OROVILLE — Much of the 2022 midterm election was contentious and in some cases even vicious such as certain races in Chico.
For some jurisdictions, it was also the first time utilizing newly drawn district maps. In the case of the two Butte County Board of Supervisor races, this spelled controversy.
Throughout the latter half of 2021, the board discussed maps at multiple meetings and in some cases, those discussions turned heated. Supervisors Doug Teeter, Bill Connelly and Tod Kimmelshue all supported a map drawn by Republican strategist Josh Cook who serves as state Sen. Brian Dahle’s chief of staff. The bitterness continued into the final discussions and votes when the board chambers were packed with Butte County residents both for and against the map, but ultimately, the map passed with a 3-2 vote.
The map was never determined to be illegal by a court.
Going forward, the map was first utilized in the June 7 election when Tami Ritter and Debra Lucero, the two supervisors who pushed back against the map, were on the ballot.
Tens of thousands of dollars were poured into both Lucero’s candidacy and her challenger’s, Peter Durfee, a sergeant with the Chico Police Department. Durfee received financial support from Supervisor Teeter as well as Chico Mayor Andrew Coolidge.
Durfee received 50.71% of the vote with Lucero gaining 45%, giving the board to a conservative supermajority. A second challenger to the seat, Carl Jeffries, received 4.28%.
During the mapping discussions, the three candidates in favor of Cook’s map were accused of gerrymandering to create a 4-1 conservative majority on the council by pushing more democrats into Ritter’s district. Ritter defeated her opponent Mary Murphy-Waldorf with 68.63% of the vote against 31.37%.
Both Durfee and Ritter are set to be sworn in on Jan. 2, 2023. Lucero went on to become the chief administrative officer for Plumas County, officially leaving her seat in November.
The Chico City Council, which has held a 6-1 conservative majority, did not change politically after the general election in November. Councilors Mike O’Brien and Alex Brown left their seats and were replaced by Addison Winslow and Tom van Overbeek. Incumbents Kasey Reynolds and Dale Bennett maintained their seats after the election.
Chico faced similar criticism as the county for hiring outside demography firms and then choosing maps drawn elsewhere.
During the Chico Unified School District board race, incumbent Eileen Robinson beat newcomer Logan Wilson and Rebecca Konkin won out over Scott Thompson.
Incumbent Tom Lando beat other incumbent Matt Tennis, however, Tennis remains a board member as he was elected at large and will serve until 2024.
During redistricting, the school board adopted a map in March. Districts two and three seats will be up for election in 2024.
