Shasta County social media blew up in the last 24 hours with news that Reverge Anselmo gave a $4,900 campaign contribution to Baron Browning, a Shasta County District 5 candidate.
Sure enough, there it is in black and white: 3/14/2022 – Reverge Anselmo, Greenwich, CT, Retired, 4,900.
Anselmo’s campaign contribution has caused great disappointment and even outrage among those who see Anselmo as a wealthy villain who’s not only sued Shasta County, but seems out to destroy it.
Anselmo’s campaign contribution has also caused great confusion among ultra-conservative extremists on team RW&B, because they’re pushing their like-minded District candidates Colt Roberts and Chris Kelstrom.
Anselmo’s campaign contribution has even caused debate among Browning’s own campaign team between those who defend Browning’s acceptance of Anselmo’s money, and those who think it’s a terrible idea.
If you just woke up from a deep sleep, or just moved to Shasta County, Reverge Anselmo is the Conneticut son-of-a-billionaire who’s nursing a grudge with Shasta County over his bygone eastern Shasta County business that he left behind more than 15 years ago.
Connecticut son-of-a-billionaire Reverge Anselmo’s money has corrupted Shasta County politics.
Like a horror-movie scene where you breathe a sigh of relief in the mistaken belief that the bad guy is gone, Anselmo is back with a vengeance, seeking revenge upon Shasta County government. Money is no object. It’s his greatest weapon.
Anselmo’s half-a-million-dollar donation led to the success of a dirty recall campaign election that removed Leonard Moty from office.
Anselmo’s $100,000 gift to now-District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones’ 2020 campaign was the largest single individual campaign contribution in Shasta County history.
Anselmo is the man who vowed in a RW&B episode that he’d return to Shasta County if Shasta County Resource Management was gone.
Finally, Anselmo’s money helped fund Red, White and Blueprint, the organization that’s not just documented the recall that its leaders have endorsed since Day 1, but RW&B leaders have taken an active role in promoting fellow ultra-conservative candidates, lockstep with the group’s goal to “take back Shasta County,” a movement that has ripped the north state apart.
Side note, in a recent L.A. Times story, RW&B leader Carlos Zapata claimed that the recall campaign would have succeeded without Anselmo’s money.
Cue laugh track.
“Zapata, one of the most antagonistic leaders of the Shasta revolt, said he thought the recall would have succeeded even without Anselmo’s contributions — although he was very happy to have them. ‘The thing you have to understand is people are fed up,’ he said. ‘To think that a community needs a billionaire to fund this movement is completely disingenuous.'”
Let’s not quibble about Zapata’s understanding of the word disingenuous.
To take the money, or not take the money? That is the question
Here’s a sample of social media threads and comments that quickly piled up in just a few hours about Anselmo’s campaign donation to Browning, including a response from Browning:
• OMG. Supervisor District 5 Candidate BARON BROWNING took $4,900 in campaign funds from REVERGE ANSELMO.
• Are you going to give the $4,900 campaign contribution back to Reverge Anselmo?
• Browning’s response: “I see this as a chance to help stop the division in our county and move forward with stability and solutions that we all deserve and need.”
• Browning’s response that he can heal the division is laughable since Anselmo financed the DIVISION.
• The last thing we need is another Reverge Anselmo puppet. Please give the money back. Make a statement that you aren’t bought by the son-of-a-billionaire. If you don’t give the money back to Anselmo, you have lost all of your integrity.
• Wow – “a Reverge Anselmo puppet”?!
• Anselmo already has Jones and Garman. Browning needs to give the money back.
• I disagree. Unlike others whose names I need not mention, Baron has morals and principles and is NOBODY’S puppet. In case you haven’t noticed, he also has contributions from both Moty and Rickert and many others from the other side of Shasta County issues. Baron is definitely his own man and will continue to be.
• If Browning is his ‘own man’ why did he take campaign contributions from Reverge Anselmo? He could give any contribution back. Why hasn’t he?
• Why should he? Should he also give back the contributions from others on opposing sides of issues?
• Just how many candidates now are Anselmo and the Shasta General Purpose Committee supporting? Needless to say I take back any recommendation to vote or volunteer for him.
• It is a very bad idea for Browning to accept this money. Anselmo expects to buy his way into control of the county so he can wreck it. Jones and Garman have facilitated it so far, and Reverge will be seen as controlling Browning the same way.
• All due respect it’s hard not to make assumptions when Anselmo has made his goals of revenge on Shasta county crystal clear.
• I hope Baron Browning gives the money back to Reverge Anselmo. That is the only way for him to save even an ounce of respect.
• It seems that he has accepted it, since isn’t he or his campaign manager the one who completed and submitted the required contribution report. I would think if he did not want to appear to be beholden or connected with Anselmo, he would have returned the money right away…
• We were hoodwinked by Browning.
• Baron Browning you cannot be this naïve?!
A word from Baron Browning
Baron Browning, District 5 candidate.
Browning and I chatted this morning about the Anselmo donation. He referred to the response he posted on Facebook, which Browning said he stands by:
“I see this as a chance to help stop the division in our county and move forward with stability and solutions that we all deserve and need.”
Browning answered a few questions.
Did he know the money was coming?
No. The money came as a surprise.
Does he know Anselmo?
No. The men have never met.
Does he plan on keeping the money?
Yes. (See statement, above.)
Why?
Browning said that he’s accepting the Anselmo campaign contribution as he would almost any donation to his campaign. He believes that campaign contributions are an indication of the donor’s belief in a candidate’s record, goals, direction and all that he stands for.
Browning pointed out that this isn’t the first time he’s been under fire over a campaign donation. For example, early in his campaign Leonard Moty and Mary Rickert contributed to Browning’s campaign.
“Who gets to choose who gives and who doesn’t?” Browning asked. “Who gets to pick?”
Browning said he would rather talk about the work that needs to be done in Shasta County, a place he said he loves; a place he’d like to see move beyond all the anger and division.
About that division, State of Jefferson devotee Sally Rapoza, a Baugh supporter, is casting aspersions on Browning with false Facebook posts like this one:
For the record, Browning did not contribute to the Stand with Moty campaign.
Relationships matter
Browning is an enigma of a candidate with a colorful mix of supporters, many of whom are in stark political, philosophical and ideological contrast with one another.
Case in point, consider that current District 5 Supervisor Les Baugh, someone widely viewed as one of the county’s most destructive leaders, endorsed Browning as his replacement.
Likewise, Browning has the support of Trish Clarke, who’s deep into RW&B, and a rabid fan of Anselmo.
On the other hand, one look at Browning’s campaign Facebook page and it’s obvious he enjoys a cross-section of support from a wide variety of citizens, everyone from staunch conservatives to far-left progressives, and everything in between.
Cracked-pot theories
I pitched my cracked-pot theories to Browning: Start with the fact that it appears that at the moment, Browning is the District 5 favorite and frontrunner. He appeals to many as a rational conservative, someone who’s ethical; who truly wants to make Shasta County a better place.
What if Anselmo’s donation was a strategic way to damage Browning’s reputation? What if the donation was done strictly to foment confusion and dissent? What if Anselmo’s true motivation for his donation was to throw a stink bomb into what seemed (until recently) a so-far successful campaign?
Browning didn’t buy my cracked-pot theories. He described himself as a glass-half-full kind of guy who chooses to accept Anselmo’s money on the assumption that Anselmo must believe in Browning, or he wouldn’t have given his campaign the money.
When asked if he thought he was like Switzerland, Browning laughed and said no.
That’s a good thing. We’ve seen the Supervisor Joe-Chimenti fence-riding, please-everyone syndrome, where a leader who plays both sides ends up stuck in Siberia, mistrusted by both sides.
A lose-lose proposition
Browning’s in a tough situation. Just the fact that Anselmo gave money to Browning’s campaign has already stirred up doubts among many people about Browning. This is true even if Browning returns the money, because the appearances and implications of Anselmo’s gift beg many questions: Are Anselmo’s Shasta County followers courting Browning; hedging their bets to be on the right side of Browning in the event he wins the District 5 election? Is Browning keeping the money to curry favor with the extremist crowd?
One random detail is the fact that the Anselmo property is located in District 5, a fact that causes some people to wonder whether Anselmo gave Browning the money to grease the skids in the future, if Anselmo makes good on his promise and does return.
The risks are greater for Browning if he keeps the money. Anselmo’s money has already done irreparable damage to Browning’s campaign, and instilled mistrust in Browning. Some people have already withdrawn their support for him. I heard one person today say that they would like the money returned that they gave to Browning.
For Anselmo the millionaire, $4,900 is mere chump change. In the scheme of things, $4,900 won’t bring much to a campaign table, but from the wrong donor, it can cause a lot of trouble.
I must be a glass-half-empty gal. I don’t buy any assumption that Anselmo’s campaign contribution was given with pure intentions, sans strings attached.
Instead, I believe Anselmo’s money was chum thrown into Shasta County’s already murky campaign waters to trigger a feeding frenzy of speculation and destruction.
And if that turns out to be true, then the best we can do is not take the bait.
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