Joanna Francescut’s likely win for elections role will not deter her lawsuit against Shasta County

Several weeks after filing a civil suit against Shasta County alleging wrongful termination, discrimination, and harassment, former Assistant Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut is poised to win the election for Shasta County’s clerk and registrar of voters.

With almost 59% of the vote as of June 6, Francescut is leading in the race, though about 11,000 ballots still remain to be counted. She is running against current ROV Clint Curtis for the position. 

Francescut, who worked for the Shasta County Elections Office for 17 years, ran for the ROV position after being dismissed from her role as assistant ROV last year. She says she was terminated by Curtis just days after he was appointed to the role, on May 27, 2025. 

Her lawsuit, which was filed on May 18, claims she was harassed when she was assistant ROV, discriminated against when she applied for the role of ROV, and wrongfully terminated from her former position by Curtis, the person who supervisors appointed in her stead. Francescut is represented by Blackstone Law, a firm based in Beverly Hills.

The suit includes allegations of discrimination on the basis of age, gender, and religion, three protected classes under civil rights law.

Alleged perpetrators named in the suit include District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye, former District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones, and County Executive Officer David Rickert. 

The timing of the lawsuit’s filing — two weeks before the June 2 election — prompted claims by some that it was intended to sway voter decisions. Francescut wrote in a statement to the press when the lawsuit became public that “the timing is poor, but there isn’t a good timeline to file a lawsuit against anyone.” 

She confirmed late last week that election results will have no impact on the nature of, or timeline for, her lawsuit. She declined to provide additional comment. 

The initial filing does not list any specific monetary amount Francescut is seeking, saying instead that she is “entitled to an award of punitive damages sufficient to punish and deter Defendants from engaging in such conduct in the future.”  

What exactly does the lawsuit allege?

Alleged harassment began in the spring of 2024 after Francescut, who was serving as assistant ROV at the time, assumed the responsibilities of former ROV Cathy Darling Allen, who went on emergency medical leave in November 2023. Francescut was never officially given the title of interim ROV, and the lawsuit claims Francescut was not compensated for the additional responsibilities she assumed over a 6-7 month period between the end of 2023 and early 2024. 

In the spring of 2024, after Darling Allen officially announced her resignation mid-term, Francescut submitted her application for the role of ROV.  

That April, during a public meeting, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors requested that Francescut retain ballots from the June 2022 Primary Election past the legally mandated period. Francescut refused, stating that she must comply with California law instead, which requires the destruction of the materials within a specific time period.

The suit alleges that CEO Rickert later called Francescut and informed her that her refusal to retain the ballots would impact the board’s decision to appoint her as ROV. Rickert did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

In a similar situation one month later, the suit alleges that Supervisor Crye unlawfully requested access to recall petition signatures, which Francescut also refused. While Crye initially expressed interest in commenting for this story, he did not respond to later requests for comment.

The suit also alleges that Crye had a conversation with Francescut while interviews were being held for the ROV position, in June 2024. According to the suit, Crye claimed that Francescut was too young to hold the ROV position to which she responded that she was older than he may think and had a 22-year-old child. The suit claims that Crye then told her that as a Mormon, she “could have had a kid at age 12 or 14,” the lawsuit writes. 

That July, the board selected one of Francescut’s competitors, Thomas Toller, to fill the position in a 3-2 vote, despite Toller bringing no prior election-related experience. Shasta Scout’s reporting at the time documented significant differences in interview questions for the two candidates. After Toller’s appointment, Francescut continued to work as Assistant ROV under his leadership.  

Even after the appointment process ended, the suit claims that harassing and retaliatory remarks made by county officials continued over the following months. Jones accused Francescut of insubordination on a local radio show, the suit alleges, while Crye questioned her loyalty to the office in a meeting with her and other county officials. Like Crye, Jones did not comment for this story.

After Toller resigned in April 2025, Francescut applied for the ROV role for a second time. On May 13, 2025, the board of supervisors appointed current ROV Curtis, despite his lack of prior experience as county clerk, the lawsuit writes. Francescut claims in the suit that the appointment was influenced by gender, alleging that the board “favored appointing men in leadership positions.” The applicants included four women, all of whom had previously worked in election roles, and Curtis.

Two weeks after Curtis’ appointment, he fired Francescut from her position as assistant ROV, the suit says. The termination memo cited only her “at-will” employment status — which allows an employer to dismiss an employee for any reason — and made no mention of performance issues or other conflicts. At the time, Curtis said that the termination was “a personnel decision of an at-will employee,” saying, ”it would be improper to elaborate beyond that.”

The lawsuit says Francescut filed a government claim related to her termination with Shasta County in November, but did not receive a response. On May 18, 2026, Francescut says in the suit, she received a right-to-sue notice from the California Civil Rights Department. Her suit was filed in court shortly thereafter. 

The first hearing in the case is a settlement conference, which is currently scheduled for February 16.

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