Earlier this month, voters decisively ousted Crye and Curtis, and sent Supervisor Chris Kellstrom to the general election trailing a moderate challenger. Even if Kellstrom wins in November, the results of the June 2 primary tilt the county’s most powerful body back to the center-right — ending a five-year MAGA experiment and signaling trouble for President Donald Trump in one of California’s Trumpiest strongholds.
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Shasta County, known for its homegrown militias, dueling secessionists, influential megachurch and enduring devotion to Trump-style politics, is having another bellwether moment.
Well before the president hopscotched to his second term, MAGA political operators held up the north-state county as a template for what they could accomplish at the grassroots level. Bankrolled by special interests, a coalition of COVID lockdown opponents and 2020 election deniers elevated extremists to the Shasta County Board of Supervisors, then got to work on what they believed was an administrative deep state.
The new board fired or chased out the county’s chief executive, public health officer, registrar of voters and a series of county counsels, replacing them with inexperienced or firebrand individuals who promised to find fraud and oppose California mandates. Scores of county employees left in the process.
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In 2023, the Redding Rancheria, a Shasta County-based tribal government, was seeking a deal with the county to relocate and expand its Win-River Resort & Casino into a 1.1 million-square-foot gaming complex and nine-story hotel off of Interstate 5.
In exchange for 30 years of county services, the Redding Rancheria offered a one-time payment of $3.3 million and $50,000 annually, far less than other intergovernmental arrangements between tribes and local governments. Shasta County’s sheriff, district attorney, outside counsel and other officials forcefully opposed the offer.
But Crye pushed the board into a 4-1 vote to approve it. A lawsuit alleged the board improperly overruled the interests of the public. Last year, a judge sided with the plaintiff, ruling the deal “illegal.”
Rickert, the only supervisor to oppose it, said Crye and then-Supervisor Patrick Henry Jones worked behind the scenes to scuttle a better deal by pushing out Eric Magrini, the assistant county CEO working on it. Magrini, a former sheriff, has filed his own lawsuit alleging that he was wrongfully terminated and that Crye stalked his wife.
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Crye barely survived the ensuing recall attempt in March 2024, keeping his seat by 50 votes. He was aided by a $5,500 donation from the tribe, which has spent more than $20,000 on the supervisors who backed the agreement.
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This month, Erin Resner, a Redding City Council member and Dutch Bros. franchisor who came within 90 votes of defeating Crye in 2022, bested the incumbent by more than 1,400, carrying 54% of the electorate. Crye pulled 38%.
Resner raised less than Crye but did so through dozens more donations. And she spent most of it on getting her message out, that she’s a “sensible” conservative who wants to see Shasta County escape its dysfunctional reputation and work with surrounding counties on the homelessness and mental health crises afflicting the region.
https://archive.is/2FC15
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