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Candidate Corkey Harmon’s Campaign is Riddled with Contradictions, Questionable Connections, Characters

So many questions.

Who is Corkey Forest Harmon, and why exactly does he want to become Shasta County’s next District 3 Supervisor? Who is supporting Harmon’s campaign, and how do they benefit if Harmon wins?

Clear answers have become increasingly murky with each month. Time, facts, investigations and observations have revealed that Harmon — the seemingly non-controversial political novice — has strong ties with some of Shasta County’s most extreme far-right political players. 

Harmon’s initial campaign positions have fluctuated greatly from between the time when Harmon first filed his intention to run for office in December 2023 — days before the filing deadline — to as recently as a Sept. 28 Get Out the Vote event in Redding.

First impressions

Harmon, a 64-year-old Palo Cedro resident, exudes an aw-shucks, Grampa Corkey persona of a down-home country guy who favors plaid shirts, cowboy hats, baseball caps and boots. Many folks describe Harmon as an uncomplicated “nice guy”.

In Harmon’s commercials, he insists Shasta County is in need of conservative values, as if politically blood-red Shasta County is overrun by liberals. For the record, when it comes to conservatism, although Shasta County Board of Supervisors seats are supposed to be non-partisan, looking back more than 65 years and roughly three dozen supervisors since the mid ’50s, all were Republicans, with just a handful of Democrats.

Former District 3 Supervisor Francie Sullivan of Redding, who served on the board from 1989 to 1997, was one of those rare Democrats. She bristles at the term “conservative”.

Former Shasta County District 3 Supervisor Francie Sullivan

“Many confuse being a Republican with being conservative,” Sullivan said in recent phone conversation.

“What is conservative about the members of our Board of Supervisors who want to spend a million dollars promoting Shasta County, when similar programs are already funded by the state, the city and the private sector? What is the conservative explanation of the millions spent hiring their friends to replace well-qualified professional staff? And spending tax payers money to fly across the country to visit a discredited pillow salesman? Translate that money to library books, or law enforcement!”

God, country, family

Candidate Harmon concedes that public speaking isn’t his strong suit, and he’s not wrong about that. In a cringe-worthy moment during a spring candidates forum, an obviously uncomfortable Harmon read aloud for the audience the list of attributes his wife had written about him, as a reply to the moderator’s request for Harmon to tell about himself.

“You are fair-minded, as in common sense, looking at a situation or issue from all points of view, and coming up with the most efficient way to make forward progress,” Harmon read from his wife’s list. “A troubleshooter, so to speak.”

Harmon’s speeches are studded with verbal stumbles, bumbles and admissions of ignorance regarding key campaign issues. Harmon makes frequent faith-based references. He proudly describes his red-blooded trifecta of American values: God, country and family, and how Jesus is his Lord and savior. Candidate Harmon’s image is more polished in his professionally produced political commercial ads, where he assures voters he’s running for office to improve Shasta County and protect citizens’ “God-given rights and rural way of life”.

Early on in his campaign, when asked why he was running for office, Harmon explained that he wanted his grandkids to say things like, “I wonder what Grandpa is up to today?”

When asked to name a hero, Harmon said, “I could never make my hero anybody but my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And if we’re gonna talk, and if you don’t understand that, you need to research that.”

Harmon’s competition

District 3 Supervisor Mary Rickert.

Harmon is challenging two-term District 3 Supervisor incumbent Mary Rickert. She and her husband Jim Rickert are life-long ranchers, and deeply involved in several agriculture-related businesses. During more than 50 years as a Shasta County resident, Rickert has dedicated hundreds of thousands of hours to everything from promoting programs that assist those who suffer from mental illness, domestic violence, hunger and homelessness, to championing causes that benefit agriculture, education, fire safety/prevention and environmental issues.

Rickert is a devout Catholic, staunch Republican, and ardent supporter of the 2nd Amendment. For what it’s worth, she and her husband own three full gun cabinets. These details are relevant because North State extremists — including her board majority supervisor colleagues — call her a RINO – Republican in Name Only. Starting after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, compounded by state-mandated COVID requirements, she’s suffered death threats, doxing, insults, ridicule and attempted intimidation.

No wonder that originally, Rickert, who believes in term limits, hadn’t planned to seek re-election for a third term. She’d hoped a sane conservative District 3 supervisor candidate with a solid, well-respected reputation would come forward, campaign and win. Then Rickert could retire, travel, spend time with family and tend to her ranch, cattle and therapeutic burn piles.

Rancher Mary Rickert at home on her range.

She put out feelers in search for her level-headed replacement, but every rational potential candidate took a pass. Apparently, sane potential candidates were unwilling to suffer the kind of verbal and mental abuse endured by Rickert and others, like award-winning former Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen, forced to retire early after the sudden onset of a serious heart condition.

When Rickert got wind that Win Carpenter was going to run for District 3, Rickert filed her papers to run for re-election.

The contrasts between Harmon and Rickert are staggering. Rickert is one of the only remaining county employees in a leadership position with the vast institutional knowledge she possess. She has local, state and national connections. She’s educated, articulate and informed. She does her homework, which is why she’s up to speed with ready answers during forums on topics that Harmon should have known about, if he’d read and researched board packets.

At a recent candidate’s forum between Harmon and Rickert, Harmon struggled with answers. When asked about proposed Measures P and Q, he admitted suffering from a “deer in the headlights” moment when he couldn’t give an answer. He said Mary was at an advantage, because she’d been a supervisor for two terms. This was a weak response since proposed Measures P and Q had been discussed in Board of Supervisors meetings Harmon had attended.

Video courtesy of Thought You Should Know Shasta County/Anonymous Participant.

“I’m a little behind here, because I know Mary’s been in this job for two terms,” he said. “Please don’t be critical of me not knowing all the little details. I’ll learn all the little details.”

Could November deliver Harmon a win-lose situation?

Harmon owns three construction-related Shasta County businesses, Stimpel Wiebelhaus and White Rock Trucking and Mountain Gate Quarry. During his many years as the owner of all three businesses, he’s bid on and has been awarded several million dollars worth of Shasta County contracts.

If Harmon were to win in November, rules outlined in Government Codes, such as 109o — could see Harmon losing potential income from the loss of Shasta County contracts, prohibited during his 4-year supervisor term.

It’s not as if the question regarding potential conflicts of interest — between Corkey Harmon who bids on county jobs and Corkey Harmon the possible county supervisor — is new to Harmon. This issue arose when he ran for office nearly 15 years ago.

What’s noteworthy about this seemingly important detail is that Harmon’s been asked about potential contract conflicts before, but he seems unbothered at the prospect of possibly losing millions of dollars in county contracts for construction-related projects. Even after the March primary, when Harmon learned he and Rickert would face off in the November election, Harmon proceeded with his Stimpel Wiebelhaus company’s bid for the Cove Road project worth $4 million project, which was recently approved by the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Rickert recused herself from the vote because Harmon is her political opponent.

According to a citizen who spoke during one public comment period, after the board approved a vote that favored a Harmon construction project, the speaker said he witnessed Harmon pause at the chambers’ back doors before leaving, where Harmon touched his hand to his head with a smile and a nod to the dais.

Harmon may seem nonplussed now about about any possible conflicts of interest pertaining to his construction businesses, but the Fair Political Practices Commission takes these matters seriously. The FPPC frowns upon “an officer or employee from entering into or participating in making contracts in which they have a financial interest,” which would be the case if Harmon became supervisor, and his business bid on county construction contracts.  An FPPC pamphlet spells out details pertaining to the conflict of interest prohibitions. According to the FPPC, “No public official may make, participate in making or in any way use or attempt to use his/her official position to influence a governmental decision in which he/she knows or has reason to know he/she has a financial interest.”

In the event Harmon were to become supervisor, even if he recused himself from votes that involved his companies, that still wouldn’t be enough, because the County cannot enter into contract with any business a supervisor owned, and if the county does it anyway, it’s considered criminal and voids any contracts. Basically, not only would Harmon face legal liability, but so could the county. Plus, it’s possible that any county contracts Harmon received while running for office could also be voided under the concept of “self-dealings”.

A News Cafe reached out to County Counsel Joseph Larmour with questions and for clarification on this matter, and was told he does not give “legal advice”.

That’s fine. Who needs him?

Here’s an excerpt of what the government says about scenarios just like Harmon’s: Government Code Section 1090 prohibits an officer, employee, or agency from participating in making government contracts in which the official or employee within the agency has a financial interest. Section 1090 applies to virtually all state and local officers, employees, and multimember bodies, whether elected or appointed, at both the state and local level.

Making a contract includes final approval of the agreement, as well as involvement in preliminary discussion, planning, negotiation, and solicitation of bids.”

Perhaps Harmon believes he will jump off that bridge when he gets to it.

Connecting the dots

Corkey Forest Harmon has lived under the radar for most of his life as a hard-working family man. The first time Harmon appeared in the public limelight was in 2010, when he ran for Shasta County District 5 Supervisor, with a promise to do business “the cowboy way”.

In a 2010 interview with Free Fire Radio’s Carl and Linda Bott he told about himself, and why he wanted to be a Shasta County supervisor.

“I’ve got nothing in my background that  — I think it’s silly when people step up and do something like this here, and then they got all kinds of things that get dragged out of the closet, you know?” he said.

“I’m not sitting here telling you I’m a perfect man and I’ve got wings on my back or nothing like that. But I am a working man.”

He lost the election to Les Baugh.

In 2010, the last time Harmon ran for office, he lived in District 5. Since then, redistricting placed Harmon in District 3, which he says was just one of several signs from God that he should run for supervisor again.

Harmon’s name didn’t publicly materialize again until 2021, when he was linked with extremist organization Red, White and Blueprint as the host of the group’s first fundraiser, “Patriots at Harmon Ranch”.

Carlos Zapata is Red, White and Blueprint’s co-founder, and was the emcee for Patriots at Harmon Ranch. The event was a sold-out success.

The Patriots at Harmon Ranch fundraiser was attended by hundreds of people who supported the mission of the Red, White and Blueprint docuseries: that Shasta County becomes a “blueprint” role model for the rest of the country to follow with regard to fighting for freedom and bucking the government.

Front and center, dressed in frontier garb, District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones and his wife attend the Patriots at Harmon Ranch fundraiser.

The next year Harmon Ranch was in the news again. This time Harmon Ranch was the location of Nathan Mendes’ daughter’s wedding, where Mendes was alleged to have assaulted a woman, reported to have been his new son-in-law’s relative.

Mendes, who works in law enforcement, and Zapata, who works with bulls in Palo Cedro and owns a Red Bluff restaurant, are friends and former Marines. They’ve been longtime business colleagues whose past ventures include operating a jiu-jitsu studio and investing in a Florida strip club.

Each have been featured extensively on A News Cafe.

Top: Nathan Mendes (left) and Carlos Zapata (right) in their U.S. Marine Corps uniforms; Bottom: Mendes and Zapata posing in their jiu-jitsu outfits and appearing in an advertisement for their martial arts courses.

Corkey Harmon: Yes/No on the Wind Turbines

The proposed Fountain Wind project is a pivotal issue in Shasta County, and perhaps one of the few topics upon which all five Shasta County Supervisors agree: They’re against it, and against the state for trying to force the project upon a county that doesn’t want it. Supervisor Mary Rickert in particular has pushed hard against the state’s desire to allow the Fountain Wind project in Shasta County.

Since this latest round of campaigning, Harmon has claimed that he — like the other supervisors — also opposes the Fountain Wind project. However, that statement is in direct contrast to what he said at a Board of Supervisors meeting some years back, when the subject was first addressed.

“We’re hopin’ you’ll approve this project,” Harmon said. “If I lived in Round Mountain, I’d like to see this project.”

Board majority members ‘desperately’ want Harmon to win

Harmon is unabashedly favored by Shasta County’s board majority members, District 1 Supervisor/chair Kevin Crye, District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones and District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom.

Although all three supervisors express open dislike of Supervisor Rickert, Jones and Crye have been particularly cruel in their treatment of Rickert in board of supervisor meetings during which they interrupt, ignore, dismiss, disrespect, ridicule and mock her.

Worse yet, according to District 1 Supervisor Tim Garman, the board majority’s verbal mistreatment and hostility toward Supervisor Rickert pales in comparison to how she and Garman are verbally mistreated by the board majority during closed session meetings.

Clearly, they want Harmon to replace Rickert.

During one supervisors meeting, when Crye was particularly incensed by something Rickert said, an irate Crye spoke directly to Harmon in the audience, encouraging Harmon to create a campaign against Rickert, using her own words against her.

For some time it has appeared as if Crye is grooming Harmon as a future supervisors. In one interview, when Harmon was asked if he had connections with Supervisor Crye, Harmon said no, but he admitted he did receive calls from Crye who made suggestions about what Harmon should do and where Harmon should go.

For example, Harmon accepted Crye’s invitation to join Crye and CEO David Rickert (no relation to Supervisor Rickert) at a meeting in eastern Shasta County just miles from Supervisor Rickert’s home. The men were there to hear a presentation by Shasta Chamber of Commerce, one of Crye’s pet organizations. Shasta Chamber of Commerce is co-operated by Crye’s friend and sometimes-business partner Nigel Skeet, whose name appears on the Kevin Crye: The Inspiring Road to Victory film.

Regarding that meeting, Crye did not invite Supervisor Rickert to join them.

On at least one occasion, Harmon has attended a Coffee with Kevin session outside a Redding coffee shop with his companion Bruce Anderson, a Crye developer friend.

District 3 Supervisor candidate Corkey Harmon, left, and his companion Bruce Anderson listen to District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye hold court during a Coffee With Kevin session. Photo by Doni Chamberlain

More recently, on Sept. 28, Supervisor Kelstrom introduced Harmon at a Republican Get Out the Vote event in Lake Redding Park, where such select conservatives as Richard Gallardo, Supervisor Crye, Tenessa Audette, Leslie Sawyer, Mark Mezzano and Dr. Paul Dhanuka were invited to speak.

The poster advertised a Shasta County Get Out the Vote event, a time to get “inpired” and hear “canidates” including school board “canidates”. No up to date list of canidates was ever supplied on Shasta County Get out the Vote Facebook page.

Supervisors Jones and Crye were there, too, and heard Kelstrom speak of their “friend” Harmon.

“Speaking of boards, the next candidate, Kevin and I need on this board very desperately,” Kelstrom said. “So my friend, Corkey Harmon, he’s running for District 3, and I need this man on the left hand side of me soon.”

For the record, the left hand chair on the dais beside Kelstrom is currently occupied by Supervisor Mary Rickert.

After Kelstrom’s effusive introduction, Harmon spoke. Although Harmon said he brought notes to keep him from “telling stories” — which got a chuckle from the crowd — the notes didn’t improve the flow and/or focus of Harmon’s speech. He praised “Arthur” (Authur) and Katie Gorman, one of Shasta County’s most far-right couples, and described them as “walking encyclopedias” – which seemed a case of mistaken identity in light of Authur’s pre-event video. Then, Harmon dove down an oratory rabbit hole with a message that seemed more fitting for someone running for a Little House on the Prairie school board than a Shasta County Supervisor. Harmon spoke of how his grandkids call him “Poppy” and how, at first, his wife didn’t want him to run, but he said he had to, and how he’s a humble man, and if your fear is of God, then you’ll be a humble man.

Toward the end of Harmon’s speech, back on track with his notes, Harmon frowned, got serious and went on the defensive against those who say Harmon lacks experience as a county supervisor. To prove his point, he turned the noun “supervisor” into the verb “supervised”. Presto, suddenly, Harmon was a supervisor!

“They say, ‘well, he doesn’t have experiences to be a supervisor,’ ” Harmon said. “Absolutely not true … I’ve supervised; supervised projects, supervised crews.”

Shasta County Board majority: Happy about Harmon

A peculiar little tale circulated through the North State soon after Harmon declared his candidacy. According to someone who heard the story directly from Harmon, an extremely outraged District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones called Harmon, gave him an earful, and cussed him out, complete with f-bombs. Why? Because Harmon was running for office.

At the time, it was Win Carpenter who was being promoted by Jones and the other far-right extremists. Carpenter is a State of Jefferson secessionist devotee who co-hosts conservative radio show Jefferson State of Mine, with State of Jefferson leader Terry Rapoza.

Carpenter lost in the spring primary.

And then there were two: Harmon and Rickert.

From top left, State of Jefferson devotees Win Carpenter and Sally Rapoza, Win Carpenter and Terry Rapoza at an SOJ Rally; Win Carpenter joins Terry and Sally Rapoza, then-District 4 candidate Supervisor Patrick Jones and others at a Jones campaign rally.

It’s likely that the truth behind the tale of when Jones supposedly cussed out Harmon was created as a rumor ruse to get tongues wagging with the message that Jones disliked Harmon. What’s closer to the truth is that Jones would have been delighted with Harmon or Carpenter, because either would serve the purpose as an election spoiler to divide the votes and make it less like for Rickert to win the 50 plus 1 percent of votes necessary to avoid a runoff. That’s exactly what happened.

This political spoiler trick works especially well when a single candidate runs against two similar candidates — Tweedledee and Tweedledum, for instance. Because if Tweedledee comes in last in the primary election, then it’s a safe bet that those who voted for loser Tweedledee would shift their general election votes to Tweedledum, Tweedledee’s twin.

But Jones’ mad-at-Corkery ruse was impossible to maintain, as their positive feelings for one another were obvious to anyone with eyes (and a camera) at board meetings.

The look of like: Supervisor Patrick Jones grins at candidate Corkey Harmon during a break in a recent Shasta County Board of Supervisors meeting. Photo by Doni Chamberlain.

What’s in a hat?

Before Zapata and his co-producers conceived of the idea of Red White and Blueprint, Zapata gained national fame for his 2020 rant during a Shasta County Board of Supervisors meeting at the start of the pandemic.

Zapata’s 3-minutes of fame went viral, and over the months he became increasingly popular and in demand for interviews. He was sought after by reporters from all over the world. Often, when interviewed, he wore caps that bore the name of one of Harmon’s businesses: Stimpel Wielbelhaus Associates. For example, in one VICE TV episode, he wore a cap embroidered with Stimpel-Wiebelhaus Associates.

Zapata wore the same Stimpel-Wiebelhaus Associates hat in a CNN interview.

Carlos Zapata and Kyung Lah in CNN’S “Perilous Politics”

Zapata also wore the Stimpel-Wiebelhaus Associates hat when appearing at some Shasta County Board of Supervisors meetings.

Carlos Zapata and Jeremy Edwardson, producers of Red, White and Blueprint.

Finally, Zapata wore the Stimpel-Wiebelhaus Associates hat in Red, White and Blueprint episodes.

Red, White & Blueprint co-founder Carlos Zapata.

Devil’s advocate, if hat logos are so meaningless, how likely would it be that Zapata would be photographed or filmed wearing a Rickert Ranch hat?

Harmon’s business hats aside, Zapata wore a cowboy hat when he and his wife attended a Corkey Harmon fundraiser.

District 3 Supervisor candidate Corkey Harmon speaks with Red, White and Blueprint co-founder Carlos Zapata at a Harmon fundraiser.

Harmon’s far-right connections

Six months after Harmon declared his run for office, there’s considerable evidence that Harmon is not free of affiliations. Contrary to his claims, he is not everyone’s candidate. Consider small examples, such as when Harmon didn’t respond to media interview invitations from Shasta Unmasked, which meant Rickert participated in the interview without him. Likewise, he ignored two Q&A opportunities on A News Cafe, which meant Rickert didn’t have to share a post with Harmon. However, Harmon sings like a canary for conservative radio and Mountain Top Media interviews.

While Harmon hasn’t openly admitted affiliations with the board majority trio, they’ve openly expressed their support and approval of him. If Harmon is not affiliated with the far-right, why would Kelstrom say that he and chair Crye “very desperately” need “friend” Harmon on the board with them? How do Kelstrom and Crye anticipate Harmon will vote to guarantee reaching their board-majority goals?

Harmon’s relationships and connections with Red, White and Blueprint, Zapata, Mendes and the Shasta County board majority bear watching. It’s noteworthy that Supervisor Crye’s wife has given thumbs ups on Harmon-related Facebook posts. It’s concerning that some of Shasta County’s most far-right extremists are rooting for Harmon, such as Richard Gallardo, and “Savn Liberty” (militia leader Jesse Lane).

Pay close attention to the fact that Harmon is endorsed by the Shasta County Republican Assembly, described on its Facebook page as the “true conservative arm” of the Republican Party: “We take to heart the words “We the People … We believe in Inalienable Rights, Right to Bear Arms, Decentralized Government, Sanctity of Life, The Free Enterprise System, a Strong National Defense…and more.”

To gauge the SCRA’s level of extremism, in addition to endorsing Harmon, the Shasta County Republican Assembly has also endorsed such current candidates as Dr. Paul Dhanuka and Mark Mezzano, and such former candidates as Bob Holsinger, Laura Hobbs, Kevin Crye, Patrick Jones and Win Carpenter.

Shasta County’s stability depends upon District 3 Supervisor race

Just as Crye, Jones and Kelstrom have not concealed their disdain for Rickert, they have not concealed their delight at the prospect of Harmon on the board. If elected, Harmon could help continue the hard-right majority’s mission, and compensate for the upcoming December departure of Jones, who was soundly beaten by challenger Matt Plummer in the March primary.

And that’s why the battle for the District 3 seat is arguably the most important election race in Shasta County. If Rickert wins, the extremist board majority’s destructive stronghold would immediately be reduced to a minority of two: Crye and Kelstrom. Then, with the pair of incoming rational Republican supervisors – Allen Long of District 1, and Matt Plummer of District 4 — arriving in January, Shasta County could finally be free at last free at last of Crye’s authoritarian control over Shasta County, the blood-letting of good employees, and the overthrow of stable government. Then, with cooler, wiser heads prevailing, Super Supervisors Rickert, Long and Plummer could come to the rescue, and reverse some of the most damaging decisions made by Crye, Kelstrom and Jones.

Crye and Kelstrom would have to just sit there and take it, rendered toothless and impotent on the long, limp losing end of perpetual 3-2 votes. With any luck, they’d both resign.

However, if Harmon wins, Crye and Kelstrom have obvious expectations that Harmon will not only step in where Jones leaves off, but once again, Crye will be the board majority puppeteer, with his loyal puppets, Kelstrom and Harmon, doing whatever Crye wants.

Shasta County needs more Mary, and less scary. Shasta County cannot heal unless Mary Rickert wins. If Mary Rickert wins, we all win.

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Thank you to the wonderful, loyal subscribers who demonstrate their appreciation for Doni Chamberlain’s investigative reporting and election coverage by contributing to this locally owned, locally interested media site.

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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