Tuesday’s Shasta County Supervisor’s meeting may include a heated discussion about replacing County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling-Allen. She’s taking early retirement due to health concerns, with nearly three years remaining in her term. The Board of Supervisors has the responsibility to appoint an interim replacement. Many observers believe the obvious choice for the appointment is Assistant Registrar Joanna Francescut, who’s been a key member of the department for more than 15 years and knows the ins and outs of the job better than anyone else. District 3 Supervisor Mary Rickert says Francescut is the only choice for the job. Rickert is on medical leave, so she won’t have vote in the appointment. District 2 Supervisor Tim Garmin also has full confidence in Francescut. There are doubts about whether the remaining board members will choose Francescut because of their continued unfounded criticism of the department. Patrick Jones and Kevin Crye have been cagey about the decision and have had recent public arguments with Francescut concerning election laws and ballot handling. The department has won lucrative national awards in recognition of its excellent record of accuracy.