City Council members discussed what they would do to replace Michael Dacquisto, who retired late last month. The remaining two years of his term will be filled during the Presidential election in November. But, the now four-person body is eager to fill the seat in the interim to avoid a divided council.
Their wishes go against those of newly-retired Dacquisto, who spoke at the meeting to urge council members to leave the seat open. He said if someone is appointed, they鈥檇 have a head-start if they decided to run for the seat.
鈥淎nd I don't think it's fair to give that advantage to somebody, as an incumbent, by making an appointment,鈥� he said.
Who fills this seat in Redding is consequential because of what some see as a concerning trend of local officials having connections to two prominent churches in the city.
Dacquisto is a vocal critic of what he's called, 鈥�,鈥� referencing the Redding megachurch that some worry has outsized influence in the city as one of its largest employers. Redding Mayor Tenessa Audette is a member of Bethel, along with Council Members Jack Munns and Julie Winter.
Member Mark Mezzano said they should appoint someone with prior council experience. He said he heard from five or six others that wanted to be considered for the job.
鈥淲ell, you're not qualified at this point,鈥� he said about those that reached out. 鈥淵eah, you're a great person, and you're gonna do a great job. But we need somebody that can hit the ground running.鈥�
Council Member Winter agreed that the interim replacement should be a former council member. She brought forward Erin Resner, a former council member who left to run for Shasta County supervisor in 2022. Resner confirmed via text to Mezzano during the meeting that if appointed, she would run to finish out the remaining two years of Daquisto鈥檚 term.
Mezzano suggested Kristen Schreder, another former council member, whom he said has no interest in running for the open seat in November.
Mezzano clashed with Mayor Audette, who wanted instead to appoint Joshua Johnson, who previously ran for the position two years ago.
Johnson, a real estate development business owner in Redding, came to the council meeting along with a number of supporters to ask for the appointment.
He said since losing the election to the council, he鈥檚 pursued other opportunities to serve in Redding, including his recent controversial appointment to the planning commission.
鈥淚t's a position I sought for years before I even ran for city council,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淏ecause I have a deep interest in planning. But, ultimately my heart has always been to be on this council one day.鈥�
According to the , Johnson and the CEO of Bethel Media, David Steine, were appointed instead of two existing members on the commission who stated they were interested in staying on. Dacquisto was concerned it鈥檚 part of an effort to appoint Bethel-affiliated members to the commission that will support their goals.
Johnson, while not a member of Bethel, that he attends The Stirring, a smaller church in Redding. The Stirring has sometimes been referred to as, 鈥淏ethel-lite,鈥� by some members of the community concerned about their connections to the megachurch.
Church pastors at The Stirring and rejected some of the beliefs, such as the 7 Mountains Mandate, espoused by Bethel followers, which calls for greater influence in different aspects of society.
Three seats on the city council are up for election in November, including Dacquisto鈥檚. Additionally, Audette herself is running for State Assembly. She said she wants to appoint someone that鈥檚 committed to running to finish Dacquisto鈥檚 term.
鈥淚f you look at all the other people that ran, they sort of just stepped back,鈥� Audette said. 鈥淏ut Josh is definitely one that stepped forward, even in loss, to continue to pursue. So this is obviously something he wants, and he's going to continue to pursue it.鈥�
The council鈥檚 concerns of split votes came to fruition almost immediately Tuesday, when they were tied 2-2 between appointing Resner and Johnson.
Because of that, they decided to hold public interviews with three possible candidates, including Resner, Johnson and Schreder, next Tuesday during a special meeting.
