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Tricks, Lies and Videotapes: Supervisor Kevin Crye Unfit for Office; Worthy of Recall

District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye. Photo by Mike Chapman for A News Cafe.

If you believe that District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye is a conservative victim targeted by liberals who want Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom to replace Crye with a flaming liberal snowflake, then I have some bad news for you:  You’ve been tricked. Crye has fooled you.

Lie-based anti-recall-Kevin Crye flyer

Crye’s lies aplenty

Being a fool and being fooled are two different things. One is not preventable; the other is.

With that in mind, it’s understandable that some people were fooled by Crye’s load of malarkey about Newsom. After all, Crye continues to spread his Newsom lies all over radio, TV, podcasts and flyers.

To quote Vladislav Davidzon, a long-departed thorn in the county’s side, if you repeat a lie enough times people will believe it.

Vladislav Davidzon

Crye appears to have adopted Davidzon’s strategy, coupled with a recent doubling down where Crye’s now telling those who’ve signed recall petitions that they’ve been lied to; and therefore, they may retract their signatures.

That’s rich: Lie. Then lie again to claim lies about the people exposing the lies.

Crye doesn’t want you to know that the recall group has beseeched Newsom to stay out of this recall process, complete with a letter asking just that in no uncertain terms.

Crye’s deceitful political propaganda has tricked gullible people into swallowing the lie that the Kevin Crye recall is all about Newsom.

The Kevin Crye recall has nothing to do with Newsom. The Kevin Crye recall has everything to do with Crye being unfit for office.

I am not a member of the Recall Kevin Crye group. However, I know several people who are. I am not aware of a single person who wants to recall Crye solely so Newsom can appoint a liberal replacement. Not one. In fact, it’s fair to say there are people in this disparate Recall Kevin Crye group who can’t stand Newsom.

To those who’ve been fooled, please know that the Kevin Crye recall is all about Kevin Crye, a one-man human wrecking ball who’s destroying Shasta County government. He’s done so much damage in such a short amount of time (five months) that it’s imperative he be removed asap, while we still have some semblance of county government left.

Crye the schmoozing campaigner

Former candidate Kevin Crye at Red, White and Blueprint debate, shown in its docuseries

Last year many Shasta County District 1 voters fell for then-candidate Kevin Crye as he stepped up to the lectern at a board of supervisors meeting, introduced himself and announced his intention to run for office.

A political newcomer who described himself as an outsider, Cyre was on his best behavior as he courted North State residents with smiles and all-American boyish charm as he spouted dog-whistle buzz words: Coach. Husband. Father. Christian. Faith. Family. Country. Local.

Pass the artificial apple pie.

While campaigning, Crye described himself as a fiscal conservative who’d bring unity and healing to the county, terms that are laughable now. As it turns out, those words are exactly the opposite of what Crye’s done since he took office in January. If anything, he’s proved himself to be a master divider who’s left destruction and instability in his wake.

However, lately it appears that Crye’s updated master plan has more to do with his ego-fueled political aspirations, which includes making a name for himself as a ultra-conservative upcoming political star, and less about serving Shasta County and its people.

Crye preaches about how he believes in all things local, yet he’s taken his message on the road far and wide outside Shasta County. When he appeared as a speaker at a Freedom Festival in Fresno, Crye’s hero-patriot reputation had obviously preceded him, because the crowd greeted him with a standing ovation before he’d even spoken a word.

Generally, his spin could be summarized in this No On Crye Recall ad:

“Liberal Democrats couldn’t win at the ballot box last year, so now they are trying to take control of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors by mounting an illegitimate recall effort against newly elected Kevin Crye, Shasta County Supervisor, District 1.

A successful recall would mean Governor Newsom gets to pick the next Shasta County Supervisor. We cannot let that happen!”

That entire statement is a lie, and Crye knows it. “Liberal Democrats who lost?”  What the heck? In the November election, Crye won over Erin Resner, a Republican, in the District 1 race. Chris Kelstrom won over Baron Browning, a Republican, in the District 5 race. Crye knows very well that here in Shasta County Democrat candidates are as rare as Bernie Sanders bumper stickers.

Speech after speech, Crye, who often quotes scripture and refers to his Christianity and his relationship with Christ, speaks passionately of things he knows are flat-out lies.

What would Jesus do? Not lie.

When Crye makes statements he obviously knows are false, such as the Pinocchio-whopper that he’s under attack for being a conservative, one can only wonder whether he’s praying for forgiveness later, or if the Christianity is just another façade.

Cyre’s been interviewed by some of the most widely discredited ultra-conservative hand-count fanatics in the country, such as Linda Rantz, Clint Curtis, Alex Haberbush and Mike Netter. So far, he’s invited all but Netter to Shasta County. So much for Crye’s claim to be all about local.

And, of course, there’s Crye’s relationship with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, something that included not just a county-funded flight to see Lindell in person about something we’re still unaware, but the two men communicated back and forth, sometimes even during board meetings. Maybe they still do.

Those outsiders mentioned above? Crye has opened the door for a flood of out-of-state election meddlers.

 

One golden wrinkle to Crye’s special appearances and interviews with far-flung political personalities and rural shindigs is he’s turned those events into lucrative fundraising opportunities for him to ostensibly help fight the liberals who hate him because he’s a conservative and loves God, family and country. There’s no telling how much money Crye’s raked in from these fibbing gigs.

Crye knows what he’s doing. He knows that much of what he says are lies — right down to the part where he claims outside money is funding the recall. He fails to mention that he resides in one of the most conservative counties in California, a place where a majority of voters selected Trump, and wholeheartedly embraced Newsom’s potential recall. This is the land of rodeos, militias, hunting, fishing, boating and pickups, and Crye knows it.

Crye’s negative influence

According to confidential county insiders, Crye’s partly responsible for the departure of some top county staff members; dedicated employees who’ve fled their county jobs rather than stay and endure the negative changes Crye has wrought upon the county.

Some of the claims mentioned by county employees who spoke on the condition of confidentiality describe Crye as a bully; someone who behaves especially inappropriately with women, someone who monopolizes county department heads’ increasingly scarce time. They say Crye is confrontational, combative, sarcastic and argumentative. They say he’s made the county workplace so intolerable that many employees would rather jump ship than remain aboard with Crye on deck.

Still, not only does Crye fail to accept responsibility for the correlation between the exodus of employees and his abhorrent behavior, but he’s the master of turning things around to point the fault elsewhere.

For example, during the last supervisors meeting, District 3 Supervisor Rickert listed, as she does at nearly every meeting these days, the loss of quality county employees who are leaving, which puts the county at grave risk of collapse, and even danger, in the case of losing ambulance services in part of her rural district.

A short while later, Crye stepped onto his well-worn soapbox where he insinuated in a sanctimonious scolding tone that to mention the reality of the county’s current alarming conditions is somehow a slam upon new CEO David Rickert (no relation to Supervisor Rickert).

Crye’s statement seemed scripted; a sloppy one-two punch of simultaneously sucking up to CEO Rickert while putting down Supervisor Rickert. 

Oh, say can you see the red flags?

As with all toxic, abusive relationships, there were red flags aplenty from the start with regard to then-candidate Crye. He uttered one of his earliest campaign-related lies during the public comment period at a Shasta County Board of Supervisors meeting. Actually, make that two lies, which later blossomed into three.

During that 3-minute speech, Crye said he lived in former Supervisor Joe Chimenti’s District 1. Next, Crye said he campaigned for Chimenti. Finally, in later public statements, Crye expounded upon Lies No. 1 and 2 by claiming he and Chimenti were friends.

Those were supremely dumb lies, because they’re easily confirmed, which is exactly what A News Cafe did when we reached out to Chimenti for clarification. First, Chimenti said Crye never worked on his campaign. Second, Chimenti said the two men were not — are not — friends.

Ouch.

If a person could lie about where he lives, for whom he campaigned, and friendships — compounded by lying, knowing you’re being recorded — then he could lie about just about anything.

Precisely.

Returning to Crye’s lie about his true original residence, former TV reporter Courtney Kreider asked Crye about this very thing during an interview at his Ninja gym business.

Kevin Crye sits inside his Ninja business during an interview with Courtney Kreider. Photo source: Facebook screen grab.

It’s a stunning snippet of video to behold as Crye blatantly lies, despite knowing the interview was videotaped and would be viewed by many people, including Crye’s non-friend Joe Chimenti, for whom Crye did not campaign, in a district in which Crye didn’t live, until he moved his family from his wife’s District-4 dream home and crammed them all into a District 1 townhouse.

Speaking of non-friends, Crye has also stated numerous times that Republican Representative Doug LaMalfa is in support of Crye. To add credibility to this statement, Crye posted a photo on social media of LaMalfa and Crye; supposed proof of their close relationship.

Once again, A News Cafe checked out Crye’s claims; specifically whether LaMalfa is pro-Crye/anti-Kevin Crye recall.

Here’s the response from Mark Spannagel, LaMalfa’s chief of staff, written as if he’d misunderstood the original question:

“Congressman LaMalfa opposes allowing Gavin Newsom appointing [sic] anyone, especially in Northern California,” Spannagel texted back.

Huh?

I replied to Spannagel, “Newsom is another topic. My question was if Rep. Doug LaMalfa is, as Crye claims, in support of Crye and is standing behind him in opposition to this attempted recall?”

Guess what Spannagel said? Nothing.

Cue crickets.

Hell no

In a similar scenario, A News Cafe spoke with a well-known Redding Republican elected leader, someone with sights set on higher political positions, who requested I not use their name. When asked for their thoughts about the Kevin Crye recall, the person delivered an extemporaneous civics lesson about the public’s right to recall whomever they wished. It’s the American way.

So I reframed the question: Do you support Kevin Crye?

The Republican politician responded with a hearty laugh before replying, “Hell no!”

Fond of flights to visit millionaires for no particular reason

Connecticut son-of-a-billionaire Reverge Anselmo has donated more than $1 million to local conservative causes.

Another early campaign red flag had to do with a trip Crye took to visit with Reverge Anselmo, the son-of-a-billionaire outsider who funded a slate of hard-right candidates most likely to cooperate with Anselmo’s mission to enact revenge against Shasta County. It was because of Anselmo’s money that the lie-based dirty recall succeeded against former District 2 Supervisor Leonard Moty.

For a grasp of the contrast between two Shasta County recalls, and just how crooked the Moty recall was, and how clueless its supporters were, watch this (poorly produced) Facebook Live video from January, 2022. I selected these people at random. Person after person failed to present one good reason for Moty’s recall. Some people didn’t know their district or their supervisor, or even why exactly they were waving “Recall Moty” placards.

But back to Crye’s infatuation with millionaires. Watch the video below to view how Crye explained to Kreider his trip to see Anselmo, a response that was short on common sense, considering Crye first said he couldn’t afford to eat at Anselmo’s former restaurant, but then said he’d spent more than $800 of his own money to fly out to chat with Anselmo.

Fast forward to Crye’s present-day attempt to fight a possible recall, and note the small print on his current flyers that include this sentence: “Paid for by the Water Users Committee.”

Guess who was originally affiliated with the Water Users Committee? Reverge Anselmo. What a coincidence.

Not.

What makes Crye tick: tricks

We’ve addressed many of Crye’s lies, so let’s move on to new information.

What makes Crye’s behavior extra troubling is that he seems to genuinely believe he’s literally called by God to climb the political ladder to a lofty elected position.

In a perfect world, Crye would step down as supervisor, and skip off into the sunset to pursue those ambitious political dreams, and never darken Shasta County’s borders again. Good riddance.

An interview filmed by a pastor back in February 2020 gives tremendous insight about Crye; what makes him tick, his ethics – or lack thereof – and how he thinks. Listen to how Crye responds to the pastor’s inquires about Crye’s success and achievements.

Hear how Crye brags about a story that outlines how he won a game in high school by cheating, something that caused his coach to make a prediction about Crye’s future.

What’s especially chilling about these two clips is that Crye seems unaware that an authentic ethical person (or someone attempting to impersonate an ethical person) would never boast about an episode in which he didn’t just cheat (and win) at a school capture-the-flag game, but brag that he enlisted the help of an innocent school janitor named Richard to pull off his scheme.

As Crye recounts this story about how he cleverly cheated his way to a win, the pastor laughs, as does the audience.

Can I have an amen for Christian values?

Here are some especially stunning excerpts from both video clips:

“I didn’t want to get tagged, but obviously the game is to get to the end, and really just felt like, ‘I gotta get there. I know I can win. I just have to think about how …’ and I walked up and just touched the tree and celebrate, and the seniors are having to do calisthenics, and my coach, Tim Klaiber says, ‘You’re either going to sell cars for a living, or you’re going to rule the world.’ “

And therein lies the problem: Crye behaves as if his despicable actions are justified because he truly believes he’s destined for political greatness, and worthy of ruling the world, and nothing’s getting in his way. It appears he doesn’t give two squirts about Shasta County, and whether it lives or dies. He appears to have one interest: Kevin Crye. Hence his schmaltzy, slickly produced itty-bitty documentary, Kevin Crye — The Inspiring Road to Victory, in a style similar to Olympic video clips about gold-medal winning athletes.

Once again, Crye is clueless. He seems oblivious to the delusional optics of creating a victory video before he achieved diddlysquat on his road to nowhere except trouble.

But back to Crye’s I-cheated-and-I’m-proud interview with the happy pastor:

“And it was in that moment, I think back to it because I was always thinking about entrepreneurially doing different things, or how to get out of class or how I can get the smartest group of students in my class, where we have a big project to do and I would do the one thing that was the least amount of work, but I would still get the best grade — always thinking about how to work those angles.”

There it is in living color: Crye uses smart, hardworking people to help him achieve his grandiose goals. People are nothing but part of his supply to get what he wants.

Always thinking about how to work those angles … 

Here’s my challenge for Crye supporters: Watch those two short video clips, then read these two excerpts and tell me you still believe Crye is a good, honest man; someone worthy of being entrusted with Shasta County’s best interests.

Selective responses

Dist. 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye.

Early on in his time as supervisor Crye demonstrated his tendency to answer some speakers’ questions, but not others. You may recall videos that illustrate the glaring contrast between how he responded to Jeff Gorder and Nathan Blaze, proving that Crye calls his own shots when it comes to responding from the dais or remaining silent.

That’s why, when regular commenter Nick Gardner, a staunch Crye-defender, approached the lectern to stick up for Crye, Gardner unwittingly opened a can of worms with a question Crye clearly did not want to answer. Crye’s silence spoke volumes. It suggested that yes, Lindell had given Crye money after all.

Raise your hand if you’re surprised.

Proud papa Patrick’s puppets

To hear Chair Jones say it, Kelstrom and Crye are good little puppets who do what Jones wants, which is a lot lately, what with Jones’ Second Amendment resolution, and his shooting-range concept, a lifelong desire that centers around raising big pigs for big hunts.

During a recent Patriot State of Mind podcast, Jones gloated like a proud papa as he described the ways in which his boys –District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom and Crye — were toeing the line and doing what he asks.

District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones was a recent guest on a Patriot State of Mind podcast. As is typical, guns are on the table near unworn headphones.

It was almost as if Jones was the dictator, and Kelstrom and Crye were his loyal subjects.

By the way, that part when Jones laughs and says they’ve had an exciting week? He’s referring to the previous Board of Supervisors meeting where Jones kicked out Nathan Blaze for “disrupting” the meeting by yelling when a speaker spew the N-word while looking in Blaze’s direction.

Despite Jones’ assertions that he’s the guy in charge of the board, Crye has earned the moniker kick-the-can-Crye for his habit of derailing vote proceedings, supposedly so he can “research” and learn more. Thus was the case with Jones’ postponed Second Amendment resolution, in which Crye threw a monkey wrench via an abstention.

The look on Kelstrom’s face said everything there was to know about how he felt about Crye’s turn-coat actions at that moment.

District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom

A similar situation happened when the topic arose about funding extra staff to work with Shasta County’s eventual hand-counted elections. Shasta County Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen had described how those workers couldn’t be volunteers, but rather, they must be paid by the county.

With that, Kelstrom made a motion to fund those hand-counters, which Jones seconded. But when it came to a vote, Crye said no.

That’s the thing with Crye. He’s a loose cannon who doesn’t like to read thick board packets, someone who tries to impersonate a maverick, when in reality he’s an obstructionist Crye in the government ointment.

Even Kelstrom and Jones are in the dark about Crye. From meeting to meeting they have no clue whether Crye will be a team player, or someone who throws foul balls that benefit Crye.

One of the biggest missteps Crye made as a new supervisor was when he joined forces with fellow supervisors Kelstrom and Jones to cancel the Dominion Electronic Voting Systems. Massive mistake, no doubt about it. However, Crye is particularly unfit for office for myriad other other reasons, many of which have already been covered.

Hey ho, Crye’s gotta go

After five nightmarish months with Supervisor Kevin Crye on the dais, the bad news is that the county is in the worst shape ever. The good news is we are so much wiser.

Every day that Crye remains in office is one more day of his negative influence upon Shasta County.

Every day that Crye remains in office means more demeaning, disrespectful, sarcastic language for female county colleagues, especially the lone woman on the board, District 3 Supervisor Mary Rickert.

Every day that Crye remains in office means more bullied and browbeaten county department heads who don’t agree with Crye.

Every day that Crye remains in office means continued intimidation for District 1 county employees who would like to sign the recall petition, but don’t dare because they’re terrified of retribution, should Crye find out.

Every day that Crye remains in office means the county suffers more days with an egotistical supervisor inflicted with a nasty case of arrested development who thinks it’s OK to charge the county for the installation of his Pac-Man arcade machine in his office, and a trip to Minnesota to visit MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, whose addiction story was one of the few specific points Crye mentioned about his county-funded visit.

Crye is special, and by special, I mean he’s a menace to Shasta County as an elected official.

In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find an elected leader more deserving of recall than District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye. If truth and justice prevails; if enlightened District 1 voters see through Crye’s lies and recognize his grifting, bullying, self-serving slippery behavior, enough signatures will be gathered on petitions for a special November recall election. Then, come March’s regular election, District 1 voters can select a replacement supervisor to fill Crye’s empty seat.

Of course, that’s assuming Shasta County voters have a functioning elections system when we need it most.

Buckle up, Shasta County. If Crye is recalled, the best is yet to come.

Click here for more information about the Kevin Crye recall.

Editor’s note: Revisions were made at 9:38 a.m. on July 1 for corrections and clarity.

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If you appreciate journalist Doni Chamberlain’s reporting and commentary, please consider a contribution to A News Cafe. Thank you.

Doni Chamberlain

Independent online journalist Doni Chamberlain founded A News Cafe in 2007 with her son, Joe Domke. Chamberlain holds a Bachelor's Degree in journalism from CSU, Chico. She's an award-winning newspaper opinion columnist, feature and food writer recognized by the Associated Press, the California Newspaper Publishers Association and E.W. Scripps. She's been featured and quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Washington Post, L.A. Times, Slate, Bloomberg News and on CNN, KQED and KPFA. She lives in Redding, California.

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