Claiming she was retaliated against for following state and federal election law, former Assistant Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Shasta County.
Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis fired Francescut on May 27, 2025, two weeks after he was appointed to the top elections position by the Board of Supervisors on a 3-2 vote, passing over Francescut who also interviewed for the job.
The memo she received stated her “at-will employment status” as the only reason she was terminated, the lawsuit claims.
“No performance issues were noted. She was not provided the opportunity to gather her belongings or say goodbye to her team after 17 years of service,” the lawsuit states.
The civil suit was filed May 19, two weeks before the June 2 primary election, in which Francescut is on the ballot, running against Curtis.
It also alleges Francescut was discriminated against based on her age, religion and gender. The allegations also include harassment and retaliation for following state and federal election law.
In a text message to the Record Searchlight, Francescut said she is committed to winning the June 2 election and thanked those who have supported and voted for her so far. She also addresses the timing of the lawsuit, noting that it was filed two weeks before the election because the statute of limitations for when she could file was coming to a close.
Francescut filed a claim against the county via the mail on Nov. 18, 2025, but never received a response, the lawsuit says.
“The timing is poor, but there isn’t a good timeline to file a lawsuit against anyone. This decision came after careful consideration and analysis. Ultimately, I decided to choose appropriate accountability, even if this decision means that I might have to stand alone,” she said.
She declined to discuss the details of the lawsuit.
What are the allegations in the lawsuit?
District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye and former District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones are named in the lawsuit, which alleges that Jones more than once accused Francescut of insubordination and vowed there would be consequences for her actions.
The lawsuit says that after three incidents in the spring of 2024, Francescut started to be discriminated against and retaliated against, a pattern that continued throughout much of the rest of that year.
The first two incidents happened in early April 2024, when supervisors wanted Francescut to retain ballots from the June 2022 primary election “beyond the legally mandated period.” Francescut asked former acting county counsel Alan Cox what to do, and he advised her to comply with state election code and destroy the ballots, the suit says.
Around the same time, County Executive Officer David Rickert called Francescut to tell her he was asked by a supervisor to tell her that her decision to follow state and federal law “rather than the Board’s guidance would have an impact on their decision to appoint” (Francescut) as county clerk and registrar of voters, the suit says. The lawsuit does not identify the supervisor.
Rickert declined comment for this story.
Then on May 10, 2024, Crye “unlawfully requested access to recall petition signatures. (Francescut) refused as it would violate California Election Code 17400 and Government Code 7024.000, which make such petitions confidential records,” the suit says.
In March 2024, an effort to recall Crye failed by 50 votes.
Stepping in for ROV Cathy Darling Allen
Francescut had been running the elections department since December 2023, when Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen took a medical leave, the lawsuit says. Darling Allen would retire in May 2024. Tom Toller, who retired in April 2025, was appointed by supervisors in June 2024 to replace Darling Allen.
During the public interviews to hire Darling Allen’s successor on June 19, 2024, Crye allegedly made discriminatory comments to Francescut, saying she was too young to be county registrar of voters “and had plenty of time to do this role later,” the suit says.
When Francescut responded by saying that she was older than Crye might think and she had a child who was 22, “Crye made discriminatory comments about (Francescut’s) religion, stating, ‘well you are Mormon and could have had a kid at age 12 or 14,’“ the suit says.
Crye, Jones and Supervisor Chris Kelstrom voted to hire Toller. Tim Garman and Mary Rickert, who are no longer on the board, supported Francescut. Mary Rickert is not related to County Executive Officer David Rickert.
Toller is supporting Francescut in the upcoming election.
Crye in a text message to the Record Searchlight said, “I am told the county has not been served. I’ll give a comment once we are served or I see it if applicable.”
Claims of insubordination by Jones
Recounting the pattern of alleged discrimination and retaliation against Francescut, the lawsuit says Jones “insinuated” on a local radio show that Francescut would possibly be fired for her actions. He also had accused her of insubordination to local media on Sept. 9, 2024.
Jones told the Record Searchlight that he had not seen the lawsuit before reasserting that if it was up to him, he would have fired her in 2023 because, he said, Francescut rewrote a $1.5 million private grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life.
Supervisors voted 3-2 to accept the grant with a catch. They wanted the county to go back to the Center for Tech and Civic Life to negotiate more specific terms to the grant contract. Jones said Francescut rewrote the contract for the $1.5 million grant but did not come back to supervisors to OK the revisions. He called her actions insubordination.
“I can’t do that, so you have to have either the board or county counsel bring up charges, which they never did,” Jones said.
The Record Searchlight reported in November 2024 that Jones said he had more than 100 emails that show Darling Allen rewrote the grant proposal.
But Jones on Wednesday, May 27, said that while Darling Allen’s and Francescut’s name might have been on the grant proposal, Francescut admitted that she rewrote the grant. Which was also evident that that was the case in the emails, he added.
The grant money came from a foundation funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan. Conservative critics like Jones dubbed it “Zuckerbucks.”
Clint Curtis responds to lawsuit
The lawsuit claims that after Francescut was fired in May 2025, Curtis disparaged Francescut in the media, saying, “She was an at-will employee, which means she can be terminated at any time. It’s a tradeoff for making a six-figure salary without an advanced degree.”
The race to be Shasta County’s registrar of voters for the next four years has drawn big money. Curtis and Francescut have brought in more money than Darling Allen and Bob Holsinger did combined in the 2022 ROV election.
In a text message to the Record Searchlight, Curtis suggested that the lawsuit is a way for Francescut to raise more money for her campaign.
“I haven’t read it yet. I am guessing that she feels she is not going to win the election if she is looking for a new funding source,” he said.
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 ex-elections worker’s suit details discriminatory firing claims
Reporting by David Benda, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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