Redding Rancheria has contributed to 3 candidates running for Redding City Council

The Redding Rancheria has contributed a combined $15,000 to three different candidates in the Redding City Council election, including to an incumbent the tribe supported four years ago.Councilman Mark Mezzano and challengers Dr. Paul Dhanuka and David Backues have each received $5,000 from the tribe, according to public campaign financial disclosures.

In November 2020, the tribe gave Mezzano, a retired California Highway Patrol sergeant, $31,000 in campaign contributions.

The stakes for the Redding Rancheria were higher four years ago, when the tribe's plan to relocate its Win River Casino and Resort still had not been approved by U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs. The project was finally approved by the BIA in July .

Also, months before the 2020 election, the tribe had filed a lawsuit against the city of Redding and privately-held Shasta Lake Holdings LLC over the sale of city-owned land off Interstate 5 to the private group, a deal the tribe said could “kill” its plan to relocate its casino.

Mezzano, who had not yet been elected to the council, was highly critical of the sale, which a judge ruled in May 2022 had violated the law.

Who's running for which city council seats?

Mezzano is running for the remaining two years of the seat vacated by Michael Dacquisto when he retired in June. Mezzano and Dacquisto were allies on the council.

Challengers Dhanuka, a physician, and Backues, a real estate broker, are running for one of the two four-year seats on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Mezzano has said he supports Dhanuka, Backues and challenger Mike Littau, an insurance broker who is also running for a four-year seat.

Business owner and developer Joshua Johnson, who in July was temporarily appointed to fill Dacquisto’s seat, is running for a four-year seat. Ian Hill, who ran for council and lost in 2022, is the fifth person on the ballot for one of the two four-year seats.

Running against Mezzano for the two-year seat are former Redding City Councilwoman and business owner Erin Resner and business owner Anthony Spengler.

Dhanuka has raised the most money

Dhanuka started raising money for his campaign last year and to date has brought in $75,950, according to public campaign financial disclosures. That includes $25,000 that he loaned to his campaign.

The Redding Rancheria has been Dhanuka's largest contributor, followed by Paragon Medical Management Group of Redding ($2,500) and Redding real estate broker Josh Barker ($2,075).

Backues and Mezzano have each raised a little over $16,000 to date, and like Dhanuka, their largest contributor is the Rancheria.

Both Backues and Mezzano have loaned their respective campaigns $10,000.

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Meanwhile, Mezzano has received $500 from Shasta County District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye.

The lion’s share of contributions to Littau, who has collected $16,600 in contributions to date, comes from a $10,000 contribution he gave his campaign, according to public campaign financial disclosures. He also loaned his campaign $6,000.

Resner has raised just under $20,000, with the largest contribution — $5,500 — coming from Andrew Randall of Mesa Tacos & Tequila in Eagle, Idaho.

Redding home builder Jeb Allen of Palomar Builders has given the Resner campaign $1,000, as has Redding insurance broker Steven Williams.

Johnson has not received any contributions to date. In his losing bid for a council seat in 2022, Johnson got $38,750 in contributions. The Joshua Johnson for Redding City Council 2022 committee had a cash balance of zero dollars as of Dec. 31, 2022.

Hill and Spengler also have not received any contributions to date.

David Benda covers business , development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding Rancheria has contributed to 3 candidates running for Redding City Council