Gubernatorial Hopefuls Present Policy Plans to Redding Voters
- Elisa Ballard
- Jan 18
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 19
Five gubernatorial hopefuls gathered in Redding on January 15 to discuss election integrity, faith, and California’s future. Hosted by Kim Yeater and Dr. Douglas G. Frank, the event gave local voters a rare chance to hear directly from conservative candidates ahead of the June primary.
Yeater, the host of the “Take Your Power Back Show”, has over 24 years of experience coaching business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs, often with an emphasis on faith, leadership, and empowerment. Dr. Frank has been traveling around the country, visiting election offices, analyzing voting statistics, and offering to assist registrars of voters on how to make elections more secure. His background is as a physicist with 60 peer-reviewed scientific publications, a chemist, mathematician, author, inventor, science consultant, computer builder, and teacher.
The candidate forum was held at Faith Community Church in Redding and was open to the public. Yeater took turns with Dr. Frank asking the candidates questions that were submitted by the audience. Each candidate was given a couple of minutes to respond, and all five candidates had the opportunity to respond to each question.
High Stakes for Right-Leaning Voters
Forums like this are critically important due to California’s “jungle primary”. Since only the top two vote getters will advance, regardless of party affiliation, all the conservative candidates could get eliminated before the general election in November.
If conservative candidates don’t consolidate behind one or two front runners, their votes may be split, making it more likely that two Democrats advance to the general election. That outcome would leave conservative and independent voters without a real choice for governor.
Issues Discussed
A variety of issues were discussed. Governmental issues included election integrity, corruption, over-regulation, water resource management, and the erosion of our constitutional rights. Social issues included empowerment, faith and values, homelessness, Marxist ideology infiltration of our schools, and child trafficking. Local economic issues dealt with energy, affordability, and support for farmers.
The Five Candidates:
Lewis Herms is an independent candidate with a focus on restoring personal freedoms, protecting individual rights, and implementing creative solutions to the state's challenges. At the forum in Redding, Lewis stated that child sex slavery is what is motivating him to get involved in the election. He says he is working hard to expose this multi-billion-dollar industry in California and has done documentaries on it. He alleged that Child Protective Services is trafficking children and stated that if you could invest $2,500 into households to buy food and other necessities, 90% of the children would be able to stay home with their parents rather than being placed into the foster system. More can be found on his website: www.HermsForCali.com.
Scott Shields is a 65-year-old Republican candidate and practicing attorney who emphasizes reclaiming the promise of America for California through strong leadership on opportunity, safety, and economic revival. At the forum, Shields positioned himself as a MAGA and MAHA candidate who wants to prioritize peace and health. Shields stated that we need to address the spiritual problem we have in this country, which is an indoctrination into the atheist/Marxist ideology that has infected our institutions, and this is causing people to lie, cheat, and steal. He believes that the Chinese bankers are controlling the unions, the legislature, and business leaders. He also stated that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is working hard to bring ethics back to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. Shields’ website is www.shields4governor.com.
David Collenberg is a 44-year-old Republican candidate and fifth-generation California farmer and father of six from Siskiyou County, running a grassroots campaign. He is a self-described non-politician who has “worked the land, felt the struggles of droughts, weathered economic uncertainties, and celebrated the bounty of this great state.” Collenberg draws on his real-world experiences to connect with voters frustrated by broken systems. His platform prioritizes slashing regulatory red tape to help farmers and says that rural Northern California is not getting talked about enough. Learn more at www.collenberg26.com.
Leo Zacky is a Republican businessman and former executive in the family-owned Zacky Farms poultry enterprise. He is running to protect the state from what he calls destructive liberal progressive policies. Zacky leverages his agricultural and entrepreneurial background to champion farmers, families, and economic growth. Through an active voter outreach—including interviews and conservative events—he focuses on reducing over-regulation (such as fast-food wage mandates), fighting decay in communities, and delivering strong, unapologetic leadership to revive California's prosperity. Zacky stated at the forum that at one time, Zacky Farms had 4,000 employees, the largest private employer in California, but said the company “got wiped out here due to bad legislation.” He wants to build bridges in Sacramento and work across the aisle to solve problems. He said we need to break up the energy monopolies that are causing our electricity rates to be too high. He says he is investing in a graphene battery company because these new batteries are more powerful than lithium-ion batteries and noncombustible. Learn more at www.leozacky.com.
Coby Marcum identifies as a man of faith, centrist constitutionalist, and America First advocate with multiple degrees:
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
Master of Science in Management from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
Master of Arts in U.S. National Security from the Institute of World Politics, Washington, D.C.
Master of Arts in Cybersecurity and Information Management from the George Washington University, Washington D.C.
MBA from Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA
Marcum’s profession is listed on his website as an entrepreneur and business owner operating as a remodeling contractor. His campaign ad stresses strict adherence to the U.S. Constitution, federal law, and foundational California principles to fix the state's challenges. At the forum, Marcum said “God has blessed me with an extremely powerful brain and 19 years ago, God put it on me to serve others.” He also stated we need to capture more water by building new reservoirs and increase the redundancy of the electric grid. Go to his website to learn more: www.cobyjmarcum.com.
The candidates displayed considerable camaraderie with no apparent animosity or rivalry. They were respectful and displayed considerable agreement on several issues. Some expressed a willingness to have other candidates on their new administration team, should they win the gubernatorial election. However, when a member of the audience asked whether any of the candidates would consider dropping out for a position in a front runner’s administration, none stated that they would be willing to voluntarily narrow the field.
If You Missed this Debate:
To view the video that Kim Yeater posted of the Redding forum, go to:
Upcoming Debate:
There will be a gubernatorial debate co-hosted by KTVU FOX 2 (Bay Area) and KTTV FOX 11 (Los Angeles) at the Bayview Opera House in San Francisco on February 3, 2026, from 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Confirmed participants include Antonio Villaraigosa (D), Betty Yee (D), Eric Swalwell (D), Steve Hilton (R), and Tom Steyer (D).
Sources: sfgate.com, Ballotpedia.org, ktvu.com
