Benicia City Council, Benicia elections

Progressive Democrats of Benicia endorse Kari Birdseye, Terry Scott

City Council Endorsements for Benicia’s November Election

On Thursday, August 25, after an informative and well-attended meeting of the Progressive Democrats featuring a forum for three Democratic Benicia City Council candidates, the membership voted to endorse Kari Birdseye and
Terry Scott for City Council.

The membership failed to endorse the third Democrat running for two seats on Council, Christina Strawbridge.

In the forum moderated by Interim Chair Kathy Kerridge, the candidates were presented with prepared questions on topics ranging from the Valero PAC—which has a stockpile of over $200,000 to support candidates favorable to their issues—to climate change response and adaptation strategies, as well as affordable housing for seniors and low-income families. Each candidate was afforded ample time to answer each question and provided thoughtful, forward-thinking responses.

The membership also voted to endorse Jose Altamirano for the State Board of Equalization and to make a financial donation to each of the endorsed candidates.
Poetry in Benicia

Benicia Library to host Readings & Conversations

Yearning to Breathe Free—A Community Journal of 2020
Plan to attend on Sunday, Aug. 28 (on Zoom)

Readings and Conversations from the book:
The Impact of the Times
Sunday, August 28, 3-5 p.m.
Sunday, September 18, 3-5 p.m.
Sunday, October 16, 3-5 p.m.
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86337714167?pwd=dlh1Y1dTMkRIL3B2bWphOEhZQlhLQT09
To purchase the book, see below.

How this came about in Benicia…

More than sixty writers from diverse ages, backgrounds, and circumstances contributed to the Benicia Herald’s newspaper column “Going the Distance” from April 1 to Election Day, 2020. Those writings appear in the book Yearning to Breathe Free, published by Benicia Literary Arts

Benicia readers of the column called it a 2020 “lifeline,” a “chronicle of our shared history,” with writings that “consistently stir truth…desperately needed truth.”

Collected in the book are the personal responses of a community, presented as they appeared, day by day, during the thick of uncertainty and doubt.

The period spanning the onset of coronavirus restrictions and the 2020 elections is one of the most eventful, demanding, exhausting, scary and scarring in our recent history.  We were not all in  the same boat, but we all lived through the same storm.  “The craving for normalcy growls like an empty stomach,” Poet Laureate Emerita Lois Requist wrote in early April. In October an anonymous twelve-year-old asked, “Dear Future, Will you be there for me?”

Yearning to Breathe Free stands as a historical record from our small corner of America, a raw, unmediated testimony to hope and fear, anger and despair, inspired by events as they unfolded.

The writings are also testimony to the power of poetry and story to encourage individuals, strengthen community, and confront significant issues in a time of multiple crises.

You are invited…

You are invited to attend any or all of three upcoming readings & conversations, sponsored by the Benicia Public Library at 3-5 p.m. on August 28, September 18, and October 16.  Each event will feature a different program of selected readings from Yearning To Breathe Free.  The readings will be presented chronologically, as they appear in the book, providing a perspective on the intense events of 2020 from April 1 through Election Day.

Here’s the link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86337714167?pwd=dlh1Y1dTMkRIL3B2bWphOEhZQlhLQT09
Meeting ID: 863 3771 4167
Passcode: 515278

Anticipating the reading in which she will take part, Poet Laureate Emerita Johanna Ely said, “I look forward to hearing the other poems, and joining in a conversation about how it felt to suddenly realize that our lives had changed in a huge way.”

The readings and conversations will offer opportunity to reflect on our shared history, strengthen our community, and support one another. To look back and to move beyond. Please join in the first event on Sunday August 28. For more details, go to https://benicialibrary.org/poet/events.

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Yearning To Breathe Free—A Community Journal of 2020, published by Benicia Literary Arts, is available at Bookshop Benicia and on the BLA website, benicialiteraryarts.org/store/product/17  and can be borrowed from the Benicia Public Library.

Benicia City Council, Kari Birdseye

Jarrod Slate: Kari Birdseye, Truly a Voice for the People

Kari is studied and informed, respectful and fair

By Jarrod Slate, August 19, 2022
Mr. Slate is a Benicia Business Owner and a Benicia Planning Commissioner

Jarrod Slate, Benicia

As a longtime resident, a parent, a homeowner, and business owner in Benicia, I felt it was my obligation to become active in this small community, especially on major issues.

I really started paying attention to Benicia planning and politics when “Crude by Rail” was in front of Benicia’s Planning Commission. It was a subject I knew nothing about, but one that provoked a lot of feelings within the community. I began attending the meetings, with no opinion on the topic, and loved witnessing the process.

Many Planning Commissioners stood out to me during that time, with one of the main ones being Kari Birdseye. She came across as well studied and informed, which allowed her to confidently ask thorough questions. This is a great characteristic of someone in that kind of role, or higher office.

Fast forward to today and I now have the honor of serving with Chair Birdseye on the current Planning Commission. She continues to amaze me with her thoroughness in reviewing all material, her leadership skills, her overall respect to the public, their concerns, and the process. She is fair in her assessments, approaching issues from a centrist position, reviewing all the facts, and ultimately making decisions for the greater good of our small community. She has been a role model and mentor for me on how I want to conduct myself as a commissioner.

These are the qualities I want and expect in City Council, which is why I can confidently support Kari Birdseye for Benicia City Council. She will work hard to represent everyone and make decisions that benefit all Benicians, based on the facts that she has. As someone with personal interests in Benicia schools, sports, business, and property, I support Kari Birdseye for City Council.

Jarrod Slate
Benicia

More letters, news & links about Kari here on the BenIndy

And best of all – Kari’s website!

Kari Birdseye For Benicia City Council 2022
https://karibirdseyeforbenicia.com
Republican Party

‘Tonight, the nation marks the end of the Republican Party’

THE LINCOLN PROJECT STATEMENT ON LIZ CHENEY’S PRIMARY LOSS

The Lincoln Project, August 16, 2022

Liz Cheney, conceding defeat on August 16, 2022. “As we leave here, let us resolve that we will stand together — Republicans, Democrats and independents — against those who would destroy our republic.”
The Lincoln Project releases the following statement on the primary loss of Liz Cheney:

“Tonight, the nation marks the end of the Republican Party. What remains shares the name and branding of the traditional GOP, but is in fact an authoritarian nationalist cult dedicated only to Donald Trump.

“Liz Cheney stood up to the lawless, reckless attack on our nation led by Donald Trump and millions of Americans saw leadership that transcended ideological boundaries. For standing up to Donald Trump and working to hold accountable those responsible for his violent insurrection, Liz Cheney risked and lost her political career as a Republican.

“The Wyoming GOP, supported by millions of corporate dollars from Kevin McCarthy, nominated a reality-denying conspiracy theorist who promotes the “Big Lie” and bends a knee to Donald Trump.

“Liz Cheney showed America what a dedicated public servant driven by principle is like; it’s no wonder today’s GOP hates her. She remains an essential leader of the pro-democracy forces in the United States today and we encourage her to continue to engage in the fight to save our Republic and protect our democracy.

“The way she fought this race has only increased her stature among people setting aside their partisan differences to fight for democracy. We thank her for her service, and look forward to seeing her next chapter. America needs her and more people like her.”

The Lincoln Project is a leading pro-democracy organization in the United States — dedicated to the preservation, protection, and defense of democracy.

To learn more about The Lincoln Project, go to lincolnproject.us.