New Shasta County Election Official Terminates Top Staffer
Newly appointed Registrar of Voters (ROV) Clint Curtis has terminated Joanna Francescut, a long-term election staffer and his rival in the June 2026 race for ROV
This is a developing story.
Assistant Shasta County Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut has worked for the Shasta County Election Office for seventeen years. Today, Francescut was terminated by Clint Curtis, a newly appointed Registrar of Voters who’s never before run an election office. This is his fifth day on the job.
Francescut said she learned of her termination this afternoon, May 27. It’s effective as of end of day today. She wrote in a press release that since Curtis became ROV he has not made any effort to meet with her or provide an opportunity to work collaboratively together.
Curtis responded to a request for comment from Shasta Scout saying the termination was “a personnel decision of an at will employee. It would be improper to elaborate beyond that.” He did not reply when asked whether he had attempted to meet with Francescut since taking the job.
Francescut used her press release to express her emotion about leaving her role at the Election Office and her commitment to the community.
“I am saddened to leave a department and a team I have proudly served for the past 17 years,” Francescut wrote. “It has been an honor to contribute to Shasta County elections with integrity, experience, and dedication.”
“My commitment to this community remains strong” she said. “I will continue to advocate for transparent, respectful, and community-centered leadership as I move forward with my campaign.”
On April 30, a majority of the board selected Curtis as ROV over Francescut despite her years of experience and the fact that the majority of the vocal public, and two supervisors, strongly supported her for that role. Within hours of Curtis’ selection by the majority of the board, Francescut announced her candidacy for ROV in the June 2026 election.
Curtis announced his candidacy for the ROV office on Saturday, May 24, four days after beginning his newly-appointed role. In comments to members of the public during that announcement, Curtis bad-mouthed Francescut saying she doesn’t know what she’s doing and wants to hide from the public because she’s “doing it wrong.”
Francescut has worked in the Elections Office for almost two decades and held every role in the office except the top job, ROV. She successfully ran the March 2024 primary election on her own after her supervisor, former Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen, took an unexpected medical leave. A lawsuit filed over that election by activists was thrown out by a judge due to a “profound” lack of evidence.
In contrast, Curtis has never worked in an election office. He’s a former computer programmer and attorney whose experience includes consulting on election-related matters and litigating election-related cases. He claims to have written a computer program that can flip the outcome of elections and plans to establish trust in Shasta County’s election process by video documenting every aspect.
Francescut was passed over for the ROV position once before, in 2024, when her former supervisor, Darling Allen, resigned mid-term. At that time the board majority selected former ROV Tom Toller for the role. Like Curtis, Toller had no prior experience in running elections but unlike Curtis he chose to keep Francescut in the Assistant ROV role. Francescut worked as Toller’s right hand staffer throughout his eight months in the ROV position. When Toller announced his resignation earlier this year, he endorsed Francescut to become his successor. The Board did not heed his advice.
Supervisor Matt Plummer, who was among the two board members who supported Francescut for the ROV position in April, responded to a request for comment on her termination by saying he’d like to thank Francescut for her service to the county.
Plummer also wrote by text that he encourages the community “to pursue becoming a place that values differences in opinion, maintains mutual respect in the midst of such differences and uses power and majorities to elevate other perspectives rather than remove them.”
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Hopefully Curtis will end up the same way Crye’s appointment to HHSA has ended up. Laura Burch “allowed” to retire. The friends she hired from Social Service Erin Watts and Trisha Boss – fired. Coleman is the last one left – wonder how long it will take to get her out (or will Crye save her)? Too bad it’s too late for the employees that either transferred out, quit, or went out on STRESS.
Wait, are you saying Erin and Tricia don’t work there anymore. Just Christy left of that group?
All of the comments are part of why Shasta County and Redding has lost population as reported recently. However, at the same time many new folks are moving here and things are a changin’. You can’t hold down Democracy when the dictator’s here and in DC step over the line. Ways to keep Shasta County sane and civil: Be aware where you shop/eat and who owns the business. Run for a school board seat, city council…even Supervisor. Keep your children in public schools and volunteer. Help local non-profits in their time of grant cutting. Lobby the University of California Regents to build the next campus in Redding. Change your party registration to reflect common sense and kindness. NPPs are allowed to ask for a Democratic ballot at election time. Find a Yoga or Tai Chi class and imagine you’re sitting on top of Mt.Shasta.
Plummer also wrote by text that he encourages the community “to pursue becoming a place that values differences in opinion, maintains mutual respect in the midst of such differences and uses power and majorities to elevate other perspectives rather than remove them.”
Now is this quote from Plummer a round about way of stating he was against the decision of the board? Because if so he just put a target smack on the back of himself for cooky crye to take aim at, barring he purposefully stated it in a way that kevin not fully comprehend, or rather is this a carefully worded warning to the people who call this county home that this clearly totalitarian new regime is and will continue to systematically remove all whom oppose them as they continue to undermine democracy, in the name of personal interests and power. The actions of our supposed representatives is despicable, atrocious, and saddening. This county is floundering, each week another business closes for good, another person who didn’t need to die does, either at the hands of our hospitals, or our law enforcement, another hard working family loses their home because they had to choose between rent or food. And what is the board doing about it any of it? Not a damn thing really, simply biding time until the the unqualified people they places in positions they were not worthy of comes back with answers, answers that will undoubtedly in some way benefit members of that very same board in one way or another. Chairman crye, you’re not a leader, you’re a blowhard, egotistical, frat boy who has ridden sheer luck your entire life and manipulated your way into power to increase your stature. You’re a power obsessed and abusing bully, who could care less about the people of this county, and it clearly shows. I challenge you to do some good for the people of Shasta county and remove yourself from the board.
V4: your comment has been edited. Statements that speak favorably of the disappearance of anyone are not welcome on this forum.
Just throwing this knowledge out there. An appointed elected official can be recalled after a set amount of time if enough people sign a petition for it.
…90 days after being appointed. Start the count down. But, weigh this out carefully and flesh out all the possibilities. Likely would be a landslide to remove the appointee, but then how would the BoS proceed is the real question.
http://www.joannaforcountyclerk.com.
For as much as some of our board members like to talk about meritocracy, they sure aren’t putting it into practice.
Obviously Joanna was the one with the most qualifications in merit and they passed her over.
It’s ridiculous actions like this that are keeping much-needed medical professionals from moving to Shasta County! Who would want to subject their families to idiocity like this!
The extreme far right in control of Shasta County right now really has never worn any sheep covering. They’ve simply been wolves with a plan of retribution, a sustain for democracy and are openly proud of it. It remains to be seen if getting rid of Joanna will increase her chances of becoming the next ROV. Please consider donating to her campaign.
There are no words. It just keeps getting worse. We all know why Crye, Kelstrom and unfortunately my supervisor Harmon picked him. He says he can change the outcome of elections and that’s what they want. It is time for us to step up and try to stop this. FYI I am a republican and a moderate, common sense conservative. I would bet Jones is behind this, like he said he isn’t going anywhere.
I suspect he may install PHJ in the assistant ROV position. Jones has reportedly been spending a lot of time in the office with Mr, Curtis. I hope I am wrong but it would not surprise me. Or maybe Laura Hobbs. Curtis won’t allow that position to be filled by anyone with actual elections knowledge and experience.
I think this cloud may have a silver lining. I was wondering how it would be for Francescut to have to work under someone so apparently abrasive and disruptive. But now she doesn’t have to. Let the cards fall where they fall. See what this guy does. And vote for Francescut when it’s our turn. Show our board we want normal people not conspiracy theorists in power.
Fortunately, the ROV will have a chance to demonstrate his worth ( or lack of) in the next election. And the electorate will have a chance to respond to all these shenanigans.
As a staunch conservative I am appalled by this boards passing over someone who has 17 yrs. experience and has served as an interim ROV.
The board isn’t fooling anybody with a brain. I could see firing for cause but it looks like it is quite a bit different than that. I voted to not recall whats-his-name but I will be voting for Francescut in 2026!
I was told I should have gotten more information before posting I was going to vote for the fired lady. If the allegations are true, and if she is guilty as charged, I WILL NOT be voting for her in the next election. All of us need more information. I apologize for flying off the handle so quickly. Please disregard my previous post.
Thank you.
Rocky…so far all the allegations have been thrown out in court due to what the judge called a profound lack of evidence.
This angers me to no end.
I am so sorry, Joanna. Thank you for your service and, if you still want it, I’ll do all that I can to elect you to the ROV position in 2026. Rev. Heather Hennessey
Unspeakable, detestable move of an insecure and devious POS. Clearly it’s going to upend the security and accountability of the election process and the entire office. I have faith the State will step in to assure each and every election law is followed. Cruelty is the point. This will backfire spectacularly all on those involved especially the collusion of the BOS. I’m so sorry that the careers of two outstanding women of Integrity, Transparency and Diligence have been trashed…Francescut and Darling. Way to eff up Democracy, assholes.
This man (Mr. Curtis) has bragged that he has the expertise to change legitimate election results to achieve a different outcome than the voters chose. There is only one reason to choose a person like that to run our local elections, and that would be to use his election denier bias and his “expertise” to cheat on our election outcomes. Why would Crye, Kelstrom, and Harmon hire someone like that? I think we all know. It’s clear that Joanna Francescut is favored by a wide margin to win in 26′, so if there’s a different outcome, we’ll know why. Also, I want to see cctv cameras trained on Mr. Curtis every minute he’s at work on elections business (as he has suggested for anyone not afraid of the truth coming out).
I concur with the perception of Cutis’ history in the position of ROV. He comes off as a travelling salesman…hyping his accomplishments, sharing stories with questionable credibility about his discovery of embedded invisible typing keys and how he was told by a superior to hack a voting machine by finding the “invisible” keys. BTW, Curtis does not say that he reported this conversation to senior management. He’s a con artist, and he’s selling snake oil. Joanna brought a comforting competence to the job…and this is the very reason Curtis fired her… she can prove that Curtis is full of sh**.
outrageous!
Stop the insanity – Donate, Campaign, Recruit others, Knock on doors – Elections matter! Every vote counts! Election deniers’ baseless claims are dismantling proven accurate systems.
Thank you Joanna Francescut for your almost two decades of county service. It is unbelievable today that this take over of the election office could happen. This is the Board of Supervisors plan, placing Clint Curtis who is ignorant of election management that has indicated the rest of the office should leave. This setup will bring election deniers into the elections office and I will predict chaos will ensue. We will see Joanna Francescut take the Registrar of Voters office in 2026!
Just heard about Joanna getting fired, and that’s it for me. I’ve been an election poll worker since the 2020 election. I loved the job, all the folks, volunteers’, election dept staff, etc. It’s very amazing how they pull these elections together, especially with all the competing demands from the State, the local Magats, and the voters. But that’s it for me. I’m done. I won’t work under a fellow who is obviously actively trying to uproot a system that has worked very well, up until now. When the BOS hired Tom Toller over Joanna I had serious reservations. After talking with staff, though, I decided to stay on and found that Mr. Toller turned out to be intelligent, thoughtful, and a man who looked at the facts. The last election turned out to be, as usual, pretty crisis free. Well, that ain’t gonna happen no more! ‘Ol Clint has gone and fired the person who could have guided him to get the next election done and spared him from some big problems coming up and very probably some repercussions from the State. He’s going to pull that off by himself? Really? So please accept this as my resignation. In normal times, I’d wish him the best, but after firing Joanna, he deserves whatever he’s going to get. Thank you, BOS, (and you know who you are) for foisting this idiot on our county.
A bit off topic as I’m still trying to digest this latest buffoonery…why hasn’t anyone asked Curtis since he has written a program to flip votes, then what is keeping him (other than his saying it) from incorporating that program now that he has the keys to the system?
If he can do it, then what would stop him, if it can’t be done, then there should be nothing to worry about the machines.
Unless there is something I’m missing or there’s a great answer, it would be interesting to bring this topic to surface at every opportunity that presents itself.
Shasta Citizen. He has been asked this by public commenters. I haven’t heard him answer directly. He’s said he’s taking this job as a kind of atonement for having written that code.
Joanna Francescut’s campaign, visit http://www.joannaforcountyclerk.com.
This is outrageous! Joanna was stripped of her career and the benefits that came with it by the whims of a mad man. He has upended her life for what, tirelessly doing her job to serve her community by the letter of the law.
I can’t believe this is happening. But, wait, yes I can. I could see the writing on the wall the minute the three stooges voted for Clint Curtis thinking they are going to become famous for their indignant righteous attitudes. What’s more likely is they will become infamous. From what I see looking in the fishbowl, is Joanna will more than likely win in 2026, as there are more people who support her than support the election deniers. We shall see whose voice becomes loudest at the polls! See you in 2026 Joanna!!!!
I am not at all surprised. Appalled, yes, surprised, no. At the PHJ Town Hall Saturday, Curtis made it very clear that Joanna and staff were doing it all wrong and that perhaps they would find other jobs. He insinuated that they would be uncomfortable being videotaped and implied this was because of incompetence—or worse. I believe that Curtis is aiming for bigger things than ROV and making a name for himself suits that program. Of course, I could be all wrong. He might just be a jerk in a blue suit and a red tie.
Oh, no, you’re not wrong about CC looking for more power.
Hollyn: Curtis responded to a commenter at the town hall who asked if he would “get rid of lawless” election staffers by saying those who don’t want to follow the law will leave because they’re afraid to be on video breaking the law. He didn’t indicate any intent to terminate anyone at the meeting but last year during his interview he expressly stated he might fire all the staff and start over. We linked to the transcript here: https://shastascout.org/last-year-board-interviews/
This county doesn’t want or deserve an impartial champion of the Democratic process in the ROV office. The wolves at the door are licking their chops.
What an ass. How do we retaliate?
We jump into action and work on her campaign.
call and leave a message for your supervisor at 530-225-5550. Or email them all at once by using this address: shastacountybos@shastacounty.gov.
Email or call the Secretary of State’s office
(916) 653-6814
https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/publications-and-resources/voter-complaint
I understand the at-will status of Francescut and being unrepresented. But, this is another example of “killing the competition” and abuse of authority. We lose all that institutional knowledge that she gained through her experience and she appeared to be a dedicated county employee, who may have a family, mortgage and other bills to pay plus the shock of being terminated for simply announcing candidacy for a position she is qualified for, [he-Curtis], not so much.
Soon enough the clown show that governs Shasta County and the outlying towns will reap what they sow. And then it will be too late, we will have lost the good people and moderate populace that just wants ethical and unbiased leadership.
I am at a loss for words on how disgusting this is. This is so unacceptable, time citizens of Shasta County turn things around and get back to reasonable politics.