Tag Archives: Local elections

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

Carrie Rehak: On Benicia’s Flourishing Future

…loving Benicia isn’t the same as pretending everything is fine

Carrie Rehak, Ph.D, Benicia resident, artist, educator

I just love this wee hamlet, with its aging pipes and complicated budget decisions. I really do. I love the hills. The water. The historic buildings. The art. The gardens. The neighbors who can turn a quick walk alone downtown into a spontaneous street party.

I also love Benicia enough to know that loving it isn’t the same as pretending everything is fine.

It’s not.

The closure of the Valero refinery has put some very large questions on the table. How do we pay our bills without selling off our future? What do we owe the workers whose livelihoods have depended on the refinery, and the land and water that have borne the costs of its operation? Who gets to decide what comes next, and who gets stuck living with the consequences?

These are not questions that can be answered with slick slogans, shiny yard signs, or a few reassuring words from someone who won’t have to live with the long-term impacts of what we decide today.

I really don’t trust easy answers, especially to complex questions.

But I do trust Kari Birdseye and Terry Scott.

I know them both personally. They are genuine, caring people who were showing up for Benicia long before their names appeared on ballots. And they have stamina. They have endured years of meetings, commissions, and volunteer commitments. And they keep showing up!

And they have vision as well as experience.

They care about the arts. Not as decoration, but as part of the life of this city. Terry spent years chairing Benicia’s Arts and Culture Commission, and I know Kari’s commitment to the arts personally. She supports local artists and is married to a musician. A town without artists might have a balanced budget, but it won’t have much soul.

In addition, Kari has spent years advocating for environmental protections and for the apparently controversial proposition that prosperity shouldn’t require poisoning the place you live. And Terry brings a background in business, finance, and community development.

And then there is the matter of paying for the place we love. Not particularly romantic, I know, but neither are broken water mains, deteriorating streets, or a city budget held together by optimism and bubblegum.

This November, Benicia voters will consider three measures addressing how the city raises revenue. Measure X would modernize the business license tax, exempting businesses with $100,000 or less in annual gross receipts, setting rates by business type, and establishing a separate tax on marine terminal activity. Measure Y would establish a limited city charter, allowing the property transfer tax proposed in Measure Z to take effect only if voters approve both measures. Measure Z would impose a one-time tax on certain property transfers, including commercial sales, newly constructed homes, and higher-value residential sales. Homes built before January 1, 2027, and sold for $2 million or less would be exempt, along with certain family transfers and deed-restricted affordable housing.

These measures raise questions worth asking. Who pays? How much? Where does the money go? What will it mean for the people who live and work here? We need to pay our bills, certainly. And we ought to be thoughtful about how we do it, and who carries the weight.

By local standards, I am a newbie to Benicia. I moved here ten and a half years ago. I am also an artist and an educator. I hope to be able to stay here. I hope Benicia will be a place where artists can make art, where teachers can teach, where small businesses can thrive, where families can put down roots, and where the hills and the water aren’t merely scenery for the next lucrative business venture.

In Benicia we live with the consequences of decisions made before us, and where people we will never meet will live with ours. Let’s be mindful neighbors now and even better ancestors to those who will come after us.

Carrie Rehak, Ph.D
Benicia Resident

Benicia CA, Benicia Measures XYZ, Local elections

Larnie Fox: Why should you vote yes on Benicia Measures X, Y and Z?

…we have a challenge and an opportunity.

By Larnie Fox, in email, October 10, 2026

Larnie Fox, Benicia resident and artist

Our little City is at a turning point. Our biggest taxpayer, Valero, is pretty much gone, so we are looking at a shortfall in the money that we, the people, use to pay our police and firefighters, repair our roads and our aging sewers, run our library, pool and parks and generally make Benicia a safe and vibrant community.

At the same time, there are big developments in the works. The Signature Development Group is currently working with our citizens to plan for huge residential and industrial developments on the Valero property. The Seeno family is currently planning for another huge development on their 527-acre property near Lake Herman, unfortunately not working with our citizens so much. Because the State is mandating more housing, there will be other developments too; we are at the cusp of a development boom.

So we have a challenge and an opportunity.

Measure Z taxes only new construction and sales of properties valued at over $2 million at 0.4%, and higher percentages for properties worth over $10 million. The seller generally pays this fee. My house won’t sell for over $2 million in the foreseeable future, will yours? Let’s not miss this opportunity to get this in place before all the development starts. Cities are typically on the hook for at least part of new infrastructure costs for new developments.

Measure Y makes Measure Z possible by making Benicia a limited charter city. That is all it does. It does not change how City governance is structured. We need it to get Measure Z in place, so we can continue to fund the City services that are keeping us safe and comfortable.

Measure X makes it so that people whose business earns under $100K per year are no longer required to get a business license. Currently every tiny mom-and-pop business in town is supposed to get one, though many don’t comply. This includes musicians and artists (like me), which makes no sense. I’m lucky if I sell over $1,000 a year!

I’m sure that much of the opposition to these three measures is based on misinformation on social media and general mistrust of government. I share that mistrust on the national and state levels, but I follow our City Council. I see them in action and I do trust them, and I usually agree with their decisions. They are all dedicated civil servants who virtually volunteer most of their time to do the hard work of keeping the City running. And remember, anything and anyone that we the people vote in, we can also vote out, if things don’t work out as we would like.

A primary opponent of Measures X, Y and Z is Justin Zollars, City Council candidate, endorsed by the local Republican party. I attended a “meet the candidates” forum, hosted by the Benicia Voice podcast on September 29. As of that date Justin had never attended or watched a City Council meeting, and was remarkably uninformed on other important local issues. I suspect his resistance to Measures X, Y and Z is motivated by his desire to stake out positions in opposition to the other two better-qualified candidates.

So, please help the effort to keep our sweet little City humming along, safe and vibrant. Vote yes on Measures X, Y, and Z.

Larnie Fox

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

Birdseye and Scott for Benicia City Council

“With Benicia at a crossroads…

By Stephen Golub, Benicia resident and author, “Benicia and Beyond” column in the Benicia Herald, October 11, 2026

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub

With Benicia at a crossroads, facing both daunting challenges and exciting opportunities, our city needs sound, committed leadership. City Council incumbents and Democrats Kari Birdseye and Terry Scott offer exactly that. Their challenger, Republican-endorsed Justin Zollars, seems like he has a sincere interest in similarly helping Benicia move forward. But for reasons I’ll broach in a bit, he does not merit support.

Just one logistical note, to be clear: We each can vote for two Council candidates this year. So, Scott and Birdseye are not running against each other. In fact, they’ve endorsed each other. I enthusiastically suggest that you vote for both.

Deep Community Roots, Valuable Experience and Commendable Track Records

Both Birdseye and Scott bring to the table deep community roots, as well as  a wealth of valuable experience and track records that demonstrate successful commitments to Benicia’s well-being. Both have been part of a City Council that, often unanimously, has undertaken initiatives to help secure Benicia’s road repairs, parks improvement, a financial future that ensures police and fire protection, and other progress for our quality of life.

These long-standing Benicia residents have done this against a backdrop of challenges imposed by state housing mandates and the loss of Valero-linked revenue. Their experience and dedication also enable them to help seize opportunities presented by the transition of the 900-acre Valero refinery property into residential, commercial and clean industrial parcels and by Benicia’s enviable (and beautiful waterside) position as a transportation, shipping and recreational hub.

Both have led successful fights to keep Benicia’s air, water, kids, seniors and all citizens safe. Both are committed to both business development and affordable housing development for Benicia.

Individual Accomplishments and Contributions

Having said all that, I certainly don’t want to present these two powerful personalities as peas in a pod.

Kari Birdseye

For starters, Kari Birdseye [votekaribirdseye.com] can justifiably boast of an array of accomplishments and contributions to Benicia. These include but are no means limited to: chairing the Planning Commission for over a decade; chairing the City Council’s task force on the future of Benicia’s Industrial Park; successfully fighting Valero’s plan a decade ago to bring dangerous crude oil “bomb trains” through town; and being honored as a 2025 Woman of the Year by Congressman John Garamendi and as a 2025 Blue Rivet Award winner for her environmental and public health leadership. Speaking of her being Woman of the Year: There’s a lot to be said to having a woman on the Council (and hopefully more than one down the line), for the perspective Birdseye brings.

Even if you don’t consider yourself an environmentalist, you might still value Birdseye’s environmental expertise and leadership, a product of not just her Benicia engagement but of her current public affairs position at the Natural Resources Defense Council. That deep-seated knowledge stands her in good stead as our city transitions to cleaner air and cleaner businesses and as we grapple with looming climate change challenges.

Terry Scott

For his part, Terry Scott [terryscott2026.com] brings a diverse wealth of expertise to the Council, ranging from decades of practical, corporate business experience to leadership in Benicia’s thriving arts-and-culture scene (which in turn yields our town concrete economic benefits). His own accomplishments and contributions to Benicia include: serving as a founder and Executive Director of the philanthropic Benicia Community Foundation; chairing the Benicia Arts and Culture Commission and the Public Art Committee; enriching First Street life through introducing the public pianos and similar innovations there; participation in Benicia’s Tax Oversight Commission; and leading (along with Birdseye) the Council task force that established Benicia’s Industrial Safety Commission.

Given Scott’s devotion to the arts, it’s easy to overlook his business background and what it means to the city. As a former senior vice president at Hasbro, he brings hard-headed corporate experience to dealing with the local, national and international dimensions of bringing job-creating and revenue-enhancing investments to Benicia, ranging from the Industrial Park to First Street to the Valero  property transition.

An Abundance of Endorsements

Now, don’t just take my word about these two. Both Birdseye and Scott have garnered an abundance of endorsements, adding up to lists too long to fully detail here. But they include U.S. Congressman John Garamendi, State Senator Christopher Cabaldon, Solano County Supervisor Wanda Williams, Solano County Supervisor Cassandra James, Mayor Steve Young, former City Council Member Tom Campbell, the Solano Association of Realtors, the Solano County Orderly Growth Committee and the Solano County Democratic Central Committee.

Scott’s additional endorsements include City Council member Lionel Largespadea, former  Benicia Mayor Jerry Hayes, former Council Member Christina Strawbridge, former  Benicia City Council Member Pepe Arteaga, the Napa-Solano Labor Council, the North Coast Carpenters Union and Black Women Organized for Political Action. Birdseye’s include the Sierra Club Solano Group.

A Newcomer Candidate

Like Birdseye and Scott, relative newcomer Justin Zollars [votejz.com] brings a dedication to Benicia to his candidacy for City Council. He seems like a bright, nice fellow. And as with Scott and Birdseye (and their fellow current and former fellow Council members), I have to admire anyone who’s willing to stick their neck out to seek and serve in public office – particularly in our nasty social media age.

Nonetheless, there are reasons to doubt how positive or effective Zollars would be as a Council member. For starters, there’s his endorsement by the Solano County Republican Central Committee, something that seems salient but which he does not mention at his campaign website. Together with his repeated, caustic references to a so-called “Detroit Model” at a recent League of Women Voters candidates’ forum, this seems to indicate a political outlook that bears scrutiny – not to mention how different tiny Benicia’s challenges are from those of tremendous Detroit.

At that same LWV forum, Zollars also made a number of comments that indicated inadequate familiarity with Benicia’s opportunities and issues. For instance, he suggested that Benicia’s affordable housing challenges would take care of themselves, as Boomers age out and move out (one way or another), so that we’d somehow supposedly come to resemble Japan with an excess of housing. This does not seem to take account of the scale and complexity of such challenges, even with new developments down the road.

Zollars also admitted to a lack of knowledge of Benicia’s arts scene. Now, that may be true of many Benicians. But given the arts community’s contributions to tourism, our economy and our town’s vibrance, this is the kind of thing a Council candidate should be familiar with.

Even as I disagree with him, I’ll give Zollars begrudging but considerable credit for his zeal regarding his top issue: challenging the Flock Safety firm’s automatic license plate readers, which our police department (along with many other communities) uses to deter crime and detect alleged criminals coming to town. This is a complex matter of public safety versus alleged privacy breaches.

With all due respect for Zollars’ anti-Flock stance, my  own take is this: Until I see proof of significant misuse of the system here in Benicia, I favor Flock for the public safety factor. (I do wonder whether he’s actually led the local fight against Flock, as his campaign website claims.)

Summing Up: Scott and Birdseye for Benicia

All this is a way of saying that while I appreciate Justin Zollars throwing his hat in the ring and I certainly welcome new political blood in Benicia, I don’t believe he knows Benicia well enough yet to serve on the Council. Much more importantly, I question many of the stands he’s taking.

Most importantly of all, I heartily endorse Terry Scott and Kari Birdseye for City Council, for the reasons I’ve sketched here and for many more. I strongly suggest you give them your vote.

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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Benicia CA, Benicia Measures XYZ, Local elections, Stephen Golub

Vote Yes On Benicia Measures Y And Z

Will Ballot Measures Y and Z Cost You Anything? Questions and Answers on Benicia’s Proposed Transfer Tax

[Editor: in this article Mr. Golub is addressing only Benicia’s Measures Y and Z. For his take on Measure X, see here in his previous article. – RS] By Stephen Golub, Benicia resident and author, “Benicia and Beyond” column in the Benicia Herald, October 4, 2026

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub

Questions that concerned Benicians might ask about ballot Measures Y and Z…

This November’s Benicia ballot Measure Z would establish a transfer tax for the sale of certain homes. If I buy or sell  a typical, currently existing home, will I have to pay that tax if the measure passes?

No. Almost all currently existing Benicia homes are exempt from the tax, which will be established if Measure Z is approved by Benicians.

This is because the tax only  applies to:

  1. a) new homes that will be built starting in 2027; or
  2. b) currently existing homes sold for $2 million or more, of which there are only a handful here since the average home price in Benicia is about $820,000.

But what if I want to sell a home worth over $2 million to a close relative? Or what if in the future I want to sell a home built after January 1, 2027 to that relative? Do either of us pay that tax?

No. The tax does not apply to sales or gifts of homes between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, siblings, spouses and domestic partners. (Certain affordable housing is also exempted.)

Why is the tax necessary?

Despite budget cuts, city government reorganization and other actions, Benicia has an anticipated annual budget gap of at least $7.5 million and perhaps nearly $11 million.

The Measure Z transfer tax will help close that gap in two ways:

  1. a) It will apply not just to residential properties, but also to commercial and industrial sales. In fact, if the transfer tax were already in place in recent years, it could have yielded millions of dollars from sales in the Benicia Industrial Park. More on this below.
  2. b) It will apply to the several thousand new housing units that will be built in Benicia in coming years, as mandated by state law or made possible by redevelopment of the Valero property.

But much potential  new development, whether residential, commercial or industrial, is years away. Will Measure Z produce much revenue in the next few years?

For one thing, potential sales of existing Industrial Park properties could produce large sums of revenue in the next few years. If Measure Z were already in place late last year, Benicia would have pocketed a tax of $1,160,000 from the sale of a large parcel of land in the Industrial Park. Similar future sales are certainly a possibility.

In addition, Measure Z is about the future. It is about putting in place the revenue stream to help Benicia sustain police, fire, recreational, infrastructure and other services for our kids, grandkids and all of us in years to come, so our wonderful town can survive and thrive.

Fair enough, so what will the transfer tax rates be under Measure Z?

The tax is $4, $6 or $8 per $1,000 in sale price, depending on whether the price is under $2,000,000, from $2,000,000 to $9,999,999, or $10,000,000 or more.

Again, though, remember that the tax on residential properties only applies to currently existing homes that sell for $2 million or more, or to homes built after January 1, 2027.

There’s also a ballot Measure Y, right? What does that do?

Measure Y is necessary as a companion law for Measure Z. Measure Y establishes Benicia as a limited Charter City, a status necessary for the city government to set the proposed transfer tax rates under Measure Z. To introduce those rates, then, it is essential to vote Yes on both Measures Y and Z.

I’ve heard certain opponents claim that Measures Y and Z open the door for Benicia to increase the transfer taxes or tax additional properties or expand Benicia’s status as a Charter City in ways we might not like. Is that true?

No. Any of these changes would require new ballot measures that we all would vote on. And there are no plans to propose such changes in any event.

I’ve also heard certain opponents claim that becoming a Charter City or establishing transfer taxes is disastrous for cities. Is this true?

No. There are 25 charter cities in the Bay Area alone, some with transfer taxes higher than those proposed by Measure Z. Charter city status or transfer taxes have not driven away businesses or harmed their financial health. One Bay Area charter city, Vallejo, went bankrupt, but that was for unrelated reasons.

How can I gain more information about this issue?

One good place is Building Benicia’s Future site, at beniciasfuture.org.

So, as summed up at that site, if I own a Benicia home built before 2027 and it sells for under $2 million, I  pay nothing. Do I have that right?

Yes.

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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