Letter to the Editor

Editor’s Note: The following is the full text of a letter emailed to the Shasta County Board of Supervisors by Redding resident Bruce Russell on June 19, 2026. Mr. Russell has given Shasta Unfiltered permission to publish it as a Letter to the Editor. It addresses the Board’s 4–0 vote on June 16 to refuse to defend Measure B, which passed with 55.6% of the vote. Honorable Supervisors, Your 4–0 vote on June 16, 2026, refusing to defend Measure B — a measure passed by 55.6% of Shasta County...

A heightened level of tyranny has surfaced at the Shasta County Board of Supervisors (BOS) meetings. Chair Kelstrom, and by omission, the remainder of the Board, showed their personal disdain and contempt for the people who want transparency and desire to participate in local government affairs. The meeting was eerily reminiscent of the last two months of Leonard Moty's term in office as Chair before his removal by recall.

I'm writing this after watching a very well-produced movie, based on real events, portraying a portion of the Vietnam War. The movie reminds me of the sacrifice, suffering, and lives lost that US military members and their families experienced in the name of attempting to preserve individual freedom. By extension, I'm also reminded of the U.S. Founders' sacrifices as well.

Happily sweeping a huge pile of dirt under a rug, versus dramatically hyperfocusing on a small dirt spot OPINION I guess it’s perfectly acceptable for the prior Assistant Registrar of Voters (ROV) on the last day of ballot tabulation to tell election observers that ballot counting was finished, escort them out the door at 5 p.m., and then continue counting newly discovered ballots until 9:30 p.m. with no citizen observers present. I guess it’s fine for that same Assistant ROV to give a false...

This is a free community event on April 25, 2026, at 11 a.m. Limited number of seats. Painting is free, all supplies will be provided. Drinks are available for purchase at the bar. Proceeds will benefit the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

We have two candidates for supervisor running single-issue campaigns—election integrity. While this issue is honorable, is this the best use of time and energy, given that the board appears to have spent about 2% of its time over the past 4 years on this issue? Are these candidates willing to spend 98% of their time working on the issues of the larger government and managing an almost 7-million-dollar budget? There are over 20 distinct functional areas or departments in the county government...

An attorney named Jane Doe recently filed a felonious lawsuit trying to block due process of the lawful act by ten thousand citizens to put a measure on the ballot requiring voter ID. The Save Act on the federal level, and the Voter ID on the state level are similar measures in process. Polls show at least 80% of the US population know that thirty million undocumented illegal noncitizens have already diluted their vote. Illegals obtain felonious ID’s from the DMV and free perks that they don’t