Category Archives: Terry Scott

Benicia election results – details and analysis

By Roger Straw, November 5, 2020
Outstanding votes

The Solano County Registrar of Voters have completed the count of Election Day ballots, and added those results to previously received mail-in ballots.  The result is still unofficial.  As of 9am on Thurs. Nov. 5, The County reports an estimate of 18,000-25,000 additional County-wide vote-by-mail ballots to be received and processed, and 4,000-6,000 additional provisional ballots to be processed.  Benicia’s share of those 22,000-31,000 ballots has not been reported and remains unknown.  However, Benicia’s population is 7% of Solano population, and our voter turnout percentage of 71% is slightly higher than countywide 68% – so we might count for 8% of the 22,000-31,000, or 1,760-2,800 votes.  The County will update its results at close of business and I will report here on any significant changes in outcome.

Benicia races for Mayor and City Council – winners and losers…
Details and analysis…
  • 14,528 Benicia ballots were received, 71% of 20,393 registered voters.  Wow!
  • MAYOR results as of Thurs. Nov 5, 9am:
    CANDIDATE NAME TOTAL VOTES PERCENTAGE
    7,266 51.93%
    4,287 30.64%
    2,409 17.22%
  • Steve Young won vote-by-mail by a huge margin with 55% to Christina Strawbridge’s 31% and Jason Diavatis’ 15%.
  • Jason Diavatis (surprise!) won election-day voting with 36% (then Young at 34% and Strawbridge at 30%).  Close!
  • There were relatively few election-day votes, 1,746, compared to a whopping 12,216 vote-by-mail ballots.  Thus Steve Young’s incredible overall margin of 21 points.
  • CITY COUNCIL results as of Thurs. Nov. 5, 9am:
    CANDIDATE NAME TOTAL VOTES PERCENTAGE
    7,245 36.56%
    6,269 31.63%
    6,177 31.17%
  • Tom Campbell won re-election to City Council with the highest vote total among candidates and a margin of just under 1,000 votes.  By tradition, as top vote-getter, Campbell will be named Benicia’s Vice Mayor, replacing Christina Strawbridge in that role.
  • Terry Scott won the second seat on City Council by 135 votes in election-day voting, but lost to Trevor Macenski by 43 votes in vote-by-mail.  Scott’s narrow final (unofficial) margin of 92 votes is subject to counting of more mail-in ballots and provisional ballots.  Keep your fingers crossed!
Cannabis results:

CANDIDATE NAME TOTAL VOTES PERCENTAGE
7,175 51.44%
6,772 48.56%

Those voting YES won in vote-by-mail ballots by a margin of 526 votes.  Those voting NO won in election-day voting by a margin of 123 votes.  Again, mail-in voting far outnumbered election-day voters.  Voters cast 12,182 mail-in ballots and only 1,765 election-day ballots.  I expect that the final (unofficial) margin of 403 votes, or 2.88% is likely to hold as the County counts additional mail-in ballots and provisional ballots.

Benicia election results – winners Steve Young, Tom Campbell, Terry Scott, and the Cannabis Referendum

By Roger Straw, November 4, 2020  [See also: UPDATED details and analysis (Nov. 5).]

Here are Benicia election results as of 8:15 a.m. on November 4, from the Solano County Registrar of Voters website.  This count includes in-person votes from all 10 precincts, and most but not all mail-in ballots.  Considered unofficial, there will be additional mail-in  ballots and provisional ballots, but for practical purposes, these results can be considered conclusive.

Steve Young is our new Mayor, and Terry Scott has squeaked by as the second of two new City Council members.   Congratulations, Steve and Terry!


SOLANO COUNTY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS

VOTER TURNOUT: 63.3%.  Ballots Cast 163,746.  Registered Voters 258,850.

Candidate Name Total Votes Percentage
7,266 51.93%
4,287 30.64%
2,409 17.22%
Candidate Name Total Votes Percentage
7,245 36.56%
6,269 31.63%
6,177 31.17%
Candidate Name Total Votes Percentage
7,175 51.44%
6,772 48.56%

Benicia campaigns get colorful boost from local artists

Local Campaigns take on Colorful Look

By Vicki Byrum Dennis, November 1, 2020
Campaign signs in Benicia – Steve Young for Mayor, Terry Scott for Council

Local artist Toby Tover is proving that election campaigns don’t have to all look alike. The colorful and creative yard signs supporting Steve Young for Mayor and Terry Scott for City Council that have popped up all over town in recent weeks are the proof.  The idea behind the signs was a simple one: ask local artists to create original campaign posters and signs for candidates who have always supported the arts.

Toby Tover, Benicia

It originated with Tover, and it was something new for this long-time Benicia artist. “I’ve never gotten involved in a local election before this one,” she said. “But I really felt strongly about helping Steve.”

“Steve’s support of local artists has been so strong for so many years,” she said.  “He’s been at all the Arts Benicia events. He and his wife Marty visit our studios and galleries, and buy art from local artists. I felt it was time to step up and give back.”

It helped that Tover also spent more than 30 years in marketing and could visualize how the look of a campaign could be unique, how the branding could stand out. “I’d been thinking how boring signs can be, how repetitious,” she said. “They get lost because they are all basically the same, usually the same color, design, font. There had to be a way to make it different.”

Like with many of her best ideas, Tover found the solution in the middle of the night. “I have insomnia and often use the time to work out some of the problems or challenges with my art,” she said. “That’s when it struck me how the artists in town could help the campaign. How about making unusual and eye-popping signs which could be sold as a fundraiser?”

She texted Young the next day and ran the idea by him. He loved it but had two suggestions.  He thought that the signs potentially could be auctioned off and suggested the sign campaign include Terry Scott who is running for City Council.

As chair of the Benicia Arts and Culture Commission and Public Art Committee since 2017, Scott too has worked closely with the artist community, especially in creating public art projects throughout the city. Young and Scott worked together to help bring artist’s Lisa Reinertson’s iconic statue, “Neptune’s Daughter,” to the Benicia waterfront.

With both candidates on board, the campaign project was a go, but to pull it off, Tover needed help. Young reached out to his friends and supporters Benicia artists, Larnie and Bodil Fox and Jenn Hanley, who agreed immediately. Other friends jumped in, and the team quickly organized a plan.

“When I heard about Toby’s idea from Steve I knew it could make a great project, and I volunteered to coordinate with the artists,” Larnie Fox said. “The project did raise money, but more importantly we created colorful campaign materials that spread a positive message.”

Hanley created and facilitated the two auctions. She also designed the digital graphics for the events, oversaw all the financials and handled much of the promotion. Jack Ruszel of Ruszel Woodworks donated the sign materials.

Ultimately, 35 artists created more than 70 signs including two by the internationally-known Reinertson. The response was so great that the team decided to hold two online auctions, two weeks apart in September. After the auctions, the Foxes distributed the signs and installed many in the yards of lucky winners.

The project raised more than $3,500 for the campaigns. Both Young and Scott are delighted with the results and grateful for the support of the community artists. “This is so different from your typical campaign effort,” Young said. “But it certainly reflects how our campaigns have tried to connect not only to the artist community, but to the larger community who could see and appreciate how unique this effort truly was.”

“I loved this project the first time I heard about it,” Scott said. “Isn’t it great to see political support expressed not in anger and violence in us vs. them tones— but expressed as positive statements with hope and color?  Each sign is an individual message of political support, but it’s also a message of how many of us Benicians view our world with positivity and hope.”

Terry Scott: Change is coming to Benicia

To:  My fellow Benicians
From: Terry Scott, Candidate for City Council

Now that the campaign is coming to a close, I thought I’d share my perspective on the campaign and our future:

Change is coming to Benicia as we prepare for a new Council and a new Mayor.  The process of running for office will be instantly changed to the business of running a city.

The challenges of talking about policy and acting on policy move from the philosophical and theoretical to the practical and implementable.

COVID-19 changed all the traditional ways of campaigning. Face to face became Zoom to Zoom.  Social Media became extremely fractured and reflected narrower and narrower bases and voices.

Through this unique, and mostly virtual campaign, I have been so encouraged by the engagement, spirit, and commitment of our community in the political process—for the most part.

I’m sure my fellow candidates would agree, we heard what our citizens want; we all believe in a brighter future; and, we all share a commitment of making Benicia a better, safer, welcoming place for all.

Obviously, the paths to getting there may be different.  But in reality,  when you look at the big picture,  the small town, core values of this community are our greatest strength as a City.

While we have very difficult and demanding challenges ahead of us, I believe our community will prosper and sustain itself during and after the pandemic because we are a community that shares the desire to be better.

Perhaps that’s naïve.  But for me, the campaign reaffirmed my belief that our community is solid, strong and willing to meet the challenges ahead.

I’m proud to call Benicia my home.  I’m honored and humbled by those who support me.  I respect those that don’t.

Thanks, Benicia, for your engagement in the political process.

Perhaps the legendary author on urban development and change, Jane Jacobs, said it best:

“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”

VOTE FOR TERRY SCOTT
Terryscottforbeniciacitycouncil.org