A lawsuit filed by failed District 2 Shasta County Supervisor Candidate Laura Hobbs is dead in the water after being denied an appeal. Allen Long won 50.13% of the vote in March, meaning he avoided a runoff by getting more than half the ballots cast. Hobbs came in second in the four-way race with just over 19%. She alleged various misdeeds, but Hobbs case mostly focused on what they said was an error in not using the Secretary of State’s randomized alphabet, which placed Long’s name above Hobbs name on the ballot. There was apparently a randomized process, it just wasn’t the one designated by the state. Shasta County Superior Court Judge Stephen Baker threw the case out, saying Hobbs had a “profound” lack of evidence or credible expert witnesses for her case. He also scolded Hobbs’ lawyers for their “undignified and accusatory” questioning of acting Registrar Joanna Francescut during hours of cross-examination. Hobbs took the case to the Third District Court of Appeals, which dismissed it without hearing arguments.
-Steve Gibson