Benicia City Council, Justin Zollars, Kari Birdseye, Local elections, Terry Scott

Benicia City Council Candidate Forum Sept 30

The League of Women Voters of Solano County is hosting a Local Elections Candidate Forum in a few weeks. Come with your questions on September 30, 6:30-8PM at the Benicia Public Library!

About the event & Candidate Information from the Benicia Library website:

Get informed before you vote! Join the League of Women Voters of Solano County for a nonpartisan Candidates Forum featuring local election candidates. Hear directly from those seeking your vote, learn where they stand on important community issues, and submit questions. This free public event is open to everyone. Make your voice count—be an informed voter!

Local Elections Candidate Forum
September 30, 2026 | 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
In the Doña Benicia Room.

Below you’ll find more information on each of the candidates.

KARI BIRDSEYE:

Kari Birdseye was elected to serve on Benicia’s City Council in 2022. She began her service in Benicia city government in 2012 at the Benicia Human Services Board and served on Benicia’s Planning Commission for eight years, as Chair of the Commission for six years. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Solano County Fair Board Association and the Benicia-Vallejo Chapter of the American Association of University Women Executive Board.

She has a BA in Journalism from San Francisco State and a Master of Science Degree in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco. Kari is former CNN journalist, where she was part of a team that earned an Emmy Award for news coverage of the Olympic Park bombing in 1996. Kari and her husband James have raised their two kids, Julia and Joey in Benicia, and have lived in Benicia since 2000. She has served as president of two local boards: Matthew Turner PTA and the Benicia Stingrays Swim Team. Kari is employed by Natural Resources Defense Council as a Regional Media and Public Affairs Director.

In her City Council capacity, Kari currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Green Empowerment Zone, Marin Clean Energy and is the 1st Vice President of the League of California Cities, North Bay Division.

TERRY SCOTT:

Terry is a 14-year Benicia resident, businessman, futurist, and philanthropist committed to building a stronger future. He served as Vice Mayor and currently sits on the Benicia City Council.

His first term delivered measurable results: a balanced budget, department reorganization, optimized staffing, new purchasing efficiencies, priority-based budgeting, new revenue streams, and advanced air quality and safety measures. That foundation now positions Benicia to seize what’s next — requiring the experienced fiscal leadership and proven results Terry brings, which is why he’s running for re-election.

His public service spans the Tax Oversight Commission, CURE Commission, CAP/Valero Advisory Panel, Tula Sister City Program, multiple Solano Transportation Authority commissions, and the WETA Ferry 2050 Visioning Team. He was appointed SolTrans Board Chair for an unprecedented third term, co-founded and led the Benicia Community Foundation as Executive Director, and chaired the Benicia Arts and Culture Commission (2015–2022).

He holds a degree from Kent State University and completed Executive Studies at Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College.

JUSTIN ZOLLARS:

Justin Zollars, candidate for Benicia City Council, brings 15 years of technology experience from companies including Adobe and Veracyte, where he currently works as a software engineer in cancer genomics. Justin holds an MS in Biology and has founded and led his own startup, giving him hands-on experience managing budgets and coordinating between engineers, partners, and customers. In 2008, Justin represented his community as an elected delegate to a presidential nominating convention. A Benicia homeowner and civic advocate, he’s running in opposition to Flock Safety’s license plate reader cameras over serious privacy concerns. Justin is dedicated to protecting resident privacy, improving parks and roads, and preserving Benicia’s small-town character.

 

City of Benicia, Data Centers, Just transition, Signature Development Group, Valero Benicia Refinery

Should Benicia allow data centers? City grapples with zoning

Benicia Planning Commission is considering banning large-scale data centers and limiting smaller ones under the industrial zoning code.

Aerial view of a large data center campus in Hutto, Texas, with three massive buildings with 400m square feet of space and 600 MW power capacity. Adobe

The Benicia Bridge, By Monica Vaughan, September 9, 2026

As Benicia prepares for waves of development following the closure of the Valero Refinery, city officials will consider banning large-scale data centers and limiting smaller ones.

“Right now, if a data center wanted to come into our industrial park, they would be allowed ‘by right,’” City Manager Mario Giuliani told The Benicia Bridge.

The Benicia Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Thursday and plans to vote that evening on recommended changes to the zoning code to add specific language regulating data centers. The City Council will have final say before any zoning changes are adopted.

Cities across the country – from Coachella to Corpus Christi – are adopting moratoriums or outright bans on large-scale data centers in response to public outcry over centers’ heavy resource use.

No data center has been proposed in Benicia…. [continued on The Benicia Bridge – click here…]

Excerpt posted from The Benicia Bridge
Excellent reporting from Benicia’s newest award-winning journalism duo, Monica Vaughan and Laura López González.
Learn more and subscribe to the newsletter here.

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Bay Area Air District, Benicia Unified School District, City of Benicia, Just transition, Valero Benicia Refinery

Benicia News – Bay Area Air District grants $40M to City of Benicia, Benicia School District

[Editor: Great news! As far back as 2014, I reported on Benicians petitioning the Air Board to share refinery fines with the communities harmed by the toxic violations. The Air District’s $40 million grants go to show the importance of never giving up! Thanks to Mayor Young and the current Air District Board; and thanks to all who raised awareness by organizing to pass Benicia’s Industrial Safety Ordinance; and thanks to former Mayor Elizabeth Patterson and others who saw the future and pressed for this important Air District accountability and sharing. Following are three reports from local news outlets. – R.S.]

The Vallejo Sun: Bay Area Air District announces $40M in funding for city of Benicia, school district

The grant was awarded from a record $82 million fine against the Valero Refining Company in 2024.

Bay Area Air District Executive Officer Phillip M. Fine announces a $40 million grant award to Benicia at the Benicia Community Center. Photo by Gretchen Smail.

The Vallejo Sun, September 4, 2026

BENICIA – The Bay Area Air District announced $40 million in grant funding for the city of Benicia and the Benicia Unified School District at a press conference on Thursday morning at the Benicia Community Center.

The funds were awarded to the city and the school district from an $82 million fine levied on the Valero Refining Company in 2024 for nearly two decades of toxic emissions releases in Benicia that exceeded legal limits. It’s still the largest penalty ever assessed by the air district.

“This is the first award that the air district is making under our groundbreaking policy that ensures that penalty funds from air quality violations go back into the community where they can have a meaningful local benefit,” said Bay Area Air District Executive Officer Philip Fine. “The City of Benicia and Benicia Unified… […continued…]

The Benicia Bridge: City of Benicia awarded ‘groundbreaking’ $30 million in Valero settlement money for just economic transition and clean air projects

(Left to right) Benicia School Superintendent Chris Calabrese, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, and Bay Area Air District Executive Officer Dr. Philip Fine look on as City Manager Mario Giuliani addresses a crowd of residents and journalists at Thursday’s announcement. Monica Vaughan

The Benicia Bridge, by Monica Vaughan

The City of Benicia will receive $30 million of Valero settlement funds in a landmark grant t… […continued…]

The Benicia Bridge: Benicia schools get $10 million from Valero settlement funds for clean air projects

Benicia Unified School District Office shown Sept. 2, 2026. Monica Vaughan

The Benicia Bridge, by Monica Vaughan

Benicia Unified School District was awarded $10 million of Valero settlement funds from the Bay Area Air District Wednesday for clean air projects, part of a new grant process to redistribute money from air quality fines to impacted communities. […continued…]

Vallejo Times-Herald: Bay Area Air District invests $40 million in Benicia

Air District reinvests penalties from air quality violations into various projects

Benicia City Manager Mario Giuliani talks about how a 40 million dollar grant from the Bay Area Air District, as a result of Valero air quality penalty funds, will help the City of Benicia and the school district during a press conference at the Benicia Community Center on Thursday. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)

Vallejo Times-Herald, September 3, 2026

The Bay Area Air District announced Thursday it is investing $40 million in Benicia, including $30 million for the city and $10 million for the Benicia Unified School District to support projects aimed at improving air quality, public health and community resilience.

The Benicia Catalyst grants are the first round of awards in the Catalyst grant category of the Local Community Benefits Fund. The Air District adopted the Community Benefits Fund Policy in 2024 to reinvest penalties from air quality violations into impacted communities.

“This is a significant investment by the Air District in the future of Benicia, and it comes at a consequential time in our history as the city prepares for the economic and operational impact associated with the closure of the Valero refinery,” said Benicia Mayor Steve Young. “It’s especially meaningful and appropriate… […continued]

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Benicia CA, Benicia crime, Hate crimes, Stephen Golub

Hate Has No Home Here

By Stephen Golub… “Lots of questions swirl around the crime….”

By Stephen Golub, Benicia resident and author, “Benicia and Beyond” column in the Benicia Herald, September 6, 2026

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub

Perhaps you’ve seen the “Hate Has No Home Here” sign outside some Benicia homes. It signals that the household treasures tolerance over bigotry, inclusion over exclusion, and love over hate.

Benicia made a related statement with our Police Department’s August 31 arrest of Vallejo resident Esa Gabriel Makei for the defacement of the inspiring “Together We Rise” mural, which is located on the alley bordering First Street’s NY2CA Gallery. On the night of August 26, Makei allegedly painted over the part of the mural that specifically highlights such sentiments as love, peace, hope, belonging, kindness, diversity and inclusion.

Makei was identified (and found with a spray paint can inside his car) via the use of surveillance video and Flock license plate reader cameras. An NBC Bay Area article reports that he confessed to the act and “faces charges of felony vandalism and a misdemeanor hate crime.” Kudos to the police for catching the likely culprit.

Lots of questions swirl around the crime. For one thing, since that same spot was defaced in July (though in a different manner), was Makei the perpetrator in both incidents?

Regardless, why did he apparently commit the August 26 crime, especially since he reportedly is himself an artist and muralist? Was something hateful or hurtful going on in his head or life? Was it hate generally directed toward love and the mural’s other positive elements? Or was it particularly aimed against the LGBTQ community, since aspects of the targeted section could be interpreted as especially supporting such groups?

The fact that Makei has been charged with a hate crime could reflect that particular focus. As reported by a fine online Benicia Bridge article (published before the suspect was apprehended), the California Department of Justice defines a hate crime as “a crime against a person, group, or property motivated by the victim’s real or perceived protected social group.” You don’t even have to interpret the vandalism that way to see how un-American the act was; it attacked art, certainly, but also free speech and many values we all share.

The incident itself was certainly not good news. But it is profoundly good that many Benicians have rallied around the mural, as well as around artist Wendy Buresh, who designed the defaced section, and NY2CA owner Vickie Marchand, who commissioned and was a moving force behind this moving, beautiful addition to the Benicia scene and spirit.

Speaking of which, Marchand’s admirable comments on the crime reflect the compassion and tolerance the “Together We Rise” mural embodies. As reported by the Benicia Bridge article, she said that  “I really would love to have a conversation with this person, to kind of say, ‘How can we help you? What can we do so that you have some hope because it seems like it’s gone.’”

That’s not to say that she or others don’t want to see Makei punished if he’s convicted. I certainly do. But perhaps there’s also  a restorative justice angle to pursue – not mutually exclusive with punishment – through which he could give back something positive to the community on which he allegedly unleashed such a hateful act.

For right now, though, we can be thankful that the probable perpetrator was caught, that the great majority of Benicians choose love over hate, and that we have people like Buresh and Marchand to restore the damaged art in the spirit of the rising Phoenix it represents.

As Marchand has observed, “We’re going through an uncertain time in our nation, and this mural was supposed to give hope. It was supposed to be a piece of art that moved you.”

It does give hope and it does move us. Here’s to love triumphing over hate. Here’s to Benicia and America rising to meet our challenges.

Because hate must have no home here.

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land

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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