Days after the U.S. Supreme Court made a decision some worry could lead to a mass purge of valid voters ahead of the midterm election, Alissia Northrup sought to allay any concerns Del Norte County voters may have.
Though she hasn’t received guidance from the California Secretary of State as of Tuesday, the county clerk, who was elected to her fourth term in June, says she can’t start kicking people off the voter roles this close to an election.
Still, with her office set to start mailing out ballots in less than a week, Northrup acknowledged that voting is fraught this year. Mentioning worries people have about the U.S. Postal Service potentially rejecting their ballots — gleaned from articles on the Internet earlier — she urged people to call or visit her office.
Updated at 7:17 p.m. to correct an error, John Pritchett graduated from Redmond High School in 1979.
John Pritchett’s work as Del Norte High School’s family engagement liaison stood him in good stead with three members of the local school board who appointed him to Don McArthur’s old seat.
Pritchett, a 1987 Del Norte High School graduate a 1979 graduate of Redmond High School in Oregon, fielded questions from trustees Michael Greer, Charlaine Mazzei and Abbie Crist at an 8 a.m. meeting Tuesday.
Pointing out that for many families, generations have gone through Del Norte public schools, Pritchett said he viewed the Del Norte County Unified School District Board of Trustees as a conduit to the community.
School board officials are set to meet Tuesday morning to discuss appointing John Pritchett to the vacant Trustee Area 1 position.
The meeting will be held at 8 a.m. at the Del Norte County Unified School District office, 301 W. Washington Boulevard. Trustees will interview Pritchett for the position, which has been vacant since Don McArthur retired in July. If he is appointed, Pritchett will serve through the end of the position’s current term which ends in December, according to DNUSD Director of Communications Michael Hawkins.
Pritchett was general manager for Del Norte Ambulance for about 20 years and had been the editor of the Daily Triplicate before that. He is the announcer for the Del Norte High School football and basketball games on KPOD and is a member of the Del Norte Fair Board and Sutter Coast Hospital Board of Directors.
Thumbnail photo: Del Norte County’s Veterans Memorial Hall was used as a polling place during the June primary. | File photo by Monique Camarena
A slew of director and trustee positions are still available for candidates who want to help shape policy concerning local water use, fire protection and the education of Del Norte County’s youth.
The filing period for two of the three seats up for grabs on the Del Norte County Unified School District Board of Trustees has been extended until 5 p.m. Wednesday. The incumbents in both the Trustee Area 1 and Trustee Area 5 seats did not file their election paperwork by Friday’s deadline.
So far, two candidates — Briannon Fraley and Ron Bates — have filed election papers for the Trustee Area 5 seat that represents Klamath and communities south and east of Crescent City. Incumbent Michael Greer is seeking the California State Assembly District 2 seat currently held by Chris Rogers and is not seeking another term on the DNUSD Board.
Thumbnail photo: The Veterans Memorial Hall served as one of the polling places for the June 2 Primary Election. | Photo by Monique Camarena
Chris Howard said he was ready for the “next leg of the adventure” after final election night results were posted Tuesday, though he lamented at the low voter turnout.
As the evening wound to a close, the Del Norte County District 3 supervisor was ahead of his challenger Lupe Gutierrez based on early results the Del Norte County Elections Office posted at about 9:50 p.m.
County Clerk Recorder Alissia Northrup and her staff will spend the week processing ballots, but Howard is already looking toward his fourth term.
Thumbnail photo: Del Norte County elections staff began a live-stream as they processed on Monday. | Screenshot
Chris Howard received donations from big local names as he seeks to keep his District 3 seat on the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors.
Howard, who’s running against retired educator Lupe Gutierrez, boasts four-figure donations from Nick and Lisa Rail, Green Diamond Resource Company and Adam Goldstein, an entrepreneur from Burbank who moved to Crescent City.
The amount of the donations Gutierrez received between March 1 and April 23 pales in comparison to her opponent. However, she has spent $6,634.76 in literature, campaign paraphernalia and research, according to her California Form 460.
Congressional candidates Tim Geist and Paul Saulsbury and Assembly candidate Michael Greer fielded questions from Redwood Voice producers Monique Camarena and Aisling Bludworth on April 23. | Photos by Jessica Cejnar Andrews
Michael Greer’s confident that Del Norte will vote for him — they have in the past and things haven’t changed, he says.
The Republican candidate for California’s Assembly District 2 is not only the current Trustee Area 5 representative on the Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees, he ran against incumbent Chris Rogers two years ago. Though he lost the district in November 2024, Greer received more votes in Del Norte County than his opponent. Greer said that Del Norte County voters know when he says he’ll do something, he’ll deliver.
“I’m a doer,” he said. “If I have something going through legislation, I’m going to push it and I’m going to do it until I get it done. It’s that simple.”
Del Norte County District 3 Supervisor candidates Chris Howard and Lupe Gutierrez sat down with Redwood Voice youth producers Monique Camarena and Aisling Bludworth for an evening conversation last week. | Photos by Jessica Cejnar Andrews
Lupe Gutierrez said she was surprised when people urged her to run for the District 3 supervisor seat.
They were adamant that it shouldn’t go unopposed, she said, which is why she’s challenging incumbent Chris Howard. She says she’s got the character to take on the job and one of her goals is to urge more youth to participate in the government process.
“I’m so disappointed when I look at the demographics and I see that they, the ages of 18 to 45, just don’t participate as much as the older people do,” Gutierrez said. “And sometimes I wonder about that and I know they’re disenchanted. I would really love to bring them back into the government so they can be effective in their own decisions because right now other people are making their decisions for them.”
Del Norte County voters will cast a ballot for two contested local races on June 2.
Incumbents Chris Howard and Joey Borges will each face challenges to their District 3 and District 4 seats on the Board of Supervisors, County Clerk-Recorder Alissia Northrup told Redwood Voice Community News.
The deadline to submit election paperwork was 5 p.m. Friday.
Image courtesy of County of Del Norte, California Facebook page
Voters still have options for weighing in on Proposition 50 if they haven’t dropped their ballot in the mail already.
With only one choice before voters in the statewide special election Tuesday, Del Norte County Clerk-Recorder Alissia Northrup said she has consolidated polling places for the county’s 19 precincts. If people are still not sure where to go, they can visit the Del Norte County Elections Office at 981 H Street, Suite 160 in Crescent City, Northrup said.
For precincts Nos. 1, 2 and 3, the polling place is the Del Norte County Courthouse, 450 H Street in Crescent City.
