Mayor Young receives kudos for his speech at the Vallejo NO KINGS DAY rally

[Editor’s comment: Several Benicians who were at the NO KINGS rally in Vallejo said Mayor Young’s speech was excellent. I asked Steve for a copy and here is what he sent. Note more photos and comments on Vallejo-Benicia Indivisible Facebook page. – R.S.]

By Benicia Mayor Steve Young, June 14, 2025

Back on Memorial Day  I gave a speech in which I decried the proposed  cuts of 83,000 jobs in the VA and speculated that cuts of this size would put veterans at risk.  Afterwards, I was criticized for politicizing the event. So I want to make it clear that I am speaking only for myself and not the City of Benicia.

On the opposite coast, a vanity birthday parade is costing $50 million. How many services to veterans could be paid for with that $50 million?

Let’s talk about what is happening in LA. What the feds are doing has multiple purposes.

1. 1. Spread a false narrative that all of LA is on fire and subject to riots and looting. When some anarchists or provocateurs, or the military itself, may instigate violence, it plays straight into their hands. It creates video clips that will play round the clock on Fox and during the 26 elections.
   2. It is also a blatant attempt to spread fear and to normalize the use of the military for domestic law enforcement.
   3. Because nothing says things are normal like tanks in the streets of DC and marines in LA. Their purpose is to bully and intimidate the rest of us.

Trump is a man who prizes loyalty over the law, and control over freedom. In fact, his calls for law and order are empty as he does not respect the rule of law, and has no respect for due process.

And why the focus on LA? It is nearly half Latino, and immigrants are the lifeblood of that, and other communities.

ICE queen Kristi Noem says LA is a “city of criminals”, while Stephen Miller calls undocumented immigrants “invaders” and protestors as “insurrectionists”.

And why are they there? According to ICE Barbie, “To liberate Los Angeles and California from the socialist and bumbling failures of our Governor and the LA Mayor.”

In other words, if they disapprove of who we elect, they reserve the right to bring in the military to “liberate” us from our wrong-headed decisions.

The riots on Jan. 6, however, had real insurrectionists who took over the Capitol in an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power, who threatened to kill the VP, and attacked police resulting in multiple  deaths and injuries.

Meanwhile, not only was the national guard not called, but every single one of the convicted insurrectionists were pardoned. This gives ICE and other agents who may be enforcing illegal orders the belief that, even if they act in a clearly illegal manner, that they will be pardoned.

This is no longer about the mass deportation of violent criminal immigrants. Now, anyone who is undocumented is considered a criminal and an enemy – including children and US citizens.

It is worth noting that there has been no crackdown on employers of undocumented immigrants. No chicken or beef processing plant owners or farmers have been cited, much less arrested. Only their workers.

And somehow it is OK for ICE agents to be masked and operate without judicial warrants, but protestors who are masked are subject to arrest?

But maybe Trump is chickening out. Maybe his corporate billionaire advisers finally got through to him and made him  partly realize the utter insanity of his deportation agenda. That it is immigrants who keep our economy running. Who do the work that most Americans don’t or won’t do. Farm workers, domestic workers, hotel staff, construction workers, restaurant workers. These are the “really bad, violent” criminals we want to deport?

At midnight on June 13, Trump directed ICE to abruptly halt all immigrant raids at farms, restaurants, hotels, and the like. Trump also directed ICE to stop so-called ‘collateral arrests’ where ICE randomly detains and arrests non-criminal immigrants.

Is this real? Who knows? But I do know his policies are massively unpopular, and becoming more so by the day. And he caved before a single protestor hit the streets.

Does that mean we should not continue to protest? No, we need to do it louder and more often. Can we force him from office? Not until after the elections next year.

So what can we do?

As an elected official and a Democrat, I have a message to the Democratic Party.

Stop texting me every 15 minutes asking for money. Get away from the consultant class offering their ineffective advice. Get out into the field like Bernie and AOC  who drew huge crowds all across the country.

Is there a single Democrat in Congress calling for impeachment? Only Elon Musk.

What we need is our own Project 2029. What should it include?

• • Codify a woman’s right to choose
  • Codify equal rights and marriage rights for all
  • Institute universal health care or Medicare for All
  • Eliminate the electoral college
  • Eliminate the Citizens United decision
  • Term Limits across the board, including the Supreme Court
  • Prohibit gerrymandering
  • Make college affordable
  • Adopt common sense gun regulations
  • Tax the rich – no tax cuts for people making over $250k
  • Cap CEO pay at 35x lowest paid employees
  • Tax Megachurches
  • More renewable energy

These are things that polls have consistently shown are very popular with people. Democrats need to start working for what people want, not for what corporations will accept.

As we leave here to continue our right to assemble and exercise free speech, be careful. Don’t take the bait by allowing violence when instigators like anarchists, provocateurs or proud boys try to start something.

Our efforts can only prevail through continued nonviolent protest.

The founders fought a revolution to defeat the same things we are fighting.

• • Unlimited executive power
  • Use of a standing army to suppress dissent
  • Lack of due process
  • Suppression of freedom of assembly and free speech.

We are the defenders of our country and our Constitution.  Reclaim the flag. We are the real patriots. It is up to us. Complacency is not an option.