Nielsen lawsuit tossed

Self-described “constitutional activist” Don Bird (pictured), of Red Bluff, has lost the first round in his effort to get Assembly District 2 candidate Jim Nielsen disqualified. On Monday (May 12) Tehama County Superior Court Judge John J. Garaventa threw out his petition for a writ of mandamus accusing Nielsen of being ineligible to run because he doesn’t live in the district.

The judge ruled that Bird didn’t file his paperwork in a timely manner, filed it in the wrong county, and filed it against the wrong person (Nielsen, instead of Secretary of State Debra Bowen).

Nielsen, a former state Senate minority leader, lives in a million-dollar home in Woodland, outside District 2, but last fall purchased a double-wide mobile home in the Gerber area. He said he intends to move there when the current owners finish building a new house on an adjoining parcel.

Bird, who represented himself and acknowledged he made some technical mistakes, said he intends to continue his fight in federal district court in Sacramento. Two of Nielsen’s Republican-primary opponents, Charlie Schaupp, of Esparto, and John Martinez, of Etna, have filed complaints with Bowen—with no results so far.