Here in Shasta County, sometimes we just don’t realize how good we’ve had it.

From the boarded up and shuttered restaurant row on K Street in downtown Sacramento, to the $100 local fine for not wearing a mask, whether inside or outside in the Monterey area, to the strictly-enforced, stay-at-home orders in Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area, if you traveled nearly anywhere within California during the past two years, you likely saw a much different approach to enforcement of government mandates related to COVID-19.

The unemployment rate in Shasta County has been lower than that of the State of California EVERY SINGLE MONTH since April of 2020. Our local elected officials decision to enforce state-mandated business closures through education likely helped this be the case. In fact, I had fellow Chamber CEOs in California’s urban centers reach out to me wondering how we were able to convince the public sector to support commerce when the common practice throughout the state was to force businesses to remain closed.

When the Redding Chamber asked the Shasta County Supervisors for a portion of the CARES Act funds to be utilized for business grants, they appropriated $4 million dollars, which is exactly what was requested. Nearly 500 businesses throughout the county can thank the Supervisors for saying “yes”. I have little doubt that had we been able to justify $6 million or $8 million, they likely would have approved that request as well.

Could you imagine sitting in the seat of a local County Supervisor during a global pandemic? Your left ear is being filled with data on cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, some of whom may be your friends, neighbors, and family. At the same time your right ear is filled with the pleas of local business owners, urging you to not make matters worse by destroying the livelihoods of them and their employees.

No matter what you do, you are going to have people screaming at you during public comment at meetings – for hours each week. It is an impossible situation.

Considering all of this, Supervisor Leonard Moty has used his connections within the State to advocate for Shasta County’s businesses and citizens, at one point convincing top public health officials in Sacramento to improve our status in the tier system (remember the colored tiers?). He has navigated the pandemic with balance and courage and certainly does not deserve to be recalled.

Jake Mangas
President & CEO