Tag Archives: Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown

California Forever told to ‘Go somewhere else’

Supervisor Monica Brown doesn’t hold back…

Leaders react to East Solano Plan removal

A herd of horses walks in a pasture south of Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield. (Chris Riley/The Reporter)

Vallejo Times-Herald, July 24, 2024

Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown waited months to share her thoughts on California Forever’s East Solano Plan. So when her moment came Tuesday morning, she didn’t mince words.

“How dare you come in here with your arrogance,” she scolded the company, criticizing the Silicon Valley-backed project for failing to communicate clearly with the County, accusing them of misleading voters and putting them on blast for a lack of detail and transparency in their initiative.

Brown said she was previously advised by Solano County Counsel not to speak out against California Forever to avoid recusing herself on matters that came before the board. Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, she said, she got the green light from that office to share some thoughts on the situation.

And share she did, using supervisors’ comments as an opportunity to let fly a volley of verbal missiles for the would-be developers and celebrate the postponement of the initiative’s ballot appearance until at least 2026.

“You came here and thought ‘Well they’re a bunch of hicks, they won’t fight,’ ” she said. “Well, we did.”

Brown also challenged the company on its decision to sue Solano County farmers and questioned the qualifications of their employees.

“Who did you have working for you? The kids I gave Fs to in math?” the former teacher asked.

She also attacked the company for failing to use the normal means of development that the County has laid out. She accused the organization of trying to “buy votes” with their charitable giving.

“You had an agenda,” she said. ” ‘By God, we’re going to get this done in November and we’re going to tell those hicks forget you.’ “

While California Forever has indicated it hopes to mend fences with the County and its voters, and while it remains by far the county’s largest single landowner, Brown made clear she wasn’t particularly interested at this point.

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re not welcome here ever again,” she said. “Go somewhere else.”

After the meeting, Supervisor John Vasquez told reporters that elected officials are entitled to their own opinions without making them public, and noted that other officials have faced recusal on issues for speaking out ahead of time in the past.

“Private opinions are private opinions,” he said. “Decisions at the dais are based on fact. You hear everything, and then you make a decision.”

Brown, a Democrat, expressed frustration with the Democratic consultants that the company brought in to help on this campaign, saying they had “sold your soul.”

She also noted that the County will have many things to work on over the next few years and that California Forever should have to wait its turn to get more County resources expended on it.

“What we have to tell them is, ‘You don’t get to jump to the front of the line,’ ” she said. “And I believe that with this going, that we do have a little bit of control at the driver’s side.” [See Supervisor Brown’s full comment, video below.]

Vacaville Mayor John Carli spoke to The Reporter about the future of the project on Monday. Carli, who has expressed before that California Forever did not sufficiently build trust with the community, said removing the initiative and taking time to hear from the community once again could help that aim.

“I do believe that their actions today are a step in the right direction,” he said.

Crafting an Environmental Impact Report and a Development Agreement could help the company explain to voters what they precisely mean to do and how it might impact the county as a whole, Carli said.

“This makes a lot more sense if you truly are interested in being here for the long term,” he said.

Still, he said, the firm has a long road ahead if they hope to rebuild that trust.

“Part of trust is being a good neighbor,” he said.

State Sen. Bill Dodd (D-3) expressed approval of the decision to remove the initiative from the ballot, but still had sharp words for the company’s end goals.

“The proponents of this ill-conceived development thought they were going to flash their cash and run over our community like a bunch of bumpkins, but instead they ran face-first into a brick wall,” Dodd said in a statement. “These billionaire speculators may try to spin it, but the bottom line is they got a wakeup call that Solano County residents won’t be fooled or taken advantage of.”

Dodd said he still believes the project would have “devastating consequences” for a number of issues in the county, including water, public safety, traffic and Travis Air Force Base.

“I hope they abandon their fundamentally flawed design and approach and instead work collaboratively with local governments to develop housing in a thoughtful way in places where it’s actually suitable.”

Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-11) commended the company for removing its initiative but struck a much more positive tone about the company’s end goals than other local politicians, focusing on the “further discussion” that needs to occur on key issues with the project.

“While the proposed initiative could offer our county many benefits, we must ensure that more work is done to protect current Solano County residents and our local assets,” she said.

Wilson noted that she looks forward to a future of “collaborating with all stakeholders.”

U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-8) commended Supervisor Mitch Mashburn for reaching an agreement with California Forever and reiterated his position that the development would be irresponsible.

“From the beginning, I have maintained that the proposed project was only a pipe dream, not a true plan,” he said. “Rushing the process without thorough environmental and community review would have been disastrous for the existing residents of Solano County.”


Supervisor Brown’s comment on July 23, 2024:


More…

Benicia Herald: COVID-19 data from Solano County and the State show large discrepancy in deaths

COVID-19 data from Solano County and the State show large discrepancy in deaths

The Benicia Herald, by Galen Kusic, Editor, October 17, 2021
[Print edition only, link not available. Subscribe to the print edition at beniciacirculation@gmail.com or phone 707-745-6838.  MORE]

As it appears a fourth wave of COVID-19 has begun to dissipate throughout the country, numbers remain alarmingly high in Solano County compared to the greater Bay Area.

The current 5.4 percent positivity rate is the best in months, but there are still 40 patients hospitalized and only 13 percent of ICU beds are available. The most alarming trend is the uptick in deaths, with 312 – an increase of 22 since Sept. 24, an average of one per day.

Yet what may be even more alarming is the discrepancy of deaths reported from the state and the county. As of Fri. Oct. 15, the state of Calif. reports that Solano County has a total of 334 deaths since the pandemic began – a difference of 22 deaths. The state also reports that the positivity rate is only 2.4 percent, half of what Solano County currently reports.

The first round of mass vaccination clinics recently started at the Solano County Fairgrounds for Pfizer booster shots or for those that have still not received the vaccine.

“78 percent of those testing positive in Solano County are unvaccinated,” said Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown. “Getting vaccinated protects you, protects your family, protects your community, protects our businesses, protects everyone.”

In Benicia, cases have slowed, but stayed steady. With 84.7 percent of the population vaccinated, only Rio Vista has a higher vaccination rate in the County at 89.3 percent. Vallejo (83.1) and Dixon (80.2) are not far behind. Since Sept. 24, Benicia has recorded 84 new cases, an average of four cases per day, a slight uptick from three weeks ago for a total of 1,496 since the pandemic began.

The City of Benicia on Mon. implemented a vaccine mandate for City employees. As of three weeks ago, only 62 percent of the Benicia Fire Department had been vaccinated.

“Those not vaccinated will be required to be tested weekly and wear a mask while indoors at City facilities,” said City Manager Erik Upson in his weekly update. “We did not step into this lightly, but felt it was needed to help protect the safety of our staff and our community.”

Solano Supervisor Monica Brown – COVID news and the Board’s failure to mandate masks and vaccines

[Editor: I commend our District 2 Solano County Supervisor, Monica Brown, and I highly recommend her latest advisory on COVID-19, below.  To subscribe to her weekly newsletter, click here.  – R.S.]

Solano County Header
SUPERVISOR MONICA BROWN SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2021 UPDATE

Hello Benicia, Fairfield, and Vallejo,

Welcome to my most recent update. I can be reached at mebrown@solanocounty.com.

CORONAVIRUS

We are still in a pandemic. Our hospitals are overwhelmed, our residents are catching this virus, and we are seeing consumers pull back on activities because of the continuing pandemic. It is devastating to see the impacts on our community.

However, as I have said many times and as we have heard from many people, this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. According to the most recent data, 77.5% of those in Solano County testing positive for COVID-19 are unvaccinated. Data has also shown that those who are vaccinated are much less likely to have symptoms, even less likely to have a severe illness, and to have a statistically small chance of dying. You have a 17x higher chance of being hospitalized if you are unvaccinated. Vaccines work and they are the key to beating this pandemic.

I plead with our entire community to get vaccinated. This is the easiest and most effective way to keep all of us safe. It is also protecting our most vulnerable residents, children under 12 and those who are immunocompromised, from the disease. Please get vaccinated if you have not already. If you have been vaccinated, please encourage everyone you know to get vaccinated. We are all in this together and we will only success together.

Solano County has many opportunities for you to get vaccinated. The county is offering all three COVID-19 vaccinations at the Solano Mall (1350 Travis Blvd in Fairfield on the second floor across from the Applebee’s) and rapid COVID-19 testing every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 10am-7pm. No appointment is necessary, but you may make an appointment by calling 707-784-8655.

At this past Tuesday’s Board meeting, the subject of a mask mandate and a vaccine mandate was brought forward. While I wanted both, there was not enough support on the Board for either. The Board did mandate that if a local jurisdiction in the county has a mask mandate, then any county buildings in that jurisdiction must follow it. The two jurisdictions in Solano County with mask mandates are Benicia and Vallejo. I sent a letter to the Governor asking him to implement a statewide mask mandate. Please wear your masks. This pandemic is not over.

I want to thank Dr. Bonnie Hamilton from the Napa Solano Medical Society for speaking in support of a mask mandate. The Napa Solano Medical Society represents over 1,200 physicians in the Napa Solano area. I also want to thank Dr. Seth Kaufman, who is the chief medical officer for NorthBay Healthcare, for speaking in support of a mask mandate. Their testimony, along with the guidelines from the Center for Disease Control, make it abundantly clear that the science supports mandating masks.

The California Department of Public Health is looking for partner organizations to set up on-site rapid testing for employees, guests and/or community members. The state will provide test kits, training, and other support. This is free to organizations. For more information, please contact testing.taskforce@cdph.ca.gov.

Monica Brown, Solano County Supervisor, District 2
Monica Brown,
Solano County Supervisor, District 2

First elected in 2016, Monica represents District 2 on the Solano County Board of Supervisors. District 2 encompasses the city of Benicia, the portion of Vallejo south of Georgia Street, Mare Island, Cordelia, Green Valley and a portion of Fairfield.

Open Letter to Solano Supervisors: Call for a Civilian Oversight Board for Sheriff Department

Civilian Oversight for Sheriff’s Department

Open letter by Jean Walker, May 30, 2021
Jean Walker, Benicia

On September 22nd, 2020, the Solano County Board of Supervisors listened to our county’s employees as they described how Solano County’s hiring and promotions system was bogged down by institutional racism. After much discussion, the Board, on a 5-0 vote, created a Subcommittee on Diversity and Equity. On a 3-2 vote, the Board approved funding of $150,000 to support the work of the Subcommittee.

The members of the Subcommittee on Diversity and Equity, including chair Erin Hannigan and Board Chair John Vasquez, have most likely met a few times since last year. I imagine the Subcommittee has hired an equity consultant, as planned, to assist with the process of focusing on internal human resources operations and delivering equitable services to the County’s residents.

As a constituent I am pleased to see that when an important issue like institutional racism in the County’s hiring practices must be addressed, the Board is capable of coming together as a team.

The Board of Supervisors now has another opportunity, via Assembly Bill 1185, to create a Citizens’ Oversight Board for the Sheriff’s Office.

Civilian oversight benefits the public AND benefits police and sheriff’s departments, by …

    • Improving community relations through more open communication between the Sheriff’s Office and the public;
    • Reassuring the community that misconduct is investigated, and that appropriate discipline and training will occur;
    • Increasing the public’s understanding of law enforcement policies and procedures;
    • Improving those policies and procedures; and
    • Assessing liability management, thereby reducing the likelihood and cost of litigation.

Please, Supervisor Brown, I hope you will once again raise the motion to agendize the proposal of discussing a Civilian Oversight Board. I hope one of the two members of the Diversity and Equity Subcommittee will be a good team member and second Supervisor Brown’s motion.

Jean Walker
Benicia