Shasta County Appoints Sean Ewing as the Head of Resource Management
Ewing will replace Wyatt Paxton, a temporary appointment who has served in the role for only a month. Shasta County’s long-term Director of Resource Management, Paul Hellman, recently left to take a similar job in another county.
In a 3 to 2 vote at this week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Sean Ewing was appointed as Shasta County’s new Director of Resource Management. Board members Kevin Crye, Patrick Jones, and Chris Kelstrom voted in favor while Mary Rickert and Tim Garman voted against the motion. His hiring proved to be a controversial decision.
Supervisor Kelstrom, who sat on the hiring panel along with CEO David Rickert and Director of Support Services Monica Fugitt, gave Ewing his “full support,” describing him as “the right man for the job.”
Garman and Rickert’s disapproval of Ewing was, they said, not based on his lack of credibility. They both underscored that their votes against his appointment were “not personal.”
“I am going to vote no,” said Supervisor Rickert before casting her vote. “I’m concerned that politics are playing a big part of this.” She went on to allege that, “Reverge Anselmo is obviously a piece of this, as was the case with the appointment of Wyatt Paxton.”
No evidence was brought to light that Ewing has any connection to Anselmo, the wealthy Connecticut donor who has continually attempted to steer Shasta’s political future from across the nation. In 2013, Anselmo fought an expensive legal battle with Shasta County partly over building permits, and was ordered to pay a $1.4 million settlement. Since then, he’s poured approximately $2 million into the campaigns of local politicians, including Patrick Jones.
Wyatt Paxton, the interim Director of Resource Management who was just appointed recently, does have multiple ties to Anselmo. Paxton replaced Paul Hellman in September after Hellman left the County to take a similar position in Placer County.
Garman, Rickert, and some members of the public questioned why Assistant Director of Resource Management Adam Fiesler was not selected for the position, with both supervisors saying Former Director Hellman had “unequivocally” recommended him.
In response to some Board members’ concerns, Ewing told the chambers that “this is non-political… my goal is to do our job, do it well, and do it accurately and fairly.”
As the new Director, Ewing will be responsible for overseeing the County’s Building Division, Planning Division, and Air Quality Management. He’s been the County’s Building Division Manager since 2022, and is a licensed civil engineer with an additional 15 years of experience in private industry.
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An important thing to note is that the Personell Director Monica Fugitt, who was on the hiring panel to offer the position to Sean Ewing, is married to Josh Fugitt, who works in the Resource Management department. This is a direct conflict of interest, as it would allow Director Fugitt to choose her husband’s next boss. If there is a “quid pro quo” beyond that would be an even bigger conflict of interest.