The Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to hold public interviews for anyone who applies, as long as they meet the minimum legal requirements for the elected office.
The sole requirements are that the candidate is registered to vote in Shasta County at the time of their appointment and that they don’t work for or have ties to a collections agency.
The county clerk is responsible for various county filings including marriage licenses and fictitious business name statements. They also run elections in a county that has received national attention for supervisors pushing the limits of voting norms, including attempts at removing electronic voting machines in favor of a hand count system.
The previous county clerk, Cathy Darling Allen, frequently butted heads with far-right supervisors over their efforts to overhaul the county elections system.
Because California law doesn’t allow for a special election, her replacement will be appointed, rather than elected by voters. The rest of her term runs through 2026.
Supervisor Patrick Jones said on Tuesday he doesn’t want this appointment to be a secretive process.
“I think we have an opportunity here on a very important position that’s elected to do it very much out in the open for a change,” Jones said. “We’ve never done it in that manner before. And I think the less we do in closed session on this would be better.”
Board Chair Kevin Crye expressed concern that public interviews could dissuade people from applying, fearing backlash from their current employer.
But, he voted in favor of the proposal along with two other supervisors.
Monica Fugitt, the county’s director of support services, told the board the decision to only impose the legal requirements to apply could mean that supervisors will be forced to interview unqualified applicants because there will be no initial screening-out process.
“Someone with absolutely no relevant experience whatsoever, no leadership experience, no supervisory experience may end up being interviewed by this board,” she said.
Supervisor Jones said he doesn’t expect to get many applicants because of the demanding nature of the job.
Several community members, along with supervisor Tim Garman, spoke in favor of directly appointing Joanna Francescut, who’s been acting as the interim county clerk for weeks.
If she applies, she’ll be interviewed in what could be a multi-day public process starting on June 17. Applications for the position are scheduled to close on June 7.
