Tag Archives: Benicia mayor

2020 elections, Benicia elections, Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Christina Strawbridge, Climate science, Kari Birdseye, Lionel Largaespada, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero PAC

KQED: Candidate Targeted by Valero Wins Benicia Mayoral Race

[Significant quote: “The fact that Young withstood the Valero PAC’s campaign is hugely significant, according to Matto Mildenberger, an assistant professor of political science at UC Santa Barbara, who focuses on oil politics.  ‘It means that Benicia voters are willing to take their climate future into their own hands and are going to resist efforts by oil companies to control local politics.'”] [See also KQED’s Oct 28 report on Valero PAC spending.]

Benicia Election Update with candidate quotes

KQED Election Updates, By Ted Goldberg, November 4, 2020

Benicia Councilman Steve Young, a candidate attacked by a political action committee funded mainly by the Valero Energy company, will be the city’s new mayor.

The Working Families for a Strong Benicia PAC raised more than $250,000 to defeat Young and support Councilwoman Christina Strawbridge. The committee said Young would put blue collar jobs, like those at Valero’s Benicia refinery, at risk.

But city’s voters were not swayed.

With Young leading the race with close to 52% of the vote, Strawbridge, who garnered about 31%, conceded the election Wednesday morning.

“I believe the voters reacted strongly against the negative ads and mailers that the Valero-funded PAC tried to use against me,” Young said.

“Hopefully, Valero will learn the obvious lesson from this result: Interference in Benicia elections will be rejected in the future as well,” Young said.


Strawbridge called Young’s election a “decisive victory.”

“Congratulations to him,” Strawbridge said, adding that the two lawmakers exchanged text messages Wednesday morning. “Even though it was a tough election, we have and will work together for Benicia.”

Since 2019, Valero has donated $240,000 to the political action committee targeting Young. The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 549 donated some $50,000 as well.

The same PAC spent thousands to help Strawbridge and Lionel Largaespada win seats on the Benicia City Council, and to defeat Kari Birdseye, a former chair of the city’s Planning Commission that denied Valero’s crude-by-rail expansion project.

Young will take over from Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, a critic of Valero who has served in Benicia city government for two decades.

Patterson had become increasingly outspoken about efforts to place more regulations on the Valero plant, scene of the two worst refinery accidents in the Bay Area in the last three years.

The fact that Young withstood the Valero PAC’s campaign is hugely significant, according to Matto Mildenberger, an assistant professor of political science at UC Santa Barbara, who focuses on oil politics.

“It means that Benicia voters are willing to take their climate future into their own hands and are going to resist efforts by oil companies to control local politics,” Mildenberger said.

2020 elections, Benicia City Council, Benicia elections, Benicia Mayor, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Cannabis, Christina Strawbridge, Terry Scott, Tom Campbell

Benicia election results – a few candidate quotes…

[Editor: You may want to skip the last half of this report.  The reporter gives nearly half of her report to the Cannabis measure D outcome, including extensive quotes from the losing parties and none from those supporting the majority YES on measure D.  – R.S.]

ELECTION 2020: Steve Young wins Benicia mayor race, cannabis measure passes

Cannabis measure passes

Vallejo Times-Herald, By Katy St. Clair, November 4, 2020

BENICIA — Steve Young has been elected mayor of Benicia and a ballot measure he supported, Measure D, was also approved, possibly opening the door for more than one cannabis dispensary in town.

Councilmember Tom Campbell was also re-elected for another term and Terry Scott was also elected to the council as results are now final from Tuesday’s Election Night.

Young defeated fellow Councilmember Christina Strawbridge, with 54.59 percent of the vote. Strawbridge garnered 31.02 percent of the vote and third candidate, Jason Diavatis, received 14.38 percent of the vote.

Young has been on the Benicia City Council for four years and served on the planning commission before that.

“I feel enthused” Young said about his win. “I feel ready to get to work. I think it was a big win for the community and a repudiation of negative campaigning. It should send a message to Valero and others that Benicia voters aren’t going to be swayed by this type of campaigning.”

The mayoral race was at times contentious, helped along by texts, robo-calls, mailers and TV ads paid for by Valero in support of Strawbridge. The oil company pumped more than $250,000 into the race, despite Strawbridge’s stated displeasure with their help.

“Congratulations to Steve Young,” said Strawbridge. “He won decisively.”

Young backed Measure D and made it one of his campaign issues and Strawbridge opposed it.

“It was close,” she said. The measure won with just over half of the votes. Measure D allows the City of Benicia to add more cannabis dispensaries, though the measure is what is called an ‘advisory vote,’ meaning it merely takes the pulse of the electorate. It will not affect local law.”

Benicia resident Bart Bright, who opposed Measure D, agrees that the vote was close and says that shows that the town is divided on the issue.

“The main thing is, we haven’t even opened the first one. Why don’t we just wait?” he said.

Bright also questions the public safety risks involved with having dispensaries, citing a shooting of two dispensary security guards in Oakland on Tuesday.

Strawbridge foresees “a big fight” over adding more dispensaries but she praises the young people that created signs around town opposing the measure, saying that those kids “are our future.”

2020 elections, Benicia elections, Benicia Mayor, Benicia Mayor Steve Young

Benicia election results – Steve Young handily defeats Strawbridge and the Valero PAC

STEVE YOUNG, BENICIA’S NEW MAYOR!

(Ok… Mayor-Elect)
By Roger Straw, November 4, 2020
Benicia Mayor-elect Steve Young

I called it at 10:48pm last night.  It wasn’t even close.  Steve Young is Benicia’s Mayor-elect.

This morning, with all mail-in, early and precinct votes counted, Steve won by a wide margin – 51.9% to 30.6%, a spread of over 21 points!

Benicia voters returned a resounding win for Steve and his campaign workers – and a huge defeat for Valero’s big money effort to buy Benicia’s election.

CONGRATULATIONS, MAYOR STEVE YOUNG!!

2020 elections, Benicia elections, Benicia Mayor, Campaign finance, Steve Young, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero PAC

Valero spends another $5,000 for last minute live calls in effort to buy Benicia Mayor race

Total now over $214,000 to buy Benicia’s 2020 Mayor’s race

On Saturday, October 31, The Valero PAC reported another payment of $5,000 to the Washington, D.C. based company Winning Connections for scripted live phone calls to Benicia residents to get out the vote for Valero’s chosen candidate.

The report, filed according to law with the City of Benicia and posted on the City’s website, shows the $5,000 expenditure and a 3-page script.  The script includes proper pronunciation of “Benicia” for the out-of -state callers, (ben-ee-sh-a).

Benicia  residents have largely been outraged and outspoken about the huge influx of outside money from the massive Texas-based corporation and a local labor union that is considered to be in the pocket of it’s primary employer, Valero.

All local candidates have expressed disapproval of Valero’s attempt to influence our election, including the candidate Valero hopes to buy.

Valero’s primary purpose is to defeat current City Council member and Mayoral candidate Steve Young.  Young has been endorsed by the Benicia Independent and many other local individuals and groups.  See SteveYoungForMayor.org.