Candidates say Shasta County District 5 race offers voters stark choice

With Redding City Councilwoman Erin Resner beating incumbent District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye in the June primary election, a power shift on the board is coming January no matter what happens in the upcoming District 5 election.

But that doesn't minimize the importance of the race to represent southern Shasta County, say the two men running.

Incumbent Chris Kelstrom and challenger Mike Gallagher say there is still much at stake.

The District 5 runoff is on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Gallagher was the top vote-getter in the June primary with 49.86%, followed by Kelstrom with 40.28%.

Gallagher, who has served eight years on the Anderson City Council, sees the race as a choice between four years of more division on the dais or a board that works together to address issues facing the county.

Kelstrom, who was elected in 2022, says if he fails to win reelection, there's a good chance the board will choose to spend more money on social programs he says the county can't afford.

"What's at stake is this county being bankrupted through social programs," Kelstrom said.

Kelstrom is convinced Gallagher would align himself with District 4 Supervisor Matt Plummer, whose focus while on the board has been health and mental health issues. Along with Resner, that would create a 3-2 majority to pass more social programs.

District 2 Supervisor Allen Long, a retired Redding police lieutenant, is a fiscal conservative, Kelstrom said. For that reason, Kelstrom envisions an alliance of himself, Long and District 3 Supervisor Corkey Harmon that would stop the expansion of social programs.

Gallagher said he will work with all the supervisors. Collaboration, he says, has been absent in the four years Kelstrom has been on the board. Kelstrom, Crye and Harmon make up the current far-right majority.

"I know people want to know what Mike Gallagher is going to do. He's going to collaborate with staff and other supervisors to come up with the best plan moving forward," Gallagher said. "Seriously, we need to get back to where we work together as an organization, as a staff … and fix (problems facing the county) with good collaborative ideas."

Kelstrom bristles at the notion that he doesn't work with others, especially the people he represents.

"Well, I definitely work with my constituents and go with their wishes more than my own thoughts. In other words, I do what's best for the constituents, not what's best for me," Kelstrom said.

He points to the Manton solar farm project. Initially, he did not think it was a bad project, but he said Manton residents made it clear they did not want it. So when the project came before the board, Kelstrom was the only supervisor to oppose it.

Kelstrom also opposed Sheriff Michael Johnson's plan to build an alternative custody campus, and future jail, on property near the Sacramento River in south Redding. Kelstrom supports an alternative campus, but he said the neighbors did not want it there.

"I had to inform the sheriff that I could no longer support the location … because my constituents made it pretty clear to me. Then the sheriff ended up pulling the plug a month later," Kelstrom said.

During a Sept. 14 candidates forum in Anderson, Kelstrom and Gallagher agreed that county health and fire face significant financial challenges.

For a time this year, county health considered furloughs to help save money. Instead, Health and Human Services Agency Director Christy Coleman told the Record Searchlight in July that her department had started using the county's voluntary time-off without pay program.

Kelstrom said at the September forum the county health has been impacted by unfunded mandates that are raising the cost to provide services.

The Big Beautiful Bill that Congress passed decreased the federal share of funds used to pay for CalFresh, resulting in a $1.2 million increase to the county, Coleman has said.

Kelstrom said at the September forum he wants to look for ways the county can bill differently to Medi-Cal and Medicaid to help save money. Approximately four of every 10 Shasta County residents receive Medi-Cal.

But Kelstrom added that at this point it might be better to look at cutting some services rather than "the county having to front more money to that department."

Gallagher at the September forum countered that Supervisor Plummer sounded the alarm about a year ago about the financial crisis facing county health but "they just kicked the can down the road."

"I think it's really important, moving forward, that, like we did in Anderson, when we knew there was a problem … to start having conversations, and that's the chair's responsibility," Gallagher said at the September forum, referring to Kelstrom's position as chair of the board. "There's leadership that says let's gather, have a conversation, it's going to be tough, it's not going to be fun, but you get after it. … That's how good solutions come forward."

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: Candidates say Shasta County District 5 race offers voters stark choice