Supervisor Leonard Moty of District 2 has been named chair of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors for the new year. He will replace District 1 Supervisor Joe Chimenti.
Supervisor Moty's nomination was contentious, as he is currently facing a recall effort. Early voting for the recall election opened Monday, and the election date is set for Feb. 1.
District 3 Supervisor Mary Rickert was named vice-chair. Both votes were split 3-2, with supervisors Patrick Henry Jones and Les Baugh voting no.
Supervisor Moty addressed Supervisor Chimenti before the vote, thanking him for his service during a tumultuous year.
"With the pandemic and everything that has been going on, this is probably not the kind of year that you wish it could have been," He said. "You stepped up and did what you needed to do to get us through a really tough year."
Proponents of recalling Supervisor Moty had also attempted to launch a recall election against Supervisors Rickert and Chimenti. However, according to the County Clerk's Office, they did not gather enough signatures to do so.
Proponents of recalling the three supervisors have claimed they did not do enough to push back against the state’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Should Supervisor Moty be successfully recalled, it will be up to the board to fill the vacancy. According to the Shasta County Clerk and Registrar of Voters, they could allow the vice chair to assume the duties, or vote for a new chairperson.