It’s all new to me. I have ALWAYS waited, and cast my ballot at the polling place on election day, but not this year.
Candidates for public office have had to change tactics. I should know – I’ve been involved in 7 local campaigns over the last 13 years. We used to send out mailers and knock on doors in October, and there was always a big Get Out the Vote push on Monday before the election. It all has to be done much earlier now. And most of us will have already voted by early-, mid- or late-October this year.
So we are making up our minds now. It’s not hard at all for most of us to know who would make the better President: Joe Biden, of course. But who will we elect as the next Benicia Mayor? Who for City Council? And what about those pesky ballot measures?
Benicia Mayor: Steve Young. I support Steve for his careful analysis of facts and his grounding in city administration. Benicia will forever owe Steve a debt of gratitude for his intense and persuasive questioning of Valero and City staff during the long fight against Valero’s dirty and dangerous “Crude by Rail” proposal. The entire Planning Commission and City Council deserve praise, but it was Steve whose star shined most brightly during those pivotal times. By the way, those who know me are aware of my bias in favor of women candidates. I’m a longtime male feminist, and usually I will lean left and go with a woman candidate. But in this year’s race, with Mayor Patterson choosing not to run, I have to go with Steve Young. More about Steve Young, or Donate and Volunteer.
Terry Scott – for BENICIA CITY COUNCIL
Benicia City Council: Terry Scott. I support Terry for his vision and values, and for his leadership as Chair of Benicia’s Arts and Culture Commission. More about Terry Scott, or Donate and Volunteer.
Separation agreement reveals Tinfow was “involuntarily terminated” – public not told why, nor who initiated it
JohnGlidden.com, By John Glidden, September 17, 2020
Lorie Tinfow, Benicia City Manager Apr 2017 – Sep 2020
BENICIA – Benicia has agreed to give more than $300,000 in severance pay to former city manager Lorie Tinfow, who announced her resignation earlier this month, according to a severance agreement obtained by JohnGlidden.com.
Although she officially resigned on Sept. 8, Tinfow actually signed the agreement on Sept. 4, suggesting Tinfow may have been pushed out.
The agreement stipulates Tinfow will receive $303,718 altogether – $259,385 for 13 months of pay, plus $26,287 in unused vacation time, $12,157 in compensation for one-half of her sick leave, and $5,887 for one-half of her unused administrative leave.
Tinfow will remain on the city’s medical, dental and vision plans until October 2021, according to the agreement.
Attempts to reach Tinfow about her departure have been unsuccessful.benicia
Tinfow’s contract with the city states that if she is “involuntarily terminated” she will receive “twelve (12) months of the base salary, plus accrued vacation leave, one-half (1/2) of accrued administrative leave, and one-half (1/2) of accrued sick leave, calculated at the base salary in effect on the effective date of termination.”
According to the contract, involuntary termination can occur through Tinfow’s resignation following a salary, compensation and/or benefit reduction without her consent; a reduction in the powers and authority of the city manager position, or the total elimination of the city manager’s position; or if Tinfow resigns following a formal demand by a majority of the Bencia City Council that she resign.
Tinfow’s contract states that if she voluntarily resigns she is only entitled to accrued vacation leave, one-half (1/2) of accrued administrative leave, one-half (1/2) of accrued sick leave, and not any of her base salary.
Despite indications she faced an involuntary termination, the city council praised Tinfow in a press release announcing her resignation.
“The City Council is grateful for Ms. Tinfow’s service to the City of Benicia and wishes her well in her future endeavors,” the Sept. 8 release said.
In her resignation letter, Tinfow said that she “worked hard over the past three-plus years to make the City of Benicia a stronger, healthier city.”
“I’m especially proud of the work that I have done to complete long-standing projects such as the drainage issues associated with St. Augustine Ct., the Bus Hub transit site, and the ERP which will be completed this fall,” she wrote. “l also introduced new communication tools such as the City of Benicia This Week newsletter, Benicia Town Hall online survey and Priority Based Budgeting and contributed to the Council’s goal of retaining and attracting quality staff by hiring talented individuals and recommending strategies to retain employees.”
Neither Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, nor the other members of the city council could be immediately reached when asked about Tinfow.
On Sept. 8, the council met in a special closed session to discuss Tinfow’s performance as city manager; a normally routine occurrence. However, following the closed session the council said it had unanimously accepted Tinfow’s resignation and also approved the severance agreement.
Benicia Police Chief Erik Upson was also named “acting” city manager.
A week later on Sept. 15, the council met in closed session, officially appointing Upson as interim city manager. During that meeting, Vice Mayor Christina Strawbridge became the only councilmember to make any reference to the situation when she thanked Upson for “stepping up” to serve as interim city manager.
Longtime resident Constance Beutel expressed concern about Tinfow’s sudden departure from the city.
“As a resident and voter, I am highly distressed that this resignation, without a given explanation, is yet another reason that this city needs to take serious stock of how its equity and diversity issues are handled,” she told the council during the public comment period. “Are there internal biases that drive women and minorities from the city? If so, they are costing us talent, money, and reputation.”
On Sept. 17, the city issued a press release announcing Upson had been appointed interim city manager.
“Mr. Upson will provide the steady hand at the helm as the council begins the recruitment process for a new city manager,” Patterson said in the same release.
As Upson serves as city manager, Benicia police Capt. Mike Greene will serve as interim police chief, officials added.
“I am honored that the Council and the Mayor have asked me to step into this critical role during such a challenging time,” Upson said. “Benicia is an amazing town. I am committed to this community and to our staff. We are in the midst of some very great challenges, but none that cannot be overcome if we come together as one community and lift each other up. We will get through this and, if we take this approach, we will come out stronger on the other side.”
Tinfow came to Benicia in 2017, replacing Brad Kilger who left the position to take a similar job in the city of Martinez.
Prior to Benicia, Tinfow served as city manager of Pacifica, and before that, she was an assistant city manager for Saratoga and Walnut Creek.
By Roger Straw, September 10. 2020
Lorie Tinfow, Benicia City Manager, 2017-2020
Why did City Manager Lorie Tinfow resign suddenly? Everyone is asking, and I wish I had an answer to that question.
Most of my friends and acquaintances held her in high regard, had no warning of her quick departure, and were shocked and saddened when the news broke. Her resignation was effective immediately, and gave the impression of a firing or at least an unhappy crashing of relations.
I am aware that not every Benicia City Council member favored her, but I am truly shocked that we lost her at this delicate time in our city’s many struggles, including dealing with the effects of the COVID pandemic.
I take this opportunity to refer you to an excellent new source of Benicia news. John Glidden, formerly an excellent reporter for the Vallejo Times-Herald, has struck out on his own and is covering Vallejo and Benicia news at JohnGlidden.com. Here’s a good example of his work – covering a closed-session Benicia City Council performance evaluation of Ms. Tinfow before the sudden resignation.
If you have any information about why Ms. Tinfow resigned, please contact John Glidden via johnglidden.com/contact/ or write to me at rogrmail at gmail dot com.
City Council debates, weakens and passes a nontheless historic anti-bias resolution
By Roger Straw, August 28, 2020
Benicia city staff and the Benicia City Council heard from Benicia Black Lives Matter residents and passed a resolution on August 25 requiring the hiring of a part-time Equity and Diversity Manager and giving birth to a number of other measures to combat unconscious bias and overt racism in Benicia.
The Resolution (original version / final version) was accompanied by a 6-page Staff Report and Recommendation, clearly outlining the need, documenting significant steps already being taken by Police Chief Erik Upson, and detailing a multi-pronged emphasis aimed at recognizing black lives in Benicia and taking actions to address unconcious bias.
After hearing from multiple members of the public, almost all of whom were supportive of the measure, Councilmembers debated the staff recommendation at length, downgrading the hiring of a new Equity and Diversity staff, but approving all other recommendations.
Some egregiously dismissive comments were made by several Councilmembers during the discussion. More could be said, but today I will focus on the excellent outcome. Benicia might be the first and only small city (27,570 residents) to take such positive steps in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Kudos to City staff and electeds for taking this profoundly important action!
Here are the proposed items from the resolution, with outcomes in red:
Create & fund a part-time Equity & Diversity Manager – Council amended the resolution to reduce from 3/4-time @ $133,000 to 1/2-time and “temporary” at $89,000/year and requiring extension after 6 months. Also requiring that the Manager place first priority on item 6 below. See also the DRAFT Job Description.
Join the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) and explore National League of Cities’ Race, Equity And Leadership (REAL) Initiative. GARE membership at cost of $1,000 – approved as recommended.
Mandate anti-bias training for all City employees and elected and appointed officials – approved as recommended, at a cost of $8,000.
Recognize Juneteenth as a City holiday – approved as recommended.
Establish Benicia Library program related to BLM – approved as recommended.
Create Council subcommittee and liaison relationship with BBLM similar to BUSD liason committee – approved as recommended.
Enhance civic engagement efforts and remove barriers to allow broader community inclusion in City business – approved as recommended.
Support business opportunities for Black residents—seek opportunities for BBLM to work with the Chamber of Commerce and Benicia Industrial Park Association and other business organizations and consider holding City workshops to assist. Consider re-evaluating use of the Commanding Officers Quarters as a business incubator to support this effort – approved as recommended.
Create a webpage with resources for those interested in learning about the City’s actions related to BLM and with appropriate resources provided – approved as recommended.
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