Questions by Stephen Golub… beginning with, “If reelected to the Benicia Council…”

By Stephen Golub, Benicia resident and author, “Benicia and Beyond” column in the Benicia Herald, July 26, 2026

This past week, City Council Member Terry Scott kindly took the time for an interview regarding his background, Benicia’s challenges / opportunities and (having first been elected in 2022) his recently launched campaign for reelection this November. Here are my questions and his thoughts for Part One of the interview. Part Two will appear next Sunday.

1. If reelected to the Council, what will your priorities be?

My priorities will continue to stay the same that have guided my first term: fiscal responsibility, smart economic development and housing, environmental protection, caring for all our residents, transparent government, and regional leadership. I would add, we must manage three massive priorities in parallel: managing Benicia’s future by reimaging of the Valero site, Rose Estates, Yuba and other housing developments, while building revenue streams to maintain the quality of life that we all expect while enhancing our Business Industrial Park to face forward.

2. Where did you grow up?

Cleveland, Ohio. Went off to college. Then said goodbye to Cleveland and moved to Florida to play soccer and, in an interesting twist of irony, my first job was as a reporter covering West Palm Beach City Hall for the Palm Beach Post & Times. Bored with City Hall intrigue, I founded my own City Magazine, sold it, headed back to Cleveland to write the Great American novel. Met my wife Randi on a forced blind date. Started writing and marketing for a bunch of ad agencies. Did a futurist project for M&M Mars which lead me to a toy company which was bought by Hasbro and they transferred me to Napa to manage lots of toy divisions. Then from Napa to Pawtucket, RI to head up the whole shebang of Hasbro’s internationally based Creative Services teams. Whew! I’m exhausted talking through that.

3. How did you end up in Benicia?

Star Wars, Transformers, Indiana Jones brought me here.  Believe it or not. I was working at Hasbro and spending a lot of time at Industrial Light & Magic, working on George Lucas films, which meant weeks at a time up at Skywalker Ranch. In another twist of irony, my oldest son ended up staying in California and renting an apartment above Iron Horse Furniture on First St. which used to be in what is now Lucca’s. So we were in this area a lot to visit him, and we got to know Benicia well. We liked Benicia so much we bought a condo and stayed there instead of a hotel during my trips out west. When I retired from Hasbro we simply landed here, and never looked back.

4. How have you spent most of your professional career?

Most of my career was in the toy industry, mentoring and bringing out the best in others. When I retired I learned my staff called me ‘Johnny Appleseed’: I’d plant ideas and let my teams run with them. I think toys kept me from ever aging past seven — that childlike wonderment, that sense there’s nothing you can’t do, has stayed with me. I addition I’ve live by the mantra: Did you make a difference today? It was scribbled on my office walls in every job I’ve held. At the end of the day, my career has been about managing lots of people; managing real, significant budgets; and delivering on the promise of getting the job done right.

5. How did you first become interested in running for the Benicia City Council?

I was appointed to the city’s Arts and Culture Commission in 2015 , thinking it would be fun to work on developing public art, put up murals and be part of projects like Neptune’s Daughter. And I did. But I quickly learned that the real decisions, you know, the ones that shaped the city were happening up a few levels  at the planning level and at City Council. Around the same time, I looked at my own toolkit: years as a futurist, a marketer, someone who’d run a major division at Hasbro — and thought, that’s useful here. I ran in 2020 against Tom Campbell, which, if you know Tom, you know is no small task. I lost that one. I ran again and became a council member in 2022. Honestly, it was as much my neighbors and friends nudging me saying: “you should be doing this” as it was my own ambition.

6. What accomplishments are you proudest of regarding your time on the Council?

That’s a hard one to narrow down, because a lot of what I’m proudest of isn’t a single vote — it’s being the person on the other end of the phone, email or whatever when someone in this community has a problem. But you want specifics: I’m proud of how we exhibited great fiscal responsibility and balanced the city’s budget for the first time in six years. That’s no small feat. And, we’re moving towards more fiscal responsibility by employing Priority Based Budgeting methods. I’m proud of passing Measures A, B, and F. And honestly, I’m proud that people keep asking me, “Are you running again?” — because it tells me this council hasn’t been kicking the can down the road, and people have noticed.

7. Are there any particular lessons you’ve learned from your City Council experience, and/or aspects of the work you more fully appreciate now as opposed to when you first started?

First, city government moves at glacial speed. Coming from a business I’m used to moving fast and deciding fast. Coming into city government felt like hitting a wall. By design, the gears of government turn slowly and that was a hard adjustment.

Second, council is a policy-making body, not an operations team. We set direction by telling staff what outcomes we desire. We let the professionals build the solution. It’s a jigsaw puzzle, and our job is to guide the process, not assemble every piece.

Finally, I appreciate now just how much the city is interwoven into the fabric of our lives: public safety, water, sewer, parks, roads, every facet of daily life for residents, businesses, and visitors. It’s a bigger responsibility than I understood when I started, and honestly, it can be overwhelming.

8. Benicia faces a considerable budget gap due to the Valero Refinery ceasing operations (except as a temporary fuel storage depot) and the resulting loss of city revenue. What do you see as the most promising current and potential steps to close that gap?

We must look at it as a Rubik’s Cube: many sides. Many colors. Turn one side and everything changes.

We’re pursuing several strategies at once. We’re working with the Air District on a Catalyst Grant for roughly $40 million, easing pressure on staff capacity for planning work. We’re working with the state for compensation of the site’s use as a marine fuel terminal. We’re asking voters to pass Measure X, which includes a tax on refined gasoline stored and passed through Valero infrastructure.

We’ve consolidated departments, looked at staffing levels, and we must streamline planning and permitting to make the city easier to build in.

We must capture the ensuing labor and economic activity from the Valero dismantling and remediation. Typically, 100’s of temporary workers are on-site for years during dismantling and remediation. Benicia must plan to benefit from that activity.

Concurrently, we must stimulate growth in the industrial park, create a downtown district plan designed for more retail instead of commercial space, add parking, support more destination events. We should reinvent our pier/ spit for retail use. Welcome new restaurants and understand our generational shift from older residents to younger residents who are steadily growing our property tax base.

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Stephen Golub writes about democracy and politics, both in America and abroad, at A Promised Land: America as a Developing Country.

…and… here’s more Golub on the Benicia Independent

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