Benicia – PAC influence here worse than in Big Cities

The One Way in Which Our Wonderful Benicia’s Politics Are Worse Than Those of Big Cities

By Stephen Golub, Benicia Resident, October 31, 2020
Stephen Golub, Benicia

When my wife and I moved to Benicia, one major reason we did so is the wonderful sense of community here. Even during these terrible Covid times, this town’s warmth has continued to shine through. And though my fantastic neighbors and I don’t always agree about politics, our chats about them have always been friendly and civil.

It’s against this backdrop that this year’s mayoral campaign, namely the negative attacks on Council Member Steve Young by the Valero-backed PAC, Working Families for a Strong Benicia, has been so appalling. The many lies and distortions have apparently included blasting him for his legitimately receiving a publicly funded pension. What’s next? Denigrating someone for getting social security?

To be clear, before for I go any further: I recognize that Valero and its local workers have legitimate interests and that it donates to Benicia’s well-being in many much-appreciated ways. But while individuals who work for Valero here may arrange such contributions with the best of intentions, the corporation’s Texas headquarters is not funding them out of the goodness of its heart. Rather, it’s to influence perceptions of the company and thus increase its influence on our city.

If Valero were simply out to help, think of how many meals for hungry families impacted by the Covid economy or services for school kids could have been purchased with the nearly $400,000 that Valero and its allies put into tainting our politics in 2018 and 2020.

Furthermore, I respect Vice Mayor Christina Strawbridge’s devotion to Benicia. But I’m nonetheless disappointed that her disavowal of the Valero PAC’s attacks on Mr. Young have been so weak and late, largely confined to a couple of recent online candidate forums, and that she has sought to equate its massive spending with negative but much less impactful social media insults against her.

I also give her kudos for responding quickly and thoughtfully when I emailed her campaign about the PAC’s attacks on Steve Young. But meek disavowals by her do not make for a convincing rejection of its attacks on Mr. Young. And in view of the PAC’s strenuous support for her, they do nothing to reassure us about how she will deal with Valero if she wins.

All this brings me to how the PAC’s actions have been even worse than what I’ve seen in some big cities – namely, what I witnessed years ago working in New York City politics and government and later living in Manila (in the Philippines) and, most recently, Oakland.

Here’s how: I’ve never seen so much money spent to try to sway the votes of so few people, particularly through the lies and distortions about Mr. Young that the PAC has circulated in support of Ms. Strawbridge. Between 2018 and 2020, Valero’s and its allies’ attacks on candidates it opposes have worked out to about $25 per voter here, based on the roughly 15,000 citizens who cast ballots in our elections.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Politics in those much bigger cities can get dirtier than here. But purely in terms of per person expenditure, my admittedly imperfect memory can’t recall such great levels of funding pouring into a campaign.

My concerns go beyond what’s being spent, however, to what’s being bought or at least influenced if Christina Strawbridge is elected. PACs exist to advance specific interests. This is particularly concerning in Benicia, which has seen very recent disputes, especially crude-by-rail, over Valero’s operations. Steve Young has been much stronger on such matters.

What’s more, our state is being ravaged by climate change-facilitated fires. Benicia itself is threatened by them – recall the Vallejo fire last year and the toxic skies in recent months. Other refineries are converting to biofuel processing. California’s and potentially federal policies (pending the presidential election results) are shifting away from petroleum. In light of all this, Valero should be exploring with Benicia a gradual transition that protects its interests and especially those of its workers, not adding fuel to the fire of this great town’s politics.

I’ll note that the one issue that I’ve discussed (online) with Mr. Young involved my challenging his proposal earlier this year for indirect city support for Covid-impacted Benicia businesses – an idea about which, in retrospect, he might have been right. He was civil, polite and thoughtful in his reply.

In contrast, Ms. Strawbridge could have done much better in backing away from Valero’s backing. So can we, come Election Day, by voting for Steve Young.

Solano COVID case count continues to rise – County reports 48 new infections today


[Source: Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard.  For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE.]

Friday, October 30: 48 new cases overnight, no new deaths, no new hospitalizations.  Since the outbreak began: 7,634 cases, 529 hospitalized, 76 deaths.Compare previous report, Thursday, Oct. 29:Summary

  • Solano County reported 48 new cases overnight, about average of late.  Total of 7,634 cases since the outbreak started.
  • Deaths – no new deaths reported today.  Total of 76 Solano deaths since the pandemic began.
  • Active cases – Solano reported 1 additional ACTIVE case today, total of 396.  Note that only 27 of these 396 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?  To my knowledge, Solano County has offered no reports on contact tracing.
  • Hospitalizations – Solano County reported the number of currently hospitalized persons increased by 4 overnight, total of 27.  This past week, Total Hospitalized INCREASED DRAMATICALLY, adding 106 previously unreported hospitalizations!  Today the numbers remained unchanged, total of 529 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  For manual calculation of total, see age group stats below.
  • ICU BedsThe County reported a rise in ICU beds available today, up from 27% to 38%(Still no information about availability of ventilators.)

Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today that our 7-day average test rate rose today from 6.5% to 6.7%.  Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  The much more stable California 7-day test rate has been on the rise lately, fell today, from 3.3% to 3.1%(Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity line graph which also shows daily results.  However, the chart does not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results.  The 7-day curve also lags behind current unknown results.) 

By Age Group

  • Youth 17 and under – 3 new cases today, total of 865 cases, representing 11.3% of the 7,634 total cases.  No new hospitalizations reported today.  Thankfully, no deaths have ever been reported in Solano County in this age groupBut cases among Solano youth rose steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 11% on August 31 and has plateaued just over 11% since September 30.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11.x% may seem low.  The significance is this: 1) youth numbers increased steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact 14 youth have now been hospitalized.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 27 new cases today, total of 4,498 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents just under 60% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups. No new hospitalizations reported today.  No new deaths in this young group today, total of 6 deaths.  Some in this group are surely ignoring public health orders, and many are providing essential services among us.  I expect this group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 9 new cases today, total of 1,477 cases.  This age group represents over 19% of the 7,634 total cases.  No new hospitalizations reported today.  No new deaths in this age group today, a total of 15 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 9 new cases today, total of 782, representing 10% of Solano’s 7,634 total cases.  No new hospitalizations reported today.  No new deaths in this age group today, total of 55 of our elders who died of COVID.  This group accounts for 55 of the 76 total deaths, or 72%.

City Data

  • Benicia remained steady today, total of 191 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 9 new cases today, total of 502 cases.
  • Fairfield added 17 new cases today, total of 2,443 cases.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 59 cases.
  • Suisun City added 4 new cases today, total of 554 cases.
  • Vacaville added 8 new cases today, total of 1,394 cases.
  • Vallejo added 9 new cases today, total of 2,466 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas added 1 new case today, total of 25 cases.

Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate significantly worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  Note that all of this data surely undercounts Latinx Americans, as there is a large group of “Multirace / Others” which likely is composed mostly of Latinx members of our communities.

  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 10% of cases, 11% of hospitalizations, and 20% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 18% of hospitalizations, and 25% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 27% of cases, 28% of hospitalizations, and 17% of deaths.
  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 22% of cases, 25% of hospitalizations and 29% of deaths.

More…

The County’s new and improved Coronavirus Dashboard is full of much more information, too extensive to cover here on a daily basis.  The Benicia Independent will continue to summarize daily and highlight a report or two.  Check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.

BENICIA ACTION ALERT: Protect Democracy, Count Every Vote!

By Roger Straw, October 30, 2020

PROTECT THE RESULTS rallies on November 4

Benicia residents have formed a temporary organization under the umbrella Choose Democracy Benicia, in anticipation of potential trouble on Election Day and after.

Democrats, Republicans and Independents agree that in a democracy, every vote should be counted, and the results should be carefully verified and universally accepted.  This will surely not take place ON ELECTION DAY.  Warning signs indicate that there is every possibility some will claim the election is over on November 4.

A national organization, Protect the Results has built a quick coalition of voters ready to mobilize if Trump undermines the results of the 2020 presidential election.  Choose Democracy Benicia urges you to attend a nearby peaceful rally on November 4.


November 4 – Protect the Vote Rallies in the Bay Area
More information: https://protecttheresults.com/?utm_source=Choose-Democracy

Nearby Rallies planned as of this time…

NOV 4

Count Every Vote in NAPA, CA

To get exact location, RSVP for details. RSVP


NOV 4 – NOV 25 (Wednesdays, 5pm, if needed)

Count Every Vote in Napa

To get exact location, RSVP for details. RSVP 

NOV 4

Count Every Vote in Richmond People Strike

To get exact location, RSVP for details. RSVP 


NOV 4

Count Every Vote Oakland

To get exact location, RSVP for details. RSVP 


NOV 4

Protect the Results in Sonoma

To get exact location, RSVP for details. RSVP 


NOV 4

Marin Protest to Protect the Results

To get exact location, RSVP for details. RSVP 


NOV 4

Protect the Results in San Francisco

To get exact location, RSVP for details. RSVP 


Valero PAC submits 3 new financial disclosures, expenditures now over $209,000

By Roger Straw, October 30, 2020

On October 28, The Valero PAC reported total income and expenditures for the period October 18-25.

According to the report, the PAC received no new income and made no new CASH payments, but took on new UNPAID bills amounting to $8,500 for ROBO calls and Live Calls [p. 3 and p. 8].

Note that the form seems to show much more than $8500 spent.  Detailed expenditures show another $30,688 spent during this period for ROBO calls, Live Calls, & Mailers [p. 4], and another $6,500 spent during this period for Professional Services [p. 9].  This would seem to contradict the $8500 claim.  To sort this out is beyond my expertise.  For details, see the Form_460_Pre_Election_3.pdf.)

TOTAL EXPENDITURES in 2020: $209,399 to buy Benicia’s next Mayor.

INCOME for the period October 18 to October 25
This period Year to date
Monetary Contributions (International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, forgers & Helpers Local 549) $0 $25,000
Total Contributions $0 $25,000
EXPENSES for the period October 18 to October 25
This period Year to date
Cash payments $0 $99,333
Accrued, unpaid bills $8,500 $110,067
TOTAL EXPENDITURES $8,500 $209,399
Current Cash Statement
Beginning Balance $173,779
Cash receipts $0
Cash payments $0
Ending Balance $173,779