Monthly Archives: April 2023

Benicia Unified School District

Special Election for Area 5: Results update

Candidate Amy Hirsh pulls even further ahead with what may be an insurmountable lead

By Nathalie Christian, April 12, 2023

The Solano County Registrar of Voters (ROV) posted a second round of vote totals last night at 8:40 PM. The results show candidate Amy Hirsh is still leading by a significant margin.

The ROV reported about 50 unprocessed provisional and mail-in ballots remaining, and it will continue to count mail-in ballots as they trickle in through the next week or so.

Low turnout

While the number of late mail-in ballots could swell dramatically during this next week, it is much more likely that voter turnout for this Special Election will remain where it is: very low.

As of today, the voter turnout for this Special Election sits at about 25%. As a basis for comparison, the 2022 General Election saw Benicia’s voter turnout at a robust 65% — meaning about 65% of eligible voters chose to cast ballots.

Even though it is unlikely either Ariana Martinez or Ali Mansouri will be able to catch up to Ms. Hirsh’s lead, final results will be posted here when they become available.

Here is the current count:

A screenshot of Solano ROV Election Day results
Updated results from the Solano County ROV show Amy Hirsh leading with what is likely an insurmountable advantage.
Ariana Martinez, Benicia Unified School District

Special Election for Area 5: Early results

Candidate Amy Hirsh leads with about 23% of the vote counted

By Nathalie Christian, April 11, 2023

The Solano County Registrar of Voters posted its first round of vote totals at 8:01 PM tonight, showing candidate Amy Hirsh leading by a significant margin. Only 943 out of 4,110 potential ballots have been counted so far, and these have all been mail-in ballots. Ballots cast in person have apparently not yet been counted.

Stay tuned! We will continue to keep an eye on the results and report on them as we can.

Here is the current count:

Benicia USD Area 5 - Special Vacancy Election (Early results)
Early results from the April 11 election show Ms. Amy Hirsh in the lead for mail-in ballots. Election Day results are still unavailable.
Ariana Martinez, Benicia Unified School District

How to vote in today’s Special BUSD election

Looking for your polling location? Ballot drop-off information? Keep reading!

April 11, 2023

Registered voters living in Area 5 of Benicia (see below for a map) — this is your reminder to VOTE in the Area 5 Special Benicia Unified School District Trustee Vacancy Election TODAY. According to the Solano County Registrar of Voter’s (ROV) website, the first update with election results will be at 8:15 pm today.

Ballot drop boxes and in-person voting locations

In-person voting is taking place at Matthew Turner Elementary from 7 am to 8 pm. Mail-in ballots can still be dropped off at any location below (including Turner Elementary) during the listed times.

Matthew Turner Elementary (540 Rose Dr., Benicia)
  • TUESDAY — VOTE IN PERSON or drop off your mail-in ballot between 7 am and 8 am.
Benicia Pedrotti Ace Hardware (830 Southampton Rd., Benicia)
  • TUESDAY —  Drop off between 8 am to 6 pm.
Solano County Registrar of Voters (675 Texas St., Fairfield)
  • TUESDAY — Drop off in the 24-hour drop box on Union Ave., but note that the ROV will likely close the box by 8 pm.

A vote for Ariana Martinez is a vote for our kids

Ariana Martinez, LCSW, candidate for Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees, Area 5

If you’ve been following along, you may know that the Benicia Independent has endorsed Ms. Martinez. Ms. Martinez  has also been endorsed by the following organizations and officials:

  • Benicia Teacher’s Association
  • Napa-Solano Central Labor Council
  • California State Senator Bill Dodd
  • Benicia Mayor Steve Young
  • Benicia Vice-Mayor Terry Scott
  • Benicia City Council Member Kari Birdseye
  • Solano County Board of Supervisor Monica Brown
  • Benicia Unified School Board President Sheri Zada
  • Benicia Unified School Board Member Mark Maselli
  • Benicia Unified School Board Member Dr. Gethsemane Moss
  • Former Benicia Unified School Board Member Andre Stewart
  • Former Benicia Unified Board Member Gary Wing
  • Former Benicia Unified School Board Member Gary Wing
  • Former Benicia City Council Member Dan Smith
  • Solano County Office Associate Superintendent of Human Resources and Educator Effectiveness Michael Minahen
  • Fairfield-Suisun Unified District School Board Member Jack Flynn
  • California School Employee Association Benicia Chapter 1096

Ms. Martinez is a Bay Area native, Benicia High School graduate, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker with hands-on experience in the areas of cognitive psychology, social sciences, organizational development, and education. Read more about Ms. Martinez at www.ariana4busd.com.

Only residents of Area 5 may vote in this special election (see map below).

BUSD Area Map (click to enlarge)
*BUSD Area 5 includes: Mathew Turner School, Lake Herman, Water’s End areas.  Click on map to enlarge. Area 5 is in purple.

More information on this matter can be found by searching online for “Important Message From BUSD Governing Board re: Trustee Area 5 Appointment and Petition“.

Earlier on BenIndy:
From elsewhere on the web:
Progressive Democrats of Benicia

LAST MINUTE ALERT: Benicia Progressive Dems April 11 meeting change!

MEMBERSHIP MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT
IMPORTANT CHANGE OF PLANS!!
WE ARE MEETING OVER ZOOM!!

Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at 7pm

By email, from Progressive Dems Steering Committee, April 10, 2023

This is the Progressive Democrats of Benicia’s final notice inviting our members, supporters and all interested Benicians to our Tuesday, April 11 meeting.

We were really looking forward to seeing everyone in person, but due to COVID and illness we are switching back to Zoom.  We look forward to seeing everyone in the future when we are all well.  Please see use the Zoom details below to sign in to our meeting.

TOPIC: PDB GENERAL MEMBERSHIP ZOOM MEETING
Time: Apr 11, 2023 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87967560168
Meeting ID: 879 6756 0168
One tap mobile: +16694449171

On Deck: Benicia’s Budget Crisis

As previously shared, the focus of the meeting will be “Benicia’s Budget Crisis: The Problem and Potential Solutions.”  Our city budget’s multimillion dollar shortfall stretches far beyond this year, into the indefinite future.  It forces all of us to confront some tough funding decisions:

  • What City services are at risk?
  • Is there a tax increase in the future?
  • How can we increase the City’s revenues?
  • What other solutions are available?

Mayor Steve Young, County Supervisor Monica Brown and Assistant City Manager Bret Prebula, who was Benicia’s Finance Director up until December 2022, will explain the nature and extent of this serious challenge and discuss potential approaches to generating revenue or cutting costs.  There will then be an opportunity for extended Q&A period.

See you on Tuesday, April 11, and remember: WE’RE MEETING OVER ZOOM.  Please invite your friends and anyone who is interested in keeping Benicia thriving.  We are really looking forward to seeing you all in person again one day soon in the future.

Kathy Kerridge
PDB Chair