The Solano County Registrar of Voters released Unofficial Results as of 10:43 PM on election day. As of that time, estimated unprocessed ballots still to count: Est. 76,500. Note that the ROV can still receive valid ballots by mail until November 12th, if postmarked by Election Day. Following are Benicia results:
The Aug 17 Benicia City Council agenda is PACKED with important items. One is the ESTABLISHMENT AND APPOINTMENT OF THE NORTHWESTERN STUDY AREA SUBCOMMITTEE. This is all about the SEENO PROPERTY, and appears in the CONSENT calendar, Item 20 B. on p. 7.
The agenda’s Staff Report – Establishment and Appointment of Northwestern Study Area Subcommittee, is measured and thoughtful, well worth reading (note some details here below).
The intent is to set up a Council Subcommittee composed of Mayor Young and Councilmember Macenski, who will “help City staff and consultants facilitate discussions about considering potential future land uses” of the Seeno property.
In my opinion, this initiative somewhat misleadingly re-names the Seeno property the “Northwestern Study Area”. Renaming the area will not remove the deservedly untrustworthy reputation of the Seeno family and its corporate entities. Utmost caution must be urged as the City moves forward to consider development there.
The Staff Report accompanying the item, Establishment and Appointment of Northwestern Study Area Subcommittee includes a short section on Previous Planning Efforts, very briefly summarizing two previous Seeno proposals, and highlighting our 2008 community-led Green Gateway Plan.
It’s good news that the staff report mentions a City-sponsored “Specific Plan” 3 times, including a reference to the fact that adoption of a Specific Plan (Master Plan) is required by Benicia’s General Plan for any development of 40 acres or more. A Specific Plan was a primary focus of our 2008 Green Gateway Plan. Reference – see Benicia General Plan Policy 2.3.1, PDF pages 48-49, [document pages 34-35].
Will the renaming confuse or fail to alert those of us who have been through battles concerning the Seeno property? Should the committee include citizen representatives in addition to the two Council members? Will the Committee recommend the City require a Specific Plan for any new development?
Your continued vigilance and thoughtful input is needed! See
Solano County didn’t post it’s Friday Nov. 13 update until Saturday, but it’s there now, showing that more mail-in ballots and provisional ballots were processed.
The one close race in Benicia was for the second seat on Benicia’s City Council. Both Trevor Macenski and Terry Scott netted 17 more votes in the latest Solano Registrar of Voters report. So Macenski continues to lead Scott by 130 votes. And I’m calling the race.
| CANDIDATE NAME | TOTAL VOTES | PERCENTAGE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8,627 | 36.45% | ||||
| 7,587 | 32.05% | ||||
| 7,457 | 31.50% |
Potential ballots remaining to be processed, as of Friday’s Solano County report, include 0-250 mail-in ballots and 500-1,500 provisional ballots. By my own calculation, Benicia might account for about 8% of those remaining ballots, or 40-140 outstanding votes.
It begins to look like a 130 vote margin is not at all likely to be overcome. So I think we can say that Trevor wins, given the odds.
The Registrar of Voters won’t offer a FINAL count for awhile. We’ll just have to wait for them to finish counting and certify the winner. But meanwhile, we can offer sad well-wishes to our candidate Terry, and congratulations to Trevor Macenski. Here’s hoping the next City Council will work together well and accomplish much!
Solano County took Veterans Day off, but came back today and processed more mail-in ballots and provisional ballots.
The winner status in all races remained unchanged as of 5:15pm tonight.
The one truly close race in Benicia is for the second seat on Benicia’s City Council. Tom Campbell is assured of first place, having won 8,615 votes. The second seat is really close, with Trevor Macenski leading Terry Scott by only 130 votes.
| CANDIDATE NAME | TOTAL VOTES | PERCENTAGE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8,615 | 36.49% | ||||
| 7,561 | 32.03% | ||||
| 7,431 | 31.48% |
Potential ballots remaining to be processed, as of tonight’s Solano County report, include 250-500 mail-in ballots and 1,500-2,500 provisional ballots. By my own calculation, Benicia might account for about 8% of those remaining ballots, or 140-240 outstanding votes.
If I were a pro, I might call the race now, given the odds against narrowing a 130-point margin. But I’m no pro, and Terry’s a friend, so I can’t go there. We’ll just have to wait for the Registrar of Voters to finish counting and certify a winner. ☹
Hang in there, Terry!
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