I am writing to endorse and encourage you to vote for Dr. Rochelle Sherlock for District 2 Solano County of Board Supervisors. I have had the pleasure of knowing Rochelle for over five years. We’re both members of the Solano Transportation Equity Working Group, and I have worked with her in engaging the community to identify issues and develop solutions. I can confidently say that she possesses the necessary qualities and skills to excel in this position and to continue building relationships to partner with resources for our communities and move forward to a quality of life for all.
As a resident of Solano County and District 2, I believe that it is essential to elect leaders who are committed to improving and bringing real quality equity financial and environmental benefits to support all of our community, and Dr. Rochelle Sherlock is one such leader. She has already demonstrated the commitment to public service through her decades of community work across several causes, and she continues to show up and support community events and initiatives, volunteering her time to build the capacity of the community. I believe she will continue to work tirelessly to make our community a better place.
I strongly recommend your vote for Dr. Rochelle Sherlock in the upcoming election. I am confident that she will make a positive impact and work towards the betterment of our community. Please join me in supporting Dr. Rochelle Sherlock and electing her as our District 2 Solano County Board of Supervisor. My son Christopher Gordon agrees. He represents residents who live with disabilities such as himself who lives with Down Syndrome, however they have many abilities to recognize what they want to see and experience in their communities as well.
Sincerely,
Helen-Marie “Cookie” Gordon
Community Advocate
Chair for Solano Transportation (SOLTRANS) Commissioner VHA
[Note from BenIndy: Same old dog, same old tricks. The only things that seem to change over the years are the euphemistic PAC names used to attack Climate Dems. This PAC, funded by Chevron, Valero, and Marathon (among others), is called the “Coalition to Restore California’s Middle Class” in short, but it’s the whole name that gives you the whole picture: “Coalition to Restore California’s Middle Class…Including Energy Manufacturing and Technology Companies Who Produce Gas Oil Jobs and Pay Taxes.” So folks, don’t forget to check the fine print on all political mailers before elections. Top funders are often noted in the fine print, but it’s worth some Google sleuthing to see who else is paying for these glossy hit pieces. The nastier they are, the deeper you should look – to assess both truthfulness and your personal alignment with the statements for or against a candidate or measure.]
SPOTLIGHT
An oil pumpjack in Kern County, California. Climate News / Harika Maddala.
Politico, by Blanca Begert, Camille Von Keen, and Ariel Gans, with help from Jeremy B. White and Wes Venteicher, February 15, 2024
BLUE OIL: Like crude from a derrick, oil money is gushing into legislative races as the industry looks to elect its favored Democrats.
The principal industry PAC — funded by Chevron, Valero and Marathon — has spent nearly $1.4 million to influence voters in a handful of races this week, according to the Coalition to Restore California’s Middle Class’ campaign filings. The spending surge is concentrated on safe blue seats. It’s a familiar tactic: with Republicans sidelined in Sacramento, businesses often look to recruit sympathetic Democrats.
That dynamic is most evident in a Stockton-area state Senate race that’s absorbed the majority of the PAC’s spending so far. The battle to succeed outgoing Sen. Susan Eggman in SD-5 has become a proxy for the larger struggle between business-backed moderate Democrats and more liberal members supported by labor and environmentalists.
The oil PAC has spent $700,000 so far to promote Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua — one of the Legislature’s most conservative Democrats — and to suppress former Rep. Jerry McNerney, who came out of retirement to challenge Villapudua. Meanwhile, a pro-McNerney committee funded by unions, consumer attorneys and green groups has spent more than $400,000.
Beyond SD-5, the industry is spending to boost Adam Perez in the 50th Assembly District; Assemblymember Tim Grayson in the 9th Senate District; Jose Solache in the 62nd Assembly District; Ed Han in the 44th Assembly District; and Karen Mitchoff in the 15th Assembly District, while attacking Jackie Elward in the 3rd Senate District. All are open, blue seats. — JW
State Senate Candidate Christopher Cabaldon. | Kevin Fiscus / CabaldonforSenate.com.
By Larnie Fox, February 20, 2024
Benicia resident and artist Larnie Fox.
Benicia’s local Democratic Club hosted a Zoom meet-your-candidates event last month. Christopher Cabaldon and Rozanna Verder-Aliga were both present, and I watched and listened carefully. Christopher was attentive, well informed, and answered questions clearly. His values aligned with mine, and most of the other virtual attendees. Rozanna, on the other hand, seemed to be trying to figure out what we wanted her to say ~ a bit cluelessly. Our club easily voted to endorse Cabaldon.
If you want to research Cabaldon, skip his campaign materials and read his Wikipedia profile. He was appointed by Obama to the National Advisory Board of America’s College Promise, chaired by Dr. Jill Biden. He did wonders during his 20+ year stint as Mayor of West Sacramento. He started college savings accounts for their kindergarteners, and he made West Sac the first city in the nation to send a letter of college admission and a scholarship offer to every graduating high school senior. He chaired the Jobs, Education and the Workforce Committee at the United States Conference of Mayors, who also awarded him and his town the “America’s Most Livable Small City” award.
Rozanna, on the other hand, as a Vallejo City Councilwoman supported the Orcem cement plant and marine terminal ~ a project that would have polluted a low-income community, snarled traffic with 100 car trains and hundreds of semi trucks on city streets but would have created only 25 permanent jobs. The project was finally defeated by a fierce public outcry. Orcem helped finance Verder-Aliga’s council campaigns.
On her watch the Vallejo Police Department attracted national attention for their violent culture ~ so bad that the City has declared a state of emergency and is now being sued by the State of California for failure of oversight, and by its many victims.
Rozanna served on the Vallejo School Board for 11 years, and was its president in 2004 when the district went bankrupt. A grand jury found the school board failed in its responsibilities to stay informed and to inform the public.
For me, it’s a pretty easy choice. You probably have been seeing plenty of hit pieces, equating Cabaldon with all things evil. The question is ~ what are they afraid of? Do your homework, then vote for Cabaldon.
*Senate District 3 includes the counties of Solano, Napa, and Yolo as well as portions of the counties of Sonoma, Contra Costa and Sacramento.
Note from BenIndy: The race to become the state senator for District 3 is heating up and we are interested in hearing from you! To submit your recommendations for this or any other office, or ballot measure, please email us. Publication is subject to factchecking and, ultimately, the BenIndy’s discretion.
Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land
By Stephen Golub, first published in the Benicia Herald on February 18, 2024
Before I get into the main point of this column, PLEASE PUT MARCH 5 ON YOUR CALENDAR TO ATTEND OR ZOOM INTO THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING ON A BENICIA INDUSTRIAL SAFETY ORDINANCE (ISO).
On December 19, the Council unanimously voted to back a trailblazing ISO proposal by Vice Mayor Terry Scott and Councilwoman Kari Birdseye. The ordinance will help protect our children, our seniors and all of us from the risks of toxic pollutants that the Valero Refinery spewed into the air for years, vastly exceeding regulatory limits, and from the kinds of massive industrial fires and explosions that have plagued other communities across the country. Benicia is the only Bay Area community that has a nearby refinery but that is not protected by an ISO.
The March 5 meeting is part of a process that will result in an ISO, as decided by that unanimous Council vote on December 19. But the devil is in the details, and it’s crucial that the community turn out to show support for a strong ordinance rather than one that could be watered down along the way.
State Senate Candidate Christopher Cabaldon. | Kevin Fiscus / CabaldonforSenate.com.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled column…
Christopher Cabaldon is running to be state senator for California District 3, which includes all of Solano County and many adjoining areas. Endorsed by Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Vice Mayor Terry Scott, former Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, former Council Member Dan Smith and dozens of other officials from across Solano and the region, Cabaldon is by far the best candidate seeking that position.
He deserves our votes in the nonpartisan primary, in which we can vote by mail right now or in person on March 5. The two candidates gaining the most support will go on to compete in the November general election.
In seeking office, Cabaldon is running against fellow Democrats Jackie Elward and Rozanna Verder-Aliga, as well as Republicans Thom Bogue and Jimih Jones. In the candidates forum I attended, which involved the three Democrats, he offered by far the broadest and deepest knowledge of issues affecting Benicia and the many other areas he’d represent if elected. He also came across as someone who is not just a fine speaker, but a good listener, eager to engage with constituents.
At another event, he provided the clearest analysis I’ve heard or read about the “California Forever” initiative that would allow ultra-wealthy and secretive Silicon Valley investors to pretty much do as they please with the large swaths of Solano County they secretly purchased in recent years. I came away from that talk with a clearer understanding of their still-murky motives and plans. (One possibility: They might be motivated by zoning changes that could allow them to reap prodigious profits by reselling the land to developers, despite their promises to build model, affordable cities.) With Cabaldon in office, Benicia would have an important ally in protecting not only our interests but all of Solano County and District 3.
As summarized in a Mercury News editorial endorsing him, “Cabaldon brings an impressive resume: He was West Sacramento mayor for 22 years, worked in the Assembly for eight years as chief of staff to the Appropriations Committee chairperson and staff director for the Committee on Higher Education, served as a California Community Colleges vice chancellor, and as president and CEO of EdVoice led an education advocacy group aimed at reshaping public education to better serve low-income groups. Cabaldon is one of the best-prepared candidates for the state Legislature that we’ve seen this year.”
Given the length of his tenure as West Sacramento mayor, he merits special credit for leading that one-time sleepy backwater’s growth, with its emergence as a dynamic town that won an award as “America’s Most Livable City” from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The elements of that success are too numerous to enumerate here. But his leadership has contributed to rising incomes and real estate values, as well as expansion of affordable housing and initiatives regarding flood plain management, sustainable land use and urban farming.
Furthermore, as praised at the state/local governance website Governing, another Cabaldon initiative “includes universal preschool for every 4-year-old, a college savings account for kindergartners, guaranteed internships for high school students and a program for one year of free community college. West Sac now has its own on-demand rideshare service run by a private company that allows residents to get anywhere in the city for $3.50.”
Cabaldon has demonstrated a wide array of expertise and experience, progressive in some regards while working across the aisle in others. He was appointed to national and state commissions by former President Obama and by five California governors from both parties. His many other accomplishments have included serving as National President of Asian and Pacific Americans in Higher Education and Inaugural Chair of the National LGBTQ Mayors Alliance, as well as receiving the following honors: Innovation & Vision in Government Award by Governing Magazine, Public Champion for Business by the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce , Executive of the Year by the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce, Equality Leadership Award by Equality California and Outstanding Elected Official Award by the Mexican American Concilio of Yolo County.
Cabaldon’s Democratic opponents do not bring nearly the same degree of expertise and experience to bear as he does. Rohnert Park Councilwoman Jackie Elward does offer an admirable background as an educator, organizer and immigrant, but did not demonstrate nearly Cabaldon’s qualifications and grasp of the issues at the aforementioned forum and otherwise. She has a promising future, but for now a vote for her would be a vote taken away from Cabaldon, who is District 3 progressives’ and moderates’ best hope to achieve effective representation in Sacramento. This is especially important, because…
Cabaldon’s other Democratic opponent is Vallejo City Councilwoman Rozzana Verder-Aliga. Though she brings her own wealth of experience to the table, in certain ways it includes acting in ways potentially detrimental to Vallejo, Benicia and Solano County. Most notably, in 2017 she led the way in the Vallejo Council extending consideration of an (ultimately unsuccessful) proposal to build a cement plant and deep-water port in Vallejo, despite widespread community opposition and a nearly unanimous vote against the project by the Vallejo Planning Commission.
The development, which would have imported and processed an industrial byproduct with an apt and ugly name, “slag,” could have caused havoc for Vallejo, Benicia and surrounding areas in multiple ways, including: polluting the waterfront, the Bay and the Napa River; spouting clouds into the air during construction; in case of overexposure to slag, causing “chemical burns, irreversible skin and eye damage, lung failure and cancer”; and burdening the transportation network with loads of heavy vehicles moving back and forth.
It also was reported that Verder-Aliga and the three other Council members voting to extend consideration were backed by a PAC funded by pro-cement plant interests, including the parent company of Orcem, the firm proposing to build the plant and port.
I’d add that in the candidates’ forum I attended, Verder-Aliga seemed ignorant of or otherwise out of touch with issues of concern to Benicia and the region, in contrast to her two opponents, particularly Cabaldon. It’s also noteworthy that Vallejo Mayor Robert McConnell has endorsed Cabaldon over Verder-Aliga, as have several other current and former city officials. While she’s received the California Democratic Party endorsement, that can be chalked up to the influence of certain vested interests more than to attributes or accomplishments.
Unfortunately, Cabaldon has been the victim of a smear campaign and repeated mailings aiming to smear him with poorly documented claims. Suffice to say that such attacks do not seem well-founded.
In sum, then, the choice is clear: Christopher Cabaldon for State Senate. Please remember to vote by mail or, at the latest, in the primary on March 5.
[Full disclosure: I have donated to Cabaldon’s campaign.]
*Senate District 3 includes the counties of Solano, Napa, and Yolo as well as portions of the counties of Sonoma, Contra Costa and Sacramento.
In addition to this Benicia and Beyond column, Steve Golub writes about democracy and politics, both in America and abroad, at www.apromisedland.org.
Note from BenIndy: The race to become the state senator for District 3 is heating up, and we are interested in hearing from you! To submit your recommendations for this or any other office, or ballot measure, please email us. Publication is subject to factchecking and, ultimately, the BenIndy’s discretion.
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