By admin 
Redding business owners and community leaders are rebooting at the grassroots level an election tradition that floundered as America’s political views polarized. They’re vetting candidates on the Nov. 3 general election ballot and making endorsements.
Read more Raiders vs. Patriots: Winners & Losers From New England
“I don’t think I can sit on the sidelines anymore,” Redding’s former Community Services Director Kim Niemer told friends in September, citing concerns about the number of experienced city employees leaving and what she said is a decline in civility at city council meetings. “We just know that Redding is capable of so much more.”
So, she and like-minded community leaders organized the group Good Governance Redding to vet and endorse candidates. “That was really our sole purpose,” said Niemer, who works for philanthropic causes and is active in her community. “I thought it would be an interesting civic experiment to bring people together.”
She’s not alone.
Note to readers: If you appreciate the work we do here at the Redding Record Searchlight, please consider subscribing yourself or giving the gift of a subscription to someone you know.
The Greater Redding Chamber of Commerce resurrected its practice of endorsing candidates this year after a four-year hiatus. The chamber’s board and the majority of its members “felt it was important to restore the Chamber’s voice as an independent, measured, and trusted source of information,” said chamber president and CEO Todd Jones.
Regardless of the reasons they originally stepped back from endorsements – desire for neutrality, lack of staff to vet candidates, fear of alienating customers or partisan political exhaustion – community members said they can’t sit off to the side anymore.
Why the Greater Redding Chamber of Commerce chose to stop, then restart endorsing candidates
The chamber stopped endorsements in 2022 when it dissolved its political action committee. The PAC raised money for campaign contributions for business-friendly candidates.
Widening political polarization gaps was the impetus for dissolving the committee, Jones said. “There were concerns that outside interest groups were seeking to use the Chamber’s PAC to influence local elections,” he said, so the chamber stopped financial support for candidates and endorsements.
In 2025, the chamber decided to reenter the political arena, this time by creating its new Government Affairs Committee. Members use criteria defined by the chamber to evaluate candidates. If they meet a clear threshold, the chamber considers throwing its support their way.
Membership director Katie Maung issued the chamber’s first General Election Guide on Monday, Oct. 5.
Endorsing business-friendly candidates and legislation fits with the chamber’s mission to “advance the shared interests of the business community and improve the conditions in which businesses operate,” Jones said. “Advocating for a healthy business climate is central to that purpose and benefits both our members and the broader community.”
City and community workers behind Good Governance Redding
Other concerned citizens and activists in their community want to share their picks for best candidates.
Read more 7 Winners, 3 Losers From Steelers Win Over Colts
Members of Good Governance Redding not only vetted candidates for city council, they sought transparency through sharing their reasons for choices in videos on social media.
The group describes itself as “a coalition of Redding citizens committed to effective, ethical, and collaborative local government.”
Members – which include former Redding Mayor Kristen Schreder, retired Redding Police Chief Bill Schueller, business people and philanthropists – are totally nonpartisan and mostly moderate in their politics, Niemer said.
“We wanted a good cross-section of people with different experiences and people who were civically engaged,” she said.
The coalition’s vetting process involved breaking into three panels. Each had one of three areas of focus: Policy, leadership and vision, and ethics and communication.
Members had trouble locating candidates Rebecca Miller and Elise Sloan in September, according to Niemer, but the panels conducted 30-minute interviews with each of the other seven city council candidates.
At public forums, every candidate usually answers the same questions, she said. The coalition wanted to interact with each candidate individually and ask questions sculpted to their platforms.
The panels then came together to make their final decisions.
“What we were trying to do for the community at large is to say, ‘Here’s some people who know a lot about the city and from different perspectives,'” Niemer said. “We’ve taken the time to do the homework.”
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica on Record Searchlight Facebook groups Get Out! Nor Cal, Today in Shasta County and Shaping Redding’s Future. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Why Redding Chamber, retired leaders are vetting election picks
Reporting by Jessica Skropanic, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
Read more Everything Dan Campbell Said After Detroit Lions Defeated Cardinals
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published October 12, 2026 at 4:02 AM.