Category Archives: Benicia City Council

LETTER SERIES: Steve Young – Context on my endorsements

November 4, 2016 Roger Straw

[Editor: Benicians are expressing themselves in letters to the editor of our local print newspaper, the Benicia Herald. But the Herald doesn’t publish letters in its online editions – and many Benician’s don’t subscribe. We are posting certain letters here for wider distribution. (Note that the Benicia Herald editor inserted his own comments midway through Mr. Young’s letter – a rather unorthodox practice. The version below is the original letter as it appeared on Oct. 28 on Facebook: Steve Young For City Council. I am printing the Benicia Herald editor’s comments at the conclusion of Mr. Young’s letter.) – RS]

Context on my endorsements

By Steve Young
November 4, 2016

It has been said repeatedly in letters to the Editor that I sought out endorsements from Labor and that is mostly true. But some context is needed to understand the background of these endorsements. What is not true is that I was interviewed by either the Police or Fire unions.

As a supporter of labor unions my whole life, and the son of a teachers union President, I did hope to secure an endorsement from labor, which here is represented by the Napa/Solano Labor Council. I had been warned, however, that securing such an endorsement was unlikely. Having never run for office before, I was unclear as to why that would be the case.

I, along with the other candidates, had interviewed with representatives of the Napa/Solano Central Labor Council several months ago. After my interview, I was approached by two representatives of the Benicia Police Officers Association (POA), who said they were impressed by my honesty and directness, and asked if I would be interested in the endorsement of the POA. I answered that I would be interested, and that we should talk more. When I called the POA representative the following week to set up a meeting as they suggested, I was surprised to be told that they had talked with their political consultant and that, since they were told I was supporting Mayor Patterson, they could not consider me for an endorsement.

Putting aside the question of why a 27 member union in a small town like Benicia feels the need to have a political consultant, no other explanation was given for why my support for Mayor Patterson was a disqualifying factor. Perhaps it is because she has consistently supported a policy of “all for one, and one for all” in regards to labor negotiations. This approach means all bargaining groups in the City should be offered the same salary and benefit increases, and that city employees should not be pitted against each other. It is my understanding that the entire Council also supported this approach in past negotiations. It will be interesting to see if the new Council will uphold this, as negotiations on a new contract with the POA is now beginning.

I should stress that NO candidate interviews were ever held with the POA or the Firefighters union. These unions evidently did not need to talk to any of the candidates before making their endorsements and deciding to heavily invest in the outcome of this election.

A similar thing happened with the Benicia Teachers Association. After what seemed like a very positive interview with their group, the President of the union called me and said that, after consulting with the head of the Napa Solano Labor Council, they felt the need to endorse the same candidate slate as the rest of the unions. I wonder if the membership of these unions were ever contacted about these endorsements or expenditures.

On the other hand, all four of the Democrats running for City Council (Strawbridge, Campbell, Oakes and myself) DID interview for the endorsement of the California/Solano Democratic Party. (Since he is a Republican, Lionel Largaspaeda understandably did not seek this endorsement). I am proud to say that I was the only one of the four remaining Council candidates to receive the party’s endorsement, even though there are two seats being contested. None of the other candidates received the necessary 50% plus one vote. Mayor Patterson also received the endorsement of the Democratic party- which was a mere formality given that her opponent Mark Hughes is a Republican.

It used to be that labor unions were reliable supporters of Democrats. That evidently is no longer the case in regards to labor unions in Benicia, as they endorsed the only two Republicans running, along with Councilwoman Strawbridge.

It remains to be seen if the unions’ investment in our election will pay dividends.

Benicia Herald editor Nick Sestanovich added the following comments in the body of Mr. Young’s letter.

“The police and fire unions have said that the Napa Solano Central Labor Council interviews were conducted on behalf of all the unions, and representatives from the police and fire unions were present during the interviewing process.”

“BTA President Carleen Maselli has claimed that although some input from the CLC was taken into consideration, the decision was based more on who they felt would best support labor and teachers.”

Benicia City Council, Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, Local elections, Steve Young

LETTER SERIES: Marilyn Bardet – Vote for Elizabeth and Steve!

November 3, 2016 Roger Straw

Vote for Elizabeth and Steve!

By Marilyn Bardet
November 3, 2016

If you haven’t already voted, I hope you’ll join me on Oct. 8th to help re-elect Elizabeth Patterson for mayor.

I’m especially appreciative of Elizabeth’s ethical, open approach to governance and her tireless efforts to champion the Benicia General Plan’s forward-looking vision for community sustainability.

I know that Elizabeth is motivated to serve from a deeply rooted, life-long conviction that’s been proven true: that acting on what’s possible to do, each one of us can make a difference to create a more livable, thriving, healthy community and environment. Proof: the public’s eager participation in creating the Climate Action Plan adopted under her mayorship.

As mayor, Elizabeth has squarely faced development proposals. Discussing the Crude-by-Rail Project and those formerly posed by Seeno, she has reminded us how such challenges illumine, by contrast, our shared values for sustainability and the interconnectedness of economic, social and environmental goals that must play into any responsible development decision.

Concerned about climate change, Elizabeth will continue to ensure that the General Plan’s goals and policies and the recommendations of our Climate Action Plan – each expressive of community ideals and values – will guide planning to help us adapt and reduce our carbon footprint.

Regarding Elizabeth’s lasting contributions to our city, I can say that I know Elizabeth’s leadership style very well. In 1995, Elizabeth was tasked as a professional planner to guide and facilitate meetings of a 17-member council-appointed “General Plan Oversight Committee” (GPOC), on which I served, to draft from scratch a brand new general plan, the one we have today. For over three years under her direction, following a consensus approach for arriving at agreement, the committee carved and poured over details, line by line, for accurate wording. Tiring as it could be, every decision involved a wide spectrum of community and business interests and very often competing opinions that had to be reckoned.

By Elizabeth’s able guidance – through serious, often contentious give-and-take collaboration – GPOC successfully produced a praiseworthy document, adopted in 1999, as our city’s living constitution. (Really? a refinery town with sustainability as its planning goal? Astonishing at that time!) It was Elizabeth’s calm, fair and objective approach that created trust and brought a very diverse group together, so that by the end each of us had “skin in the game” and could have reason and pride to be invested in the plan’s highest aims.

From those early days, Elizabeth has kept our faith that open, collaborative engagement by government with the public is not only possible, but remains the healthiest way to enact democracy for the betterment of all.

In a time of shrinking resources, Elizabeth doesn’t waffle in her sense of moral responsibility. Whether advocating for safe, attractive streets with bike lanes, or for a green, clean-tech development of the Seeno property to diversify our local economy, she doesn’t sit back, but expresses enthusiasm for such initiatives, bringing the latest research and evidence to bear on decision-making.

It’s very rare to have the kind of leadership Elizabeth provides. After over 20 years in reviewing controversial development proposals and environmental cleanups, I know what that privilege is worth. Whenever we devolve into pettiness, I believe we must keep Elizabeth’s inspiration for contributing to the public good. For all these reasons, I hope you’ll join me in my support of her re-election.

In concluding, I’m also casting my vote for Steve Young for council. As a planning commissioner, Steve has clearly demonstrated his commitment to principled development in his questioning of crude-by-rail. From his years of professional experience with city governments, he will lend new energy and insight to council with a fresh voice.

Here’s to the next four years with high hopes for Benicia! Please vote for Elizabeth and Steve!

Benicia City Council, Local elections, Steve Young

VALLEJO TIMES-HERALD: Steve Young wants to bring his local governance experience to Benicia office

November 1, 2016 Roger Straw

Repost from the Vallejo Times-Herald

Steve Young wants to bring his local governance experience to Benicia office

By Katy St. Clair, 10/31/16, 6:54 PM PDT

Steve Young is hoping to put his experience in the field of local government to work for Benicia by serving on the City Council. Originally from Burbank, he has worked and lived in California, Virginia, and Costa Rica, but now calls Benicia home.

He graduated from University of Califonia at Berkeley with a degree in political science and has a masters degree in urban policy and administration from San Francisco State, he said.

Young was appointed to the Benicia Planning Commission in 2012 and, along with his wife Marty, is a member of Arts Benicia and Friends of the Library. He said he has spent 25 years managing programs in housing rehabilitation, neighborhood improvement, affordable housing development, code enforcement, redevelopment, and economic development.

Young loves many things about Benicia, including its “small-town feel, great access to the water, and the friendliness of the people.”

He also appreciates how many people are actively engaged in local issues as well as Benicia’s strong arts community. As a councilmember, he’d like to make sure the historical assets and character of the town are preserved through a combination of private, non-profit, and public involvement.

But he does want to address what he calls the biggest challenges the city faces, one of which is water security. Young promotes utilizing treated wastewater from Valero instead of using raw water.

“The proposal would, when implemented, provide the city with some certainty concerning this most precious of all our resources,” Young said in an email.

Benicia’s ongoing budget issues are also a big challenge, he said. Part of the problem is that Benicia is a “full service city trying to operate without the revenue of a full service city,” adding that the City Council will have to come to terms with the idea that everything Benicia citizens appreciate about the town may not be sustainable over time.

“The city will need to increase sales tax revenue or reduce expenses, or both,” he said.

One way to raise revenues is to increase business in Benicia. While Young praises the city’s great location and access to transportation, he’d like to see a more modernized business plan that will attract larger businesses.

“The fact that basic internet service is lacking in the Industrial Park says volumes about why economic growth has been slow to come here,” he said. “The city will have to become more aggressive in its outreach to companies looking to relocate, and the installation of broadband or fiber cable is a mandatory first step.”

Another issue facing Benicia is its lack of affordable housing for low-income and senior citizens. This is an area Young says he’d like to tackle.

“The city has done little recently to address this need,” he said, stating that only the minimum necessary has been done to keep the Housing Element of the General Plan in conformance with state law. One suggestion he has is to lower the threshold for the city’s density bonus law, a policy that gives incentives to builders who include low-income housing into their plans. “It applies only to developments of 10 or more units,” he said, “and has not resulted in the construction of any units since its implementation.” Young would also like to see more so-called “granny flats” integrated into neighborhoods.

When asked about Valero’s proposed crude-by-rail project, which would have created an oil off-loading site in Benicia, Young said he opposed it. He said he spent over three years on the Planning Commission going over every aspect of the project, including letters and documents from both supporters and opponents. In the end he felt the risks outweighed the benefits and he was part of a unanimous vote to reject the idea, he said.

The large Seeno property site, an area zoned for business that remains undeveloped, is also an issue important to some voters. Young says he’d like to see a mixed-use development there that would help attract larger businesses to the area.

One problem the site has is no access to water, but he sees the aforementioned Valero wastewater conversion project as possibly providing the resource to the area. He envisions an expanse that would be a combination of industrial, commercial, retail, and residential ventures.

Young says he looks forward to having the opportunity to apply his experience to the challenges facing Benicia. “Due to my long career in local government,” he said, “I have been exposed to a number of creative and inspirational people and organizations who have, through trial and error, understood what does and does not work well in terms of approaches to local governance.”

Benicia City Council, Local elections, Tom Campbell

VALLEJO TIMES-HERALD: Benicia candidate Tom Campbell says democracy still works at the local level

November 1, 2016 Roger Straw

Repost from the Vallejo Times-Herald

Benicia candidate Tom Campbell says democracy still works at the local level

By Katy St. Clair, 10/31/16, 6:54 PM PDT

Tom Campbell is running for his 4th term on the Benicia City Council on which he’s served since 2001.

A Central California native with a orthodontic practice in town, Campbell has called Benicia home for nearly 20 years.

In addition to the City Council, he also serves on the Valero Citizens Advisory Committee, the Sky Valley Area Open Span, and the Soltrans Joint Powers Authority.

He holds a D.D.S. from UCLA as well as degrees in chemistry, law and business, he said.

“My favorite thing about Benicia is it’s a safe place with good schools,” he said in an email.

Campbell also cited what a great town Benicia is for kids and families, especially its local sports, the farmer’s market, and various downtown events.

“Benicia has a good quality of life,” he said. “In the over 20 years that I’ve been involved in various public offices, I hopefully helped a little to make it possible.”

Campbell points to the city’s budget as a major accomplishment during his tenure on the council.

During that time, the city’s had quarterly updates, 5-year projections, a 20 percent reserve requirement, and more disciplined budget policies, he said. These changes have created a 30 percent reserve, he says, and $4.4 million annually from Measure C, all of which will contribute to infrastructure like city roads.

“Benicia had none of this when I started in 2001,” he said.

The biggest issue facing Benicia in the future, he said, is water.

Relying on agreements with the State Water Project state are tenuous, since water officials can refuse to actually provide the expected water, he said.

“A water recycling plant would be a next logical step,” he offered, “but it is extremely expensive to construct and operate.”

Campbell said he hopes to spur a continued effort to conserve water in Benicia.

“At 39 percent conservation, we’re almost the best in the state, and this appears to be holding,” he said.

He also hopes to keep negotiating deals with agencies and cities with excess water.

Another of Campbell’s concerns revolves around attracting and retaining business in town, to which he says he takes a three-tiered approach.

“We need to improve our basic infrastructure, market our strategic location, and we’ve done some low-income infill projects that have been accepted by their neighbors, as well as incentive programs with accessory units. This is the direction in which we should continue,” he said.

Campbell opposed Valero’s crude-by-rail project, which would have created an oil off-loading site in Benicia.

“My graduate degree was in chemistry, so I’m familiar with the chemicals in the tank cars and their volatility,” he said. “Even though Valero’s employees are well-trained, the margin of error was just too small and the risk of catastrophic failure too great.”

Another environmental issue facing Benicia is what to do with the Seeno Property, a large swath of land that has been zoned as a business park.

“You don’t put 900 homes next to an active industrial park with a refinery a quarter-mile from the houses,” he said.

Something like a “hi-tech campus style park” would be a better fit, he said.

Benicia’s historic character is one of its main assets, and Campbell says he shares a pride it that as a long-time Benicia Historical Society member.

“I have a good idea of our historical assets,” he said. “We need to protect them through the Mills Act and give national landmark status for places such as the Von Pfister Adobe, where California’s first gold was announced,” he said.

Sharing what he calls his philosophy for local governance, Campbell said he thinks American democracy still works at the local level.

“That’s why I developed policies like open government and campaign finance ordinances, among others,” he said. “Residents have a right to as much access and knowledge about their public officials as possible.”