NY lawyer with no California elections experience tapped to run Shasta's Elections Office

Yahoo

01-05-2025

Shasta County supervisors picked an attorney with no experience in managing an elections department in California as the next registrar of voters, making it the second time they pass over the assistant clerk in that office.
Clint Curtis, an attorney licensed in New York who lives in Florida, emerged on top of four other finalists after a public interview with the Board of Supervisors at a special meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Curtis was chosen over Shasta County Assistant Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut, who said after the meeting in an interview with the Record Searchlight she will run for the office in June 2026. Francescut has worked in the Shasta County elections department since 2008.
In voting for Curtis, Supervisors Kevin Crye, Chris Kelstrom and Corkey Harmon said they had nothing against Francescut but argued it was time for a change. Supervisors Allen Long and Matt Plummer wanted Francescut for the job.
'I can't think of anybody better, well personally, maybe a Republican, but I can't think of anybody better ... to right what I think is wrong with elections,' Crye said of Curtis.
Many local election skeptics who for years have alleged wrongdoings in the county elections office with no verifiable evidence wanted Curtis to get the job.
Both Long and Plummer said Curtis did not have the experience and questioned what they saw as discrepancies on his application.
'This is a highly detailed job where you have to get the details right and even in the application to our county there are a number of things that don't add up and don't make sense,' Plummer said.
Among them, the District 4 supervisor said, Curtis stated he worked with Germany to transition away from the use of voting machines in 2004.
"2005, they still used electronic voting machines. It wasn't until 2009 that they changed the constitution," Plummer said.
Curtis crusaded for hand-counting ballots. He said he would increase the number of cameras inside the elections office to provide more transparency.
He told supervisors he knows My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, who once promised to financially support Shasta County in its failed effort to hand-count election ballots.
Lindell was pulled into Shasta County politics in early 2023 when Crye visited him to ask him about plans to terminate the county's contract with Dominion Voting Systems and transitioning to a hand-count method of tabulating ballots.
But Curtis, like everyone who interviewed Wednesday, said hand-counting votes is against the law in California, and he won't break the law.
'Once they can see everything that goes on (inside the elections office), they shouldn't have any problem or any reason to doubt anything,' Curtis told the Record Searchlight after the meeting of how he would convince his detractors.
Curtis is expected to take office as county clerk and registrar of voters on May 13, pending a background check.
Francescut and Curtis were finalists for the job last June when the board voted 3-2 to hire Tom Toller. Curtis had the backing of Supervisor Chris Kelstrom and former Supervisor Patrick Jones, but the supervisors flipped and voted for Toller after Crye said he was going to vote for Francescut if they did not back Toller.
But less than a year on the job, Toller announced his resignation in late March due to health issues. He endorsed Francescut as his successor.
Francescut told the Record Searchlight after the meeting that she is still passionate about the job.
'My heart is in this for the community. I do this job because I love this community where we live and I look forward to running for office,' Francescut said.
She said she is going 'to do my best to stay on and continue the work that I love to do. I have a passion for it. I enjoy waking up every day and getting to count people's votes. That's a pretty awesome job that I get to do.'
Curtis said he had no plans to change the staffing at the elections office.
'I think … if she (Francescut) was telling the truth what she said in there she's actually willing to go whichever way she needs to go as long it stays within the law, which is good,' Curtis said.
Also interviewing for the job Wednesday were Elle Leigh Sharp, integration specialists for Nevada Secretary of State elections division; and Robin Underwood, deputy clerk in Eastpointe, Michigan.
DeNay Harris, director of elections and general registrar in Charles City County, Virginia, was also a finalist but did not show up for Wednesday's meeting.
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's new elections chief has never run an election in California