[Editor: At around 6pm tonight, City Manager Lorie Tinfow responded to urgent citizen requests to air the video. She wrote, “We are treating the video of the Candidates Forum on Saturday in the same way we have treated previous videos of this forum when held. We are showing it twice on the cable television station and are making it available on a DVD for those who don’t have cable. If you would like to pick up a DVD tomorrow morning, please contact my office at 707-746-4200 or send me a message. We will make them available for pick up as soon as possible.” UPDATE: On election day, Nov. 6, the Benicia Independent obtained and posted a copy of the video. – R.S.]
This afternoon, the City of Benicia pulled back from its original plan to post a video recording of the November 3 meeting of Benicia’s Open Government Commission. The meeting included a “Final Word” forum, in which candidates for City Council and the public responded to recent campaign “hit pieces.”
All four candidates joined with many residents at the forum in severely criticizing the misleading and untruthful claims made against candidate Kari Birdseye by a Valero/Labor political action committee (PAC). One anti-Birdseye speaker refused to be civil and had to be escorted out by a Benicia police officer.
The City recorded the meeting, but for unknown reasons has decided NOT to publish the video on its website page of Agendas, Minutes and Videos.
At the time of this writing, you can still catch the City’s final rebroadcast of the meeting at 7pm tonight, Monday, Nov. 5, via live streaming on your computer at Benicia TV, https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/btv or on your tv at home on Comcast channel 27 or AT&T U-Verse channel 99.
NOTE: On election day, Nov. 6, the Benicia Independent obtained and posted a copy of the video.
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