Shasta County Supervisor Mary Rickert, a devoted Republican who owns a ranch and speaks proudly about gun ownership, is an unlikely progressive icon.
But for some in this Northern California county, where the 72-year-old devout Catholic and grandmother has been confounded by conspiracy theories about voter fraud and other extremist ideologies for the past three years, that’s exactly what the 72-year-old devout Catholic and grandmother has become. It has become such an existence.
Rickert remains a staunch conservative. But she has also emerged as the Board of Supervisors’ often-lone voice against the far-right insurgency roiling the county.
Shasta County District 3 Supervisor Mary Rickert;
(Shasta County)
After ultra-conservatives won a majority in 2022, the board voted to eliminate Dominion voting machines in favor of counting ballots by hand. Supervisors passed a measure that would allow concealed weapons in local government buildings, contrary to state law. And they considered hiring a separatist leader from California to be the county’s chief executive. Rickert’s personal style tended toward feathered blonde hair and flowing scarves, and opposed much of their doings.
On Tuesday, voters in her district, which stretches from Redding east to the Falls and Mountaintops, will decide whether to reelect her. Her challenger is local business owner Corky Harmon, who says on his website that he is running “to protect our God-given rights and rural way of life.”
Some county residents say the contest also questions the county’s future political direction.
In recent years, Shasta County has received national attention for its support of Second Amendment and anti-vaccine causes, as well as voting conspiracy theories. Board meetings were interrupted by shouting matches, and senior staff were fired or quit. Meanwhile, election officials claim they have received threats. In 2022, someone installed a hunting camera in the alley behind the election office.
John Deaton joined others during a rally in Redding to demonstrate for the recall of Shasta County Supervisor Kevin Klei.
(Ricci Pedroncelli/Associated Press)
But there are also signs that voters are tired of being represented by the far right.
Patrick Jones, the board chairman and gun store owner, will resign from the board in January after losing the spring election to a more moderate candidate. Another moderate, former Redding Police Department Lt. Allen Long, was selected to fill the vacancy.
That means if Rickert retains his seat, the far-right is likely to lose its majority on the board.
County residents say it’s difficult to predict what will happen if the opponent wins. “I am not affiliated with any organization. I am not a member of any super pac or special interest group,” Harmon said on his website. He did not respond to requests for an interview from The Times. Although he has not taken a clear position on the many high-profile issues roiling the county in public statements posted on his website, he told a local television station that the county has “a commitment to fight… “We have a duty,” he said. “Back” in violation of some state laws.
“As supervisors, we have an obligation to fight back and go to our legislators and say no…This is against our rights,” he said. “The state has gone too far. We all know that they are giving us grief in many ways… There is no need to explain all the details.”
Doni Chamberlain, a local journalist and Rickert supporter whose news website has spent years documenting the turmoil that has torn apart local government, said voters in the county’s 3rd Supervisory District have made a county-defining choice. He said he was facing it. “The future of Shasta County depends on this race,” she said.
But no matter what happens in that race, there are signs that chaos could ensue. On Wednesday, the county announced that new voting machines were unable to properly count ballots.
The county bought the machine after selling Dominion and a new state law banning hand counting. The county also hired a new registrar after Kathy Darling Allen, the county’s only elected Democrat, resigned due to heart failure and a need to relieve stress. .
Mail-in ballot envelopes will be sorted at the Shasta County Registrar of Voters in Redding in February. The Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted last year to eliminate the county’s vote tabulation machines and planned to conduct elections by hand. The California Legislature subsequently passed a law prohibiting hand counting of election ballots, except in limited circumstances.
(Ricci Pedroncelli/Associated Press)
New Registrar Tom Toler said his office discovered “issues with ink splatter” and found “election equipment was unable to process ballots.” He said the error was invisible to the naked eye and was not detected during pre-election testing.
Nevada County, which uses the same machines, is having similar problems, he said. He added that it was unclear how many of the 117,000 votes the county issued were affected. Voters have already submitted approximately 32,500 ballots.
Also this week, a Shasta County elections official told the news site CalMatters that he quit his job because election monitors were crowding his office in an intimidating manner. Tanner Johnson said some observers were “very angry.”
“They want to see through our lies, so they try to trick you into saying something,” Johnson said. “In many cases, they secretly videotape or record you.”
Mr. Toller acknowledged that one employee left because “the environment surrounding the election was so hostile that he felt threatened by it.” He said he was “deeply disappointed” because Johnson had been a “good employee.”
He added that election observers have become “very aggressive in pursuing their own agenda” and often support hand counting, which is illegal.
“Things are becoming more confrontational,” he said. “The tone is more aggressive.”
Toler said he’s hoping for a calm election night, but law enforcement is planning patrols and “we need to be ready for anything.”
Shasta County voters overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, and many expect a similar result this year. The real suspense of the election is whether voters will support Rickert or Harmon.
Harmon made his priorities clear in a video introducing himself to voters posted on a local TV station’s website. He described himself as a “true conservative who believes in local control,” and said his values are more in line with the district’s rural voters than Rickert.
His video makes no mention of the controversy that has put his county on national news multiple times. He said one of his goals is to stop “infighting” among board members and that he is committed to improving public safety.
Rickert, on the other hand, insists he’s a candidate with the experience to help get the county right. She said she wants to stabilize the county’s workforce, which has been disrupted by all the turmoil, and make sure the $39 million the county expects to receive from the opioid settlement is well spent.
She said she wanted nothing more than to retire and spend time with her grandchildren, but couldn’t find a moderate Republican willing to run.
“I want to focus on getting the county’s finances back on track,” she said. “This is a pivotal moment in Shasta County’s history.”
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