Why the 2022 election is like no other in California’s Shasta County

It's already been a unique election year in Shasta County.

In February, voters recalled a supervisor for what it is believed to be the first time in county history.

Three months later, things got heated after polls closed for the June 7 primary when election observers allegedly became confrontational in the county elections office in downtown Redding.

Then in mid-July, county supervisors got an earful from election deniers who pleaded for the board not to certify the results of the June primary. Ultimately, supervisors voted 3-2 to certify the results.

With the general election set for Tuesday, here are a few oddities about this election.

Reassuring voters of a safe election

Election years are always a busy time for Shasta County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen.

But this year Darling Allen has also been busy assuring voters that our elections are safe and secure.

Call it an antidote to the misinformation being spread locally to cast doubt on the accuracy and security of elections.

In September, Darling Allen hosted a webinar that essentially rebutted Donald Frank, an election denier whose theories of systematic fraud in our elections have been debunked by experts and various media outlets. Darling Allen’s webinar came three weeks after Frank spoke at a Sept. 13 Board of Supervisors meeting.

With the Nov. 8 general election approaching, county residents have started getting cards in the mail from Darling Allen’s office that assures them that “Shasta County elections are safe and secure.” A note adds that “Election workers are your neighbors, friends, relatives and community members.”

Darling Allen said the county did not pay for the cards or the cost to mail them. Darling Allen's office is participating in a project with Duke University graduate students that she says is intended to increase trust in elections administrations. Duke paid for the cards and mailing.

'Aggressive and inappropriate': A Shasta County candidate issued warning to registrar of voters. Here's how she responded

Like many other local election departments across the country, Darling Allen’s office in recent months has been inundated with election deniers, who want to get rid of voting machines and eliminate mail-in voting (nearly 90% of Shasta County voted by mail in the June 7 primary). They also fought to not certify the results of the June 7 primary.

They bring no evidence to back their claims of widespread voter fraud. In fact, Darling Allen’s office didn’t hear a peep from them after the successful recall in February of former Shasta County Supervisor Leonard Moty, who they supported.

They started making noise after the June 7 primary, when four "non-establishment," far-right candidates lost convincingly to the four incumbents.

But the numbers tell the story.

Last December, Darling Allen told supervisors that a paper count audit of 10,000 ballots tallied by Dominion machines after the November 2020 election showed "zero variances.” In other words, there were no mistakes.

After the recall of Moty, Darling Allen’s office did a paper audit of the entire recall vote count. There were no mistakes.

Dolores Lucero returns to Shasta County politics

Another quirk this election is having one candidate run for two offices simultaneously.

Ex-Shasta Lake City Council member Dolores Lucero is campaigning for a return seat on the council while also running for the Shasta County Board of Education, Area 2.

When asked why, Lucero said: “Well, look at our country.”

“It’s important for us to run. We should be trying to run for as many positions that are available and as long as there’s no conflict — absolutely,” she said. “Our country is falling apart. There’s so much that we need to be aware of what’s happening in the schools and city councils.”

The Fair Political Practices Commission says as long as there are no conflicts, “there are no provisions … which preclude you from seeking more than one elective office in a single election, or from serving in more than one elective office at any one time.”

“I always check the laws … I double-check everything,” Lucero said. “I don’t do anything without checking the laws.”

Lucero served on the Shasta Lake City Council from 2009 until she was ousted from office in a recall election on April 10, 2012.

In 2014, she was convicted of presenting false evidence in court documents aimed at stopping the recall election that ousted her from office. Lucero alleged that a woman circulating a recall petition against her was ineligible to do so because she was not a resident of Shasta Lake,

She was sentenced to 30 days in jail and placed on probation for three years.

In other experience, Lucero was a member of the Whitmore School District Board of Trustees in 2002 and said she's been a PTA mother.

Voters in Shasta Lake will decide on a six-way race for two open four-year seats on the council. Pamelyn Morgan is seeking reelection. Rounding out the list of candidates vying for the two seats are Lucero, Tena Eisenbeisz, Julia Screechfield, Jim Mark and Justin C. Jones.

A third open seat on the Shasta Lake City Council is headed for a special election next year.

Meanwhile, two seats are up for grabs on the Shasta County Board of Education for Area 2. Voters will chose from five candidates, including incumbents Rhonda “Hookham” Hull and Steve McFarland. The other three are Lucero, Richard Gallardo and Arthur Gorman.

High interest in school boards

Interest in serving on a local school board is running high this year.

In nine local school districts, 44 candidates are vying for a total of 24 open seats, according to data from Shasta County. That includes one write-in candidate who was added on Oct. 24.

The high interest comes in the wake of the pandemic. There have been statewide post-pandemic drops in student test scores in math, teacher shortages, and parents are still upset over school closures and masking during COVID-19.

"Certainly we had heard on social media ahead of the election that there was a higher than typical interest in running for school boards, mainly due to issues connected with mandates and COVID," Darling Allen told the Record Searchlight. "That was anecdotal, however, and we’d need to do a deeper dive (probably post-election) to determine how those numbers compare to previous elections.”

And state officials are bracing for potential change on school boards.

Joe Ross, president of the California County Boards of Education advocacy group, said to the Record Searchlight that the association has retooled its 2016 governance handbook, which spells out the range of decision-making that school board members possess.

Election 2022: Why Shasta County school board races are seeing so many candidates

Getting more people involved is good, Ross said.

“Regardless of what motivates someone to stand up for office, the hope is that once they are in office, they will use that motivation to help focus schools on serving kids," 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: Election safety, school board races grip Shasta County before Nov. 8