Clint Curtis and Joanna Francescut face off June 2 to be Shasta County’s clerk/registrar of voters for the next four years.
Curtis is a lawyer who came from Florida and was appointed county elections chief more than a year ago despite no election oversight experience.
Two weeks after he took over, Curtis fired Francescut, who was the assistant registrar of voters and had worked in the county elections department for 17 years. Francescut filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the county on May 18.
Curtis’ short tenure as registrar of voters has seen its share of controversy with lawsuits, two investigations into his conduct as a department supervisor and a new ballot processing system that he says brings more transparency.
The interest in this race has been magnified by the amount of money each candidate has brought in.
Combined, the Curtis and Franescut campaigns have raised more than $200,000, nearly five times more than the 2022 ROV election, when incumbent Cathy Darling Allen and challenger Bob Holsinger brought in a combined $46,000.
Francescut leads the way in campaign contributions with $138,134, according to the latest campaign financial disclosure statements. Curtis has brought in $67,390.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Curtis, Francescut in high-stakes race to run Shasta County elections
Reporting by David Benda, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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