Tag Archives: Women

Benicia Rally in support of Roe v. Wade – photos, video

Benicia residents gather in large numbers, hear powerful speeches, lift great signs, march to Benicia State Capitol

Benicia Rally in support of Roe v. Wade at Benicia State Capitol, May 14, 2022 | Photo with permission, more photos by Larnie Fox.

Benicia Independent, by Roger Straw, May 15, 2022

When we heard about the Supreme Court’s draft opinion that would gut women’s right to choose, we knew that a fierce opposition would erupt all over the nation.

Benicia Rally – BANS OFF MY BODY, May 14, 2022. Photo by Larnie Fox

Few dared to hope that Nikki’s email calling for a protest would blossom 250-strong on the Benicia Green and march up First Street, showing incisive and demanding signs, chanting and posing for a historic photo at the old State Capitol.

Benicia Protest March – BANS OFF MY BODY, May 14, 2022. Photo by Larnie Fox

But that’s how it was on Saturday at the Bans Off My Body rally right here in our small town, our beloved Benicia.

Inspired and organized by Benicia artist Nikki Basch Davis and Benicia resident Cathy Bennett (who brilliantly MC’d the event), the lineup of speakers was impressive:

    • Former Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson
    • California Assembly Member Lori Wilson
    • Candidate for Solano County  District Attorney Sharon Henry (currently Chief Deputy District Attorney)
    • Benicia Mayor Steve Young
    • Benicia City Councilmember Christina Strawbridge
    • Maggie Kolk, Benicia-Solano Community Activist
    • Ana Petero, Fairfield-Solano Unified School District Governing Board, professor at Solano Community College, member on the Solano Commission for Women and Girls
    • Dana Dean, Benicia attorney, Trustee on the Solano County Board of Education
    • Terry Scott, Director, Benicia Community Foundation, Chair of Benicia Arts and Culture Commission
    • Mary Susan Gast, Benicia Poet Laureate
    • Carol Patterson, President, League of Women Voters of Solano County
    • Kari Birdseye, Chair of Benicia Planning Commission and Candidate for Benicia City Council

Benicia videographer Constance Beutel filmed the event, and put together a 5-minute video of Highlight Clips:

Dr. Beutel also published a 52-minute version with near full-length coverage of the speakers’ remarks:

In my politically diverse extended family, and among friends and neighbors I know across the spectrum, it is and will remain a woman’s right to choose whether and when to start or expand a family, whether and when to conceive, carry, and give birth.  Men of good will support this right.

A government that by legal fiat imposes forced maternity interferes with a woman’s freedom, and in so doing, interferes with all of our freedoms.  We stand ready to support freedom of choice no matter the dictates of a supposedly “supreme” council of judges.

Roger Straw
Benicia Independent

Benicia gathering Saturday May 14 for Women’s Reproductive Rights

Nationwide rallies are planned for this Saturday to advocate for Women’s reproductive rights.  In June the US Supreme Court will rule on a case that is likely to overturn the 50-year precedent of Roe v. Wade and result in state bans of abortion.  Many alarmed organizers have designated this Saturday, May 14th as Women’s Reproductive Rights Day.  There will be marches  and demonstrations across the nation, including here in Benicia.

Benicia speakers will include former Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson and Benicia Poet Laureate Mary Susan Gast.

A Benicia event organizer writes:

Hello my friends,

I sincerely hope to see most of you at our gathering this coming Saturday May 14, noon-1:30pm on the First Street Green across from Sailor Jack’s.

Having a sign expressing your opinions and feelings will add to a powerful presence.

The internet is full of sign suggestions. Here are a few:

      • MY BODY MY CHOICE
      • GET YOUR ROSARIES OFF MY OVARIES
      • OUR BODIES ARE NOT A POLITICAL BATLEGROUND
      • WE ARE WOMEN NOT SPERM CARRIERS
      • MY MIND MY BODY MY FREEDOM
      • KEEP ABORTION SAFE AND LEGAL
      • HANDS OFF MY DAUGHTERS

> For more ideas, see also on Google:


Former Benician Susannah Delano on California’s ‘Great Resignation’

BenIndy Editor: Full (and prideful) disclosure: Susannah Delano is my beloved – and highly talented – daughter.  🙂  – R.S.

Legislature’s ‘Great Resignation’ provides great opportunity for women

By Susannah Delano, Special to CalMatters, February 15, 2022 Susannah Delano is executive director of Close the Gap California, a nonprofit organization that recruits and prepares progressive women to run for state Legislature.

We’re witnessing the “Great Resignation, Capitol Edition,” with more than a quarter of California’s 120 legislators exiting the building in 2022.

Why are we losing so many legislators in one year? It’s a combination of factors – redistricting, which left many incumbents with no place to run; a domino effect of open seats as members seek new roles; and the reckoning of term limit reform passed in 2012.

Where some might see chaos, we see opportunity.

The 2022 election marks the start of California’s “Great Opportunity” to elect a Legislature that truly reflects the people it serves.

California has a reputation for leading the nation forward on critical issues including climate change, equal pay, reproductive health access, long-term care, minimum wage, family leave, early education and more.

But when it comes to women’s representation – California falls short.

Only 37 legislators – less than a third – are women. Of the 37 women serving, 28 are Democrats and 9 are Republicans. California ranks 28rd in the nation for our percentage of women legislators.

Our goal is nothing short of parity for women in the California Legislature, this decade. When I briefed political insiders on that audacious goal years ago, many of them gave me a virtual pat on the head and wished me luck. But in 2022, that audacious dream is starting to look a lot more real.

In my 20 years of working to elect more racially representative, progressive women to office, I’ve never witnessed a higher caliber of candidates step up to run at the state level. As we’ve worked with the majority of these women, I can tell you they are experienced, savvy, and ready to win.

In the fight for equal representation, we are all too used to incremental progress at best. But this year, the hard work of identifying, encouraging and preparing women to run is paying off at an unprecedented scale.

With musical chairs ensuring the Legislature will lose at least eight of its women incumbents by year’s end, this historically robust wave of reinforcements is exactly what might ensure women’s numbers continue to climb in 2022.

Common sense and research tell us that running for an open seat is the likeliest path to victory for a newcomer. What’s unprecedented about 2022 is the volume of open seats, and the number of accomplished women who are ready to win.

In the 35 legislative seats open so far in 2022, an astounding 45 female candidates with the capacity to run competitive campaigns have launched so far. In nine districts, both of the top two contenders are women.

These women arrive with impressive backgrounds and track records of service to their communities. They’re nonprofit directors, nurses, labor and tech leaders, small business owners and entrepreneurs. They’ve served on city councils, school boards, and local and state commissions.

The women running for open seats in 2022 are overwhelmingly Democratic, and also present historic levels of diversity. More than 70% are women of color, and many are LGBTQ+.

In this time of legislative turnover, who comes next will determine what comes next. The nation will look to the pipeline of leaders and innovative policy solutions we battle-test here in the years to come.

While we are losing some extremely effective legislators in 2022, as long as well-prepared women keep stepping up, and stakeholders are brave enough to put their resources where their values align, voters will have the opportunity to elect new voices and transform the Capitol’s decision-making tables.

The women of 2022 are the future many of us have dreamed of for decades.

They will need to overcome a disproportionate number of barriers along their paths to election. But today, their sheer number, talent and determination should inspire us to look beyond the Capitol’s Great Resignation, and recognize this moment for what it is: California’s Great Opportunity to put the world’s fifth largest economy on a fast-track to reflective democracy.