Supervisor Monica Brown doesn’t hold back…
Leaders react to East Solano Plan removal
Vallejo Times-Herald, July 24, 2024
Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown waited months to share her thoughts on California Forever’s East Solano Plan. So when her moment came Tuesday morning, she didn’t mince words.
“How dare you come in here with your arrogance,” she scolded the company, criticizing the Silicon Valley-backed project for failing to communicate clearly with the County, accusing them of misleading voters and putting them on blast for a lack of detail and transparency in their initiative.
Brown said she was previously advised by Solano County Counsel not to speak out against California Forever to avoid recusing herself on matters that came before the board. Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, she said, she got the green light from that office to share some thoughts on the situation.
And share she did, using supervisors’ comments as an opportunity to let fly a volley of verbal missiles for the would-be developers and celebrate the postponement of the initiative’s ballot appearance until at least 2026.
“You came here and thought ‘Well they’re a bunch of hicks, they won’t fight,’ ” she said. “Well, we did.”
Brown also challenged the company on its decision to sue Solano County farmers and questioned the qualifications of their employees.
“Who did you have working for you? The kids I gave Fs to in math?” the former teacher asked.
She also attacked the company for failing to use the normal means of development that the County has laid out. She accused the organization of trying to “buy votes” with their charitable giving.
“You had an agenda,” she said. ” ‘By God, we’re going to get this done in November and we’re going to tell those hicks forget you.’ “
While California Forever has indicated it hopes to mend fences with the County and its voters, and while it remains by far the county’s largest single landowner, Brown made clear she wasn’t particularly interested at this point.
“As far as I’m concerned, you’re not welcome here ever again,” she said. “Go somewhere else.”
After the meeting, Supervisor John Vasquez told reporters that elected officials are entitled to their own opinions without making them public, and noted that other officials have faced recusal on issues for speaking out ahead of time in the past.
“Private opinions are private opinions,” he said. “Decisions at the dais are based on fact. You hear everything, and then you make a decision.”
Brown, a Democrat, expressed frustration with the Democratic consultants that the company brought in to help on this campaign, saying they had “sold your soul.”
She also noted that the County will have many things to work on over the next few years and that California Forever should have to wait its turn to get more County resources expended on it.
“What we have to tell them is, ‘You don’t get to jump to the front of the line,’ ” she said. “And I believe that with this going, that we do have a little bit of control at the driver’s side.”
Vacaville Mayor John Carli spoke to The Reporter about the future of the project on Monday. Carli, who has expressed before that California Forever did not sufficiently build trust with the community, said removing the initiative and taking time to hear from the community once again could help that aim.
“I do believe that their actions today are a step in the right direction,” he said.
Crafting an Environmental Impact Report and a Development Agreement could help the company explain to voters what they precisely mean to do and how it might impact the county as a whole, Carli said.
“This makes a lot more sense if you truly are interested in being here for the long term,” he said.
Still, he said, the firm has a long road ahead if they hope to rebuild that trust.
“Part of trust is being a good neighbor,” he said.
State Sen. Bill Dodd (D-3) expressed approval of the decision to remove the initiative from the ballot, but still had sharp words for the company’s end goals.
“The proponents of this ill-conceived development thought they were going to flash their cash and run over our community like a bunch of bumpkins, but instead they ran face-first into a brick wall,” Dodd said in a statement. “These billionaire speculators may try to spin it, but the bottom line is they got a wakeup call that Solano County residents won’t be fooled or taken advantage of.”
Dodd said he still believes the project would have “devastating consequences” for a number of issues in the county, including water, public safety, traffic and Travis Air Force Base.
“I hope they abandon their fundamentally flawed design and approach and instead work collaboratively with local governments to develop housing in a thoughtful way in places where it’s actually suitable.”
Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-11) commended the company for removing its initiative but struck a much more positive tone about the company’s end goals than other local politicians, focusing on the “further discussion” that needs to occur on key issues with the project.
“While the proposed initiative could offer our county many benefits, we must ensure that more work is done to protect current Solano County residents and our local assets,” she said.
Wilson noted that she looks forward to a future of “collaborating with all stakeholders.”
U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-8) commended Supervisor Mitch Mashburn for reaching an agreement with California Forever and reiterated his position that the development would be irresponsible.
“From the beginning, I have maintained that the proposed project was only a pipe dream, not a true plan,” he said. “Rushing the process without thorough environmental and community review would have been disastrous for the existing residents of Solano County.”
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