Cathy Darling Allen. Photo by AlyssaAnnMedia.
Cathy Darling Allen’s recent recognition as an “Unsung Hero of Democracy” shows the tremendous legacy she’s left in her wake as the former Shasta County clerk and registrar of voters.
Accolades from Darling Allen’s friends and colleagues – stretching coast to coast from Sacramento to Washington, D.C. – contrasts sharply with the disrespectful treatment she received from the conspiracy-fueled majority on the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and like-minded audience members.
In this article, Darling Allen talks about the illustrious honor, challenges she’s faced in the latter part of her more than 20-year career in the Elections Department, and a new endeavor in politics.
Meanwhile, several observers didn’t mince words for the extremist county leaders who continue to make Shasta County a national laughing stock.
Advancing the cause of democracy
Darling Allen began working in the county’s Election Department in 2003 before being appointed as clerk and ROV in 2004. She was first elected in 2006 and went on to win the next four clerk elections.
In the 2022 election, Darling Allen was returned to office with an overwhelming 68.4 percent of the vote, demonstrating the voters’ trust in her.
Last month, the American Bar Association Task Force for American Democracy named Darling Allen as one of five election officials nationwide who “advanced the cause of protecting American democracy across the nation.”
In all, the ABA recognized 22 individuals and organizations as “Unsung Heroes of Democracy.”
“Faced with unprecedented threats,” the ABA said Darling Allen and her fellow winners stood on the front lines of the democratic process to ensure “convenient, secure, accurate and safe elections.”
Those compliments no doubt will fall on the deaf ears of the far-right board majority of Supervisors Kevin Crye, Patrick Jones and Chris Kelstrom, who led the charge to remove Dominion Voting Systems over unfounded claims of election fraud. The trio parroted claims, beginning with former president Donald Trump, of elections being rigged.
The county later contracted with Hart InterCivic for its vote-counting machines.
Darling Allen, 55, retired for health reasons when her doctor told her she had to cut down on the stress she dealt with every day at work.
The havoc that Darling Allen endured took its toll. She retired on May 4, temporarily passing on duties to assistant Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut until Thomas Toller Toller was appointed.
Darling Allen wound up in the hospital the Saturday after Thanksgiving and was diagnosed with heart failure. Part of the treatment plan was stress reduction.
In her place, the board majority chose Toller to serve out Darling Allen’s term through 2026. Toller, a semi-retired Redding attorney, was not the unanimous choice and has never run an election.
Of course the logical choice would’ve been Francescut, Darling Allen’s deputy, who was favored by the board minority of Supervisors Mary Rickert and Tim Garman.
Supports women in office
Darling Allen said in an interview with A News Cafe that she was very humbled by the ABA recognition. The award was presented Aug. 2 in Chicago, but Darling Allen wasn’t there in person to receive it.
Darling Allen was quick to point out the recognition should be shared with the elections office staff.
“Nobody does this work alone. Every county department has a whole team of folks,” she said. “I think the Elections Department team is the best team in the county, of course.”
Darling Allen numerous times defended attacks on her elections office and steadfastly rejected claims of ballot counting being rigged.
“Locally, the board majority has multiple times called into question election results they don’t like, but when they won, those elections were just fine,” Darling Allen said.
“So we have this kind of culture questioning the process when you don’t like the outcome. And that is frankly, un-American,” she said. “It’s not patriotic. It’s exactly the opposite in my mind.”
She said unfounded allegations of ballot fraud by the board and their supporters were “really destructive statements.”
“I can’t count the number of times that Patrick Jones asked me how I was going to regain trust in elections. Well, I didn’t break trust with the voters,” Darling Allen said. “No one in my office ever broke trust with the voters. He did.”
“I really resent how the word patriot has been taken over by a group of people who aren’t patriots,” she added.
Darling Allen said she’s feeling better these days and is able to spend more time with family. She’s also branched out to serve on the fundraising campaign for Rose Penelope Yee, a Democrat who’s running against Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale.
While the county clerk position and registrar of voters is a nonpartisan office, Darling Allen belongs to the Democrat Party.
“I hope that electing more women to office is something that happens this November. Rose, of course, for us locally and then really looking forward to President (Kamala) Harris in November,” she said.
“Now I get to say that out loud and I don’t have to be neutral because I’m not the election official anymore.”
Widespread respect
One activity that Darling Allen wants to continue is her work with the Sacramento-based California Voter Foundation, where she serves as chair of the board.
Kim Alexander, the foundation’s president and a founder, has worked with Darling Allen on California election policies for over 10 years. She says the ABA award shows the nationwide respect for the former county official.
Kim Alexander is president of the California Voter Foundation. (Courtesy of Kim Alexander)
“There are people all over this country who respect her and admire her and appreciate her, and they come from all political parties and all walks of life because they see in her the dedication and the commitment to the voters that she has demonstrated for over 20 years in public service,” Alexander said.
Alexander has seen from afar the hostile political environment encouraged by the Board of Supervisors majority.
“It’s been upsetting. It’s upsetting to a lot of people to see someone who’s such a faithful public servant to be treated with so much disrespect by the political leaders in her community.
“An award like this really helps underscore the fact that there’s a larger world of people who care about democracy outside of Shasta County and want people to know that she truly is an unsung hero and that she has made a huge contribution and sacrifice for the sake of U.S. elections,” Alexander said.
She said Darling Allen was an innovator on a number of nationwide election issues.
Alexander gives credit to Darling Allen for allowing voters to bring in their vote-by-mail ballots and have them scanned and counted on the spot when the county had the Dominion system.
“Cathy innovated that in Shasta which a lot of your voters took advantage of and appreciated. It’s something that voters who aren’t fond of vote-by-mail really like having that option of being able to just go and turn in their ballot, not wonder if their signature will get verified, not have to wait to find out if it got counted, but have that satisfaction of getting your vote counted on the spot,” Alexander said.
She said that innovation for Shasta County later became a state law so other counties could adopt it too.
“Now there’s at least a dozen counties in the state that are providing that same service,” she said.
Alexander added that Darling Allen also pushed for using geographic information systems (GIS) more effectively in the elections office.
Alexander said among other accomplishments was Darling Allen’s work to develop and lead a statewide project to determine how much each county was spending on elections.
“I know it sounds kind of wonky, but if you don’t know what the election costs are, it’s hard to tell lawmakers they need to give you more money,” Alexander said.
She also complimented Darling Allen for always trying to make elections better – added work that not every public servant would embrace.
“Sometimes, you know, people in civil service jobs don’t want to do more than they have to. And that was not Cathy. She was always helping out, always innovating, always trying things that might make the office more efficient,” Alexander said. “You just don’t see that every day.”
Manufactured controversies
The person who nominated Darling Allen for the Unsung Heroes award was David Becker, executive director and a founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research based in Washington, D.C.
He’s also on the ABA Task Force for Democracy that nominated Darling Allen and someone who’s been working in elections for 25 years.
“Over that time, I’ve gotten to know Cathy and her work even before the stresses and the controversies that were manufactured in Shasta County,” he said.
Becker said Darling Allen is well-known throughout California and nationally as a model election worker.
“We’ve loved her all these years,” he said.
David Becker is the executive director and co-founder of the Center for Election Innovation & Research. (Courtesy of the Center for Election Innovation & Research)
Becker said the harassment, abuse and threats surrounding Shasta County’s elections took their toll.
“Cathy absorbed most of that and protected her staff for that whole time while also running really great elections,” he said.
Becker, a Californian, said he earned both his undergrad and law degrees at UC Berkeley and is a member of the California Bar. He says he talks to elections officials in the state all the time.
“What was happening in Shasta County was a real tragedy because the reality is Shasta County has some of the most secure, transparent, verifiable elections anywhere, not just in California and the country, but the world.
“They have some of the most professional election workers anywhere. And yet lies were spread about those professionals, those public servants for almost four years,” Becker said.
He said he was at a California clerks meeting in Southern California recently where they hold up Darling Allen as an example.
“People are still talking about her. They get emotional about her bravery,” he said. “And, I mean, because election officials shouldn’t have to be brave.”
“But in Shasta County, whether it’s Cathy or her deputy, Joanna, there needed to be a certain level of courage just to stand up to the baseless attacks every single day,” Becker said.
He hopes the “new hire” (Tom Toller) does a good job.
“When you hire someone who has zero experience or understanding of election administration four months before a presidential election, that’s not a recipe for success,” he said.
If the November elections go smoothly in Shasta County, Becker said that’ll be due to the professional staff who stayed on despite the challenges and attacks.
A News Cafe left a message at the elections office for Toller, but he didn’t respond.
Award is ‘capstone to career’
Jeff Gorder, a frequent critic of the Board of Supervisors majority, said Darling Allen’s award is a fitting tribute.
“The American Bar Association is probably the world’s largest organization of legal professionals … so it’s a very prestigious organization,” he said.
He said the task force’s leaders include well-known Judge J. Michael Luttig, who testified at the Jan. 6 hearing before Congress. The other co-chair is Jeh Charles Johnson, the former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
“(Darling Allen) was one of the many elections officials that, I think, stood out over the last few years because they were facing unprecedented threats. And they were on the front lines making sure that elections went forward safely, securely and accurately despite all the threats,” Gorder said.
Gorder, a retired Shasta County public defender, noted how the ABA is highly regarded in the legal community – one that accredits law schools and rates federal judges when they’re nominated.
“It’s a very prestigious organization and for Cathy to be given this award is a capstone to an amazing career,” Gorder said.
Another award winner from Redding
Another local supporter of Darling Allen is Eddie McAllister, a community organizer who just won a national award himself.
The National Education Association bestowed its Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award to McAllister for being “a true pillar of justice, embodying the spirit and values of (King) in all his work.”
McAllister says he doesn’t know Darling Allen personally, but is well aware of her from local news and helping congressional candidate Yee in her campaign.
Eddie McAllister of Redding is a community organizer who won a national honor himself called the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award from the National Education Association. (Photo by Mike Chapman)
McAllister said he sees a connection with Darling Allen because, like her, he promotes causes without seeking recognition.
“The way I relate is – it’s kind of like the expression ‘dance like nobody’s watching,’” he said. “I’m just doing my thing, standing up for civil rights and social justice … and never really knew anybody was watching me.”
Darling Allen said her award came from out of the blue, just like McAllister’s experience.
“That’s how I relate to her. We both received a prestigious award – doing what we could, what comes natural, you know,” McAllister said.
Protecting voice of the people
Another local supporter is Lynn Fritz, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Redding.
She says Darling Allen’s award is well-deserved for her years of service.
“She has been dedicated to the integrity of the election process for over 20 years in Shasta County, ensuring the democratic process has been kept in place protecting the will and voice of the people,” Fritz said.
Lynn Fritz of Redding, a licensed marriage and family therapist, said Darling Allen’s Unsung Heroes of Democracy Award is well-deserved. (Photo by Mike Chapman)
Fritz recently spoke with Darling Allen on her community radio program on KKRN 88.5 FM, a collaboration with Enjoy Magazine.
Fritz described to A News Cafe how Darling Allen “endured public criticism and threats, staying the course and maintaining high ethical standards for the elections department.”
Fritz said she respects and admires the former clerk for what she has accomplished.
“Her retirement and departure from the Elections Department for health reasons is a gravely sad loss for the voters of Shasta County,” Fritz said.
All the testimonials far and wide following Darling Allen’s exit from the Shasta County Elections Department reminds one of a song lyric by Joni Mitchell:
“Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone.”
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