Candidate Amy Hirsh leads with about 23% of the vote counted
By Nathalie Christian, April 11, 2023
The Solano County Registrar of Voters posted its first round of vote totals at 8:01 PM tonight, showing candidate Amy Hirsh leading by a significant margin. Only 943 out of 4,110 potential ballots have been counted so far, and these have all been mail-in ballots. Ballots cast in person have apparently not yet been counted.
Stay tuned! We will continue to keep an eye on the results and report on them as we can.
Here is the current count:
Early results from the April 11 election show Ms. Amy Hirsh in the lead for mail-in ballots. Election Day results are still unavailable.
Looking for your polling location? Ballot drop-off information? Keep reading!
April 11, 2023
Registered voters living in Area 5 of Benicia (see below for a map) — this is your reminder to VOTE in the Area 5 Special Benicia Unified School District Trustee Vacancy Election TODAY. According to the Solano County Registrar of Voter’s (ROV) website, the first update with election results will be at 8:15 pm today.
Ballot drop boxes and in-person voting locations
In-person voting is taking place at Matthew Turner Elementary from 7 am to 8 pm. Mail-in ballots can still be dropped off at any location below (including Turner Elementary) during the listed times.
Matthew Turner Elementary (540 Rose Dr., Benicia)
TUESDAY — VOTE IN PERSON or drop off your mail-in ballot between 7 am and 8 am.
Solano County Registrar of Voters (675 Texas St., Fairfield)
TUESDAY — Drop off in the 24-hour drop box on Union Ave., but note that the ROV will likely close the box by 8 pm.
A vote for Ariana Martinez is a vote for our kids
Ariana Martinez, LCSW, candidate for Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees, Area 5
If you’ve been following along, you may know that the Benicia Independent has endorsed Ms. Martinez. Ms. Martinez has also been endorsed by the following organizations and officials:
Benicia Teacher’s Association
Napa-Solano Central Labor Council
California State Senator Bill Dodd
Benicia Mayor Steve Young
Benicia Vice-Mayor Terry Scott
Benicia City Council Member Kari Birdseye
Solano County Board of Supervisor Monica Brown
Benicia Unified School Board President Sheri Zada
Benicia Unified School Board Member Mark Maselli
Benicia Unified School Board Member Dr. Gethsemane Moss
Former Benicia Unified School Board Member Andre Stewart
Former Benicia Unified Board Member Gary Wing
Former Benicia Unified School Board Member Gary Wing
Former Benicia City Council Member Dan Smith
Solano County Office Associate Superintendent of Human Resources and Educator Effectiveness Michael Minahen
Fairfield-Suisun Unified District School Board Member Jack Flynn
California School Employee Association Benicia Chapter 1096
Ms. Martinez is a Bay Area native, Benicia High School graduate, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker with hands-on experience in the areas of cognitive psychology, social sciences, organizational development, and education. Read more about Ms. Martinez at www.ariana4busd.com.
Only residents of Area 5 may vote in this special election (see map below).
BUSD Area Map (click to enlarge)
*BUSD Area 5 includes: Mathew Turner School, Lake Herman, Water’s End areas. Click on map to enlarge. Area 5 is in purple.
Local Labor Council Endorses Ariana Martinez for Area 5 School Board Race
April 7, 2023
Ariana Martinez, LCSW, candidate for Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees, Area 5
The Napa-Solano Central Labor Council (NSCLC) has joined the Benicia Teacher’s Association in endorsing Ariana Martinez for the special election to be held on this upcoming Tuesday, April 11, 2023, for the Area 5 Special School Board Race.
Ms. Martinez has also been endorsed by the following organizations and officials:
California State Senator Bill Dodd
Benicia Mayor Steve Young
Benicia Vice-Mayor Terry Scott
Benicia City Council Member Kari Birdseye
Solano County Board of Supervisor Monica Brown
Benicia Unified School Board President Sheri Zada
Benicia Unified School Board Member Mark Maselli
Benicia Unified School Board Member Dr. Gethsemane Moss
Former Benicia Unified School Board Member Andre Stewart
Former Benicia Unified Board Member Gary Wing
Former Benicia Unified School Board Member Gary Wing
Former Benicia City Council Member Dan Smith
Solano County Office Associate Superintendent of Human Resources and Educator Effectiveness Michael Minahen
Fairfield-Suisun Unified District School Board Member Jack Flynn
California School Employee Association Benicia Chapter 1096
Benicia Independent
Ms. Martinez is a Bay Area native, Benicia High School graduate, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker with hands-on experience in the areas of cognitive psychology, social sciences, organizational development, and education. Read more about Ms. Martinez at www.ariana4busd.com.
Why is Benicia having a special election?
As previously reported, this special election is the result of a vacancy that the Board was required to fill after no one ran to represent Area 5 in the November election. Any interested, eligible candidate could have applied for the post. Four candidates applied, including Ms. Martinez.
In November, the Governing Board interviewed the four applicants in open session for the position. After comparing the needs of the district with the experience and backgrounds of each of the candidates, the Board chose by a majority vote to appoint Ms. Martinez.
In response to the Board’s appointment, the unsuccessful applicants chose to gather at least 62 signatures and submit them to the County to rescind the appointment. The special election must be paid for by Benicia Unified School District, taking roughly $60,000 to $80,000 from school budgets that must also support students, teachers, school staff, and school facilities.
The two other candidates in this race are Ms. Amy Hirsh and Dr. Ali Mansouri.
How to vote
According to the Solano County Registrar of Voters, voters can drop off ballots in drop boxes at the following locations:
Solano County Registrar of Voters (675 Texas St., Fairfield)
24-hour drop box on Union Ave.
On Election Day, ballots can be dropped off at any location listed above plus the poll place location listed below, from 7 am to 8 pm:
Matthew Turner Elementary (540 Rose Dr., Benicia)
Only residents of Area 5 may vote in this special election (see map below).
BUSD Area Map (click to enlarge)
*BUSD Area 5 includes: Mathew Turner School, Lake Herman, Water’s End areas. Click on map to enlarge. Area 5 is in purple.
[BenIndy Contributor Nathalie Christian – On Wednesday, March 29, the Benicia Unified School District (BUSD) issued a district-wide warning that the annual occurrence of the racist, violent “game” Benicia High School students call “La Migra” is anticipated to occur this Friday, March 31. For more than 20 years, the La Migra “game” has inflicted deep emotional and often physical harm on Benicia’s vulnerable youth, especially our youth of color. La Migra also claims countless hours of our police department’s time, tying up emergency resources and costing Benicia thousands in overtime wages and related spending. Despite all of this, too many in Benicia consider La Migra a harmless tradition. Although the game occurs off campus and is no way organized or condoned by BUSD, the district is right to call for an immediate end to this event and to warn the community of the imminent danger. – N.C.]
Let’s Stop ‘La Migra,’ A Dangerous Game of Chase – March 31, 2023
Posted by Benicia Unified School District March 29, 2023
Dear Benicia Community,
We want to bring your awareness to an unsanctioned and dangerous activity that Benicia teens have participated in over the last twenty years, which is an underground, and unwelcomed event in our community. It is a chase-and-capture game referenced as “La Migra”. This activity happens in the Spring, usually on a Friday evening in late March or in April. We have information that suggests this game may take place on Friday, March 31, 2023.
While this activity is not in any way organized or condoned by the schools, Benicia Unified School District, or the City of Benicia, there is an urgent need to provide our community with information and ask for your partnership in putting an end to this event once and for all. We want to provide awareness about this event and see it stopped for two important reasons: the inappropriate, racist, and offensive nature of the game and the incredible safety concerns for our students and innocent bystanders.
“La Migra” is slang for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is the name used for this controversial game based on ICE agents deporting undocumented immigrants. The event involves older students chasing younger students through the city, trying to catch them, and then possibly transporting or holding the student against their will. The event begins at one location, typically a park in town, with the younger students attempting to get to a second designated location without being caught by an older student. A student that is captured is sometimes dropped off in an unknown location. There are reports of extremely unsafe situations in the course of this event, including unsafe driving, students dressed in all black with masks running through backyards and private property, speeding, physical contact causing injury, unsafe physical detainment, and students being left without the ability to contact someone to pick them up. It is important to stop this activity immediately to keep students from being injured or harmed.
In addition to the physical safety concerns, Benicia Unified School District strongly advocates for respect for all individuals, regardless of race, place of origin, sexual orientation, or disability. A game such as “La Migra” causes harm, both physical and emotional, to members of our community.
We urge every family to discuss this event, use this as an opportunity for education and understanding, and help us put an end to this game in our community. In a city that has been nominated as a Be Kind city, continuing “La Migra” is counter-productive to this goal.
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