, which is not named as a party in the suit but which will be impacted by its outcome, fired back against the legal action with a scathing press release, calling it “dishonest and politically motivated,” and saying it appears “designed more to impact the upcoming Shasta County elections than seeking any legal remedy.”

The Rancheria appears to be referencing the timing of the lawsuit, which was filed just a few weeks before a Shasta County primary election that includes votes on two of the supervisors who voted for the Rancheria services agreement. While the board voted on the Rancheria agreement in July 2023, nearly eight months ago, the lawsuit over the deal was filed just last week, only a few weeks before the March primaries.

The Redding Rancheria has donated to the campaigns of Supervisors Kevin Crye and Patrick Jones, as well as Supervisor Tim Garman, all of whom voted for the Rancheria’s services agreement with the county. Supervisor Chris Kelstrom also voted for the Rancheria’s services agreement, although the Tribe did not back his run for supervisor, funding his opponent, Baron Browning, instead.

Crye and Jones will both appear on voter’s ballots for the March 5 election. Crye is facing a recall vote in the county’s District 1 and Jones is seeking reelection in the county’s District 4. Allegations in the new suit fall broadly along the same lines as those made by recall proponents, who have called out the current board majority, including Crye and Jones, for what recall proponents say is their reckless and irresponsible decision-making over the last year. 

Shasta Scout received information about the lawsuit via the Committee to Recall Kevin Crye, but an individual speaking on behalf of the recall group responded to follow-up questions by saying the group is not involved in the lawsuit and are not aware of who is behind it. 

The board’s agreement with the Rancheria relates to a piece of unincorporated county land known as the Strawberry Fields, which is owned by the Tribe and has long been the proposed site of the Tribe’s new casino.

Notably, the Rancheria’s ongoing plans to build a casino on the property were at the root of another lawsuit filed in 2019, that time by the Tribe, against the City of Redding. In that case, the court ruled in favor of the Rancheria. In the ruling, the judge cited court evidence indicating that Redding City Manager Barry Tippin had engaged in back-door dealings with A. A. “Red” Emmerson, the owner of Sierra Pacific Industries and one of America’s largest landowners, for a piece of city land adjacent to the proposed casino location. The sale of that small piece of land to Emmerson, whose personal property is located close to the new casino site, effectively blocked the Tribe’s ability to build by eliminating an important route for casino traffic.

The court ruling required the city to undo the land deal with Emmerson. The judge’s opinion on the matter was released during the run-up to the June 2022 primary, a race in which Crye and then-Redding City Council member Erin Resner were both seeking the District 1 county supervisor seat. While Crye was not involved in the City of Redding land deal, his opponent Resner was one of the Redding City Council members who had voted for the deal that was found to be illegal and had adversely impacted the Tribe. Resner had also received campaign support from the political committee Shasta Vote, which was primarily funded by Emerson’s company, Sierra Pacific Industries.

Crye used media coverage of the ruling to support his campaign narrative, effectively edging Resner out to win the race by only fifty votes.

Mary Rickert, who voted against the county’s deal with the Rancheria, has also received donations from Sierra Pacific.

Disclosure: Shasta Scout has received a grant of $2300 for office equipment from the Redding Rancheria. We maintain a firewall between our business and editorial processes to ensure that our editorial independence will not be affected by contributions from any individual or organization.

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