Recall Shasta Supervisor Kevin Crye supporters eager to start collecting voters' signatures

Supporters who want to recall Shasta County District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye hope to start gathering signatures from registered voters next week.

Jeff Gorder, spokesman for the Committee to Recall Kevin Crye, said they filed the petition to recall on May 3.

“Hopefully it’s going to be May 16,” Gorder said when asked when the canvassing for signatures will start.

The required 10-day review period of the petition by county elections officials expires May 15, Assistant Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut said.

Should the petition be approved, recall supporters will need to collect the signatures of at least 20% of the registered voters in District 1, or 4,151 signatures. They would have 120 days to do it, Francescut said.

Gorder said the goal will be to collect around 6,000 signatures within 40 days so they can get the recall on the Nov. 7, 2023, ballot.

“In general, we view it that we need to get at least 50% more than what you need to make sure we got plenty of cushion,” said Gorder, who retired in 2018 as Shasta County Public Defender.

The recall attempt marks the second time in two years that a group has attempted to recall a sitting supervisor.

In the first case, District 2 Supervisor Leonard Moty was successfully recalled in February 2022. Tim Garman was selected by voters to replace the longtime supervisor and retired city of Redding police chief.

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This time, however, should Crye be recalled, it will not be the voters who pick his replacement. A new state law that went into effect in January gives the governor’s office the job of selecting his temporary replacement.

An election to fill the remaining two years of Crye’s term would happen either March 5, 2024, or Nov. 5, 2024, Francescut said.

“It’s possible, if they thread that needle timing-wise,” she said of getting an election on the March 5 ballot. “It’s going to be tough, though. For example, we would have to have everything done and (the recall) certified prior to Dec. 8, (2023).”

Crye is calling the attempt to recall him just four months after he took office an effort by a small group of far-left liberals because of a difference of opinion.

“Let’s be clear, these would-be recallers are knowingly working to recall me so that (Gov.) Gavin Newsom can select his own extreme leftist Shasta County Supervisor. I am a proud conservative, husband and father. You will not defeat Shasta County,” Crye stated in part on his reply notice he filed with the elections office.

Gorder said the recall is a non-partisan effort backed by Democrats, Republicans and independents.

Voter statistics show that Republicans dominate District 1. There are 9,073 registered Republicans compared to 5,382 Democrats. No-Party Preference is third with 4,306 registered voters.

“Just because you don’t have an ‘R’ associated with your name, that doesn’t mean you can’t be a conservative,” said recall committee secretary Tim Hill, who was a Republican before he left the party in the early 2000s.

Gorder said they are attempting to recall Crye based on his actions, not a difference of opinion.

For example, Crye’s decision to join Supervisors Patrick Jones and Chris Kelstrom to terminate Shasta County’s contract with Dominion Voting Systems and develop a process to hand count all votes was reckless and to date has cost Shasta County more than $1.5 million, recall supporters say.

Hill noted that Crye on April 25 voted no to adding seven more county employees to help with a hand count. Crye said he needed more time to research the numbers that were presented to him.

“He voted to go on this crazy journey of gambling the ability to vote for his vanity project,” Hill said.

“He was the only one to vote against staffing it,” he added.

David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta Supervisor Kevin Crye recall signature drive to start