Christina Strawbridge, Kari Birdseye, Lionel Largaespada, Local elections, Organized labor, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Services Inc.

Outside labor PAC spending in Benicia – AND Vallejo

Repost from the Vallejo Times-Herald
[Editor: See update on total of $154,200 amassed by this giant outsider PAC which is anything but “Working Families.”  – RS]

Sacramento trades council donates $40,000 to local contests in Vallejo, Benicia

By JOHN GLIDDEN, October 24, 2018 at 3:52 pm

A Sacramento-based trades council has gotten involved with local politics by contributing a combined $40,000 to supporting various candidates for the Vallejo and Benicia city councils.

The State Building and Construction Trades Council of California Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee (PAC) gave $30,000 to a separate committee called Working Families for a Strong Benicia which supports Lionel Largaespada and Christina Strawbridge for the Benicia City Council.

The financial information was submitted to the Benicia City Clerk’s Office on Oct. 11.

The Trades Council of California PAC donated $10,000 this week to JumpStart Vallejo, similar records to the Vallejo Clerk’s Office show. JumpStart is supporting Pippin Dew, Hakeem Brown, and Jess Malgapo for the Vallejo City Council.

Working Families is supporting the two Benicia council candidates while also opposing fellow candidate Kari Birdseye.

The committee, known by a lengthy name, Working Families for a Strong Benicia, a Coalition of Labor, Industrial Services Companies, Public Safety and Local Leaders Supporting Christina Strawbridge and Lionel Largaespada and Opposing Kari Birdseye for Benicia City Council 2018, has raised $154,200 since Oct. 11.

Working Families is backed by the Valero Benicia Refinery, which has sunk $14,200 into the committee.

The committee, through political calls to Benicia residents over the past two weeks, has accused Birdseye of being a “yes man for the mayor.”

Don Wilson, vice president and general manager for refinery, in letter to the editor published by this newspaper on Oct. 16 argued Patterson has targeted the refinery and its operations. Wilson said if elected, Birdseye would join Patterson and Vice Mayor Steve Young on the five-person council to oppose the refinery.

Birdseye has previously denied the accusation regarding herself and Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson.

“I’m a critical, strategic thinker with years of experience in management, finances and leadership,” Birdseye previously said in an email to the Times-Herald. “I’m the last person who wants to give oxygen to the lie being spread about the Mayor and Vice Mayor building their shadow government, but if you look at the Vice Mayor’s voting record, he also is an independent thinker.”

Additional cash contributions have come from the Heat & Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local Union 16 Political Action Committee which gave $20,000 to the group, while $30,000 came from the International Brotherhood of Boilmaker, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers & Helpers Local 549 PAC, according to 497 forms posted to the city’s website.

Additional contributions of $30,000 each were contributed to the committee recently from the District Council of Iron Workers Political Action League, and the California State Pipe Trades Council PAC.

The Working Families committee has spent that money on the calls and political ads.

Birdseye, Largaespada, Strawbridge, and Will Emes are all running for two open seats on the five-person Benicia City Council this fall. The two incumbents, Alan Schwartzman and Mark Hughes, have both declined to seek re-election to the council.

Meanwhile in Vallejo, five candidates are running for three seats up for grabs in the election. Malgapo, Dew, and Katy Miessner are seeking re-election, while being challenged by Brown, and Vincent May.

JumpStart, which is an independent expenditure committee, is also supporting John Fox, Tony Ubalde and Tony Gross for the Vallejo City Unified School District Board of Education. Ubalde, Ruscal Cayangyang, and Burky Worel are seeking re-election to the five-person board. Gross, Fox, Allan Yeap, Ryan Messano, and Christy Gardner are challenging for a seat.

The election is Nov. 6.

Benicia School Board, Local elections

Benicia School Board endorsements

By Roger Straw, October 25, 2018

We need major change on Benicia’s School Board – vote for these progressive hearts and minds

The Benicia Independent is pleased to endorse Adrean Hayashi, Gethsemane Moss and Sheri Zada for Benicia School Board Trustee.

It was a hard choice – candidate Mark Maselli is also deserving, but we can only vote for three.  All will bring a fresh perspective with support for our teachers and a critique of recent discord between teachers and the current administration.  (I will recommend against voting for the incumbent Diane Ferrucci – time for a change!)

This 2018 election is a perfect time for another “year of the woman,” so all else being equal, I’ll go with Hayashi, Moss and Zada.

Find out more about the candidates here:
Benicia City Council, Christina Strawbridge, Kari Birdseye, Keeping Watch on Earth News, Lionel Largaespada, Local elections, Negative campaigning, Organized labor, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Services Inc.

Anti-Birdseye outside money – 3 new expenditure reports

By Roger Straw, October 24, 2018

Valero / Labor PAC alters its telephone script and shows new video ads

Three NEW Expenditure Forms 496 were posted on the City of Benicia website Tuesday, showing amended costs, new negative phone calling scripts and new tv ads bought by the anti-Birdseye PAC.

This round of phone calls focuses on local jobs, and makes unsubstantiated claims against Kari Birdseye while praising her opponents.  The ads show Birdseye’s opponents’ faces along with a positive message rather than Birdseye’s face with negative message.  They must believe the damage is done – or that the blatantly negative ads were not helping their cause.

The reports posted by the City are simply listed by number without much guidance for voters.  I’ll try to sort it out below, with new totals.  (I confess, however, that I have no idea why the PAC’s costs are less now than in previous reports – it makes no sense…)

In summary, the PAC is still absolutely LOADED for more big campaign expenditures during these final weeks before election day.

TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS: $154,200
LESS EXPENDITURES TO DATE: $25,124.81
YET TO BE SPENT:  $129,075.19
NEW EXPENDITURE REPORTS – AMENDMENTS (as of Oct. 24)

  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_12.pdf
    EXPENDITURE AMENDMENT PRO-LARGAESPADA: Winning Connection calls $8,288.75 on 10/16 (showing a new telephone script) (cumulative to date $25,124.81) as amended on 10/22
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_13.pdf
    EXPENDITURE AMENDMENT PRO-LARGAESPADA (but actually showing photocopies of new digital ads for STRAWBRIDGE): Digital Turf media buy $4,689 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $25,124.81); Digital Turf ad production $2,000 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $25,124.81)
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_14.pdf
    EXPENDITURE AMENDMENT PRO-LARGAESPADA (showing photocopies of new digital ads for LARGAESPADA): Digital Turf media buy $4,689 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $25,124.81); Digital Turf ad production $2,000 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $25,124.81)TOTAL EXPENDITURES TO DATE: $25,124.81

CONTRIBUTIONS (as of Oct. 24, no change since Oct. 18)

PREVIOUSLY REPORTED EXPENDITURES (through Oct. 18)

  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_1.pdf
    PRO-STRAWBRIDGE: Winning Connections calls $5,166.67 on 10/10; Valero Use of Poll $4,733.34 on 10/10
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_2.pdf
    PRO-LARGAESPADA: Winning Connections calls $5,166.67 on 10/10; Valero Use of Poll $4,733.34 on 10/10
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_3.pdf
    ANTI-BIRDSEYE: Winning Connections calls $5,166.67 on 10/10; Valero Use of Poll $4,733.34 on 10/10
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_4.pdf
    ANTI-BIRDSEYE: Digital Turf media buy $4,689 on 10/11 (cumulative to date $16,589); Digital Turf ad production $2,000 on 10/11 (cumulative to date $16,589)
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_5.pdf
    PRO-STRAWBRIDGE: Digital Turf media buy $4,689 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $16,589); Digital Turf ad production $2,000 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $16,589)
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_6.pdf
    PRO-LARGAESPADA: Digital Turf media buy $4,689 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $16,589); Digital Turf ad production $2,000 on 10/13 (cumulative to date $16,589)
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_7.pdf
    AMENDMENT TO 496-1 PRO-STRAWBRIDGE Winning Connection calls $5,413.73 (not $5,166.67) and (cumulative to date $16,836.07); Heat & Frost contribution of $20,000 (not $30,000) on 10/16
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_8.pdf
    AMENDMENT TO 496-2 PRO-LARGAESPADA: Winning Connections calls $5,413.73 (not $5,166.67) and (cumulative to date $16,836.07) on 10/16
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_9.pdf
    AMENDMENT TO 496-3 ANTI-BIRDSEYE: Winning Connections calls $5,413.73 (not $5,166.67) and (cumulative to date $16,836.07) on 10/16
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_10.pdf
    AMENDMENT TO 496-4 ANTI-BIRDSEYE: Digital Turf media buy and ad production (and cumulative to date $16,836) on 10/15
  • Anti-Birdseye_PAC_Form_496_11.pdf
    NEW EXPENDITURE PRO-LARGAESPADA: Winning Connection calls $9,000 (cumulative to date $25,836.06) on 10/16
    TOTAL EXPENDITURES REPORTED AS OF OCT 18: $25,836.06
Air Quality, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Bay Area Refineries, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Reactive organic gases (ROG), Refinery emissions

Bay Area Air District proposing to give refineries a pass on air monitoring

[Editor: For more, including HOW TO SEND THE AIR DISTRICT YOUR COMMENT, see the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Notice of Public Hearing.  Plan to attend on December 19, 2018.  – RS]

BAAQMD: Costs for daily air monitoring too expensive… poor refineries…

By Benicia Vice Mayor Steve Young, October 23, 2018 
Steve Young, Benicia Vice Mayor

The Bay Area Air District (BAAQMD) recently released their proposal on how to deal with the problem of excess ROG (Reactive Organic Gas) emissions from refinery cooling towers. Here are my favorite two sections from their proposed way of dealing (or more accurately, not dealing), with the problem …

Amendments to Rule 11-10 reduce monitoring of cooling towers for hydrocarbon leaks from daily to weekly, with provisions to extend monitoring periods after proving no leaks for an extended time. Costs for daily monitoring were found to be excessive relative to the potential hydrocarbon emission reductions. Requirements for cooling tower best management practices and reporting were eliminated when found to be focused primarily on Process Safety Management and cooling water chemistry rather than leak detection.

The only feasible method to reduce ROG emissions from cooling towers is more frequent monitoring and repair, but this method was concluded to not be feasible due to economic factors as per CEQA Guidelines §15364. Thus, no feasible mitigation measures have been identified that could avoid the significant impact or reduce the impact to less than significant.

Generally, CEQA (the California Environmental Quality Act) does not allow  an environmental impact to be ignored based on the fact that reducing those impacts will cost money. And refineries certainly SHOULD be expected to spend money on such things as more frequent monitoring and repairs.

Going to testify at these hearings – where testimony is limited to no more than three minutes, and often shorter – is both necessary and, seemingly, pointless.