Category Archives: Christina Gilpin-Hayes

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Stephen Golub Interviews Council Candidate Christina Gilpin-Hayes (Pt. 1): “What I love most about Benicia is the Benicians.”

[BenIndy: This post was first published in the Benicia Herald (to subscribe to the Herald, scroll to the end to find instructions). You can find more from Steve not only on the BenIndy but also at A Promised Land: America as a Developing Country, where he blogs about domestic and international politics and policy, including lessons that the United States can learn from other nations. If interested, you may sign up for future posts by subscribing to the blog.]

Christina Gilpin-Hayes, 2024 Benicia City Council Candidate. | Photo provided by campaign.

By Stephen Golub, originally published in the August 18, 2024 Benicia Herald

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land

I recently interviewed Christina Gilpin-Hayes, who’s running for Benicia City Council. Part One of the interview, published today, focuses on her background, life, work and engagement with community service. Next Sunday, Part Two will address why she’s seeking office and her priorities and aims if elected.

More information on Christina can be found at her campaign website,  https://www.christinaforbenicia.com/

Now, on to the interview…

SG: What made you decide to move to Benicia?

CGH: My wife and I decided we were ready for a slower pace of life and more space. We explored homes from Oakland, where we were living, all the way to Sacramento and everywhere in between. We found a house in Benicia that we loved and immediately put in an offer. Even though we were outbid, we had already fallen in love with Benicia. 

Shortly after, we found another home in Old Southampton that we also loved. Although it hadn’t been updated much since it was built in the early ’70s, we saw its potential. We spent a few months in Airbnbs with our two dogs while the house was fixed up.

SG: Since arriving, are there any aspects of Benicia that you’ve learned about and that have especially pleased you?

CGH: I love how much Benicians care about being Benicians. On the first day we arrived after closing on the house, neighbors came over to welcome us and get to know us. I also appreciate how many Benicians have been here for generations. The community genuinely cares for each other. If you check any of the Benicia social media pages, you’ll see people returning lost wallets, stuffed animals left at the parks, and making sure lost pets find their way home. There is such a rich history here, but what I love most about Benicia is the Benicians.

SG: As a fellow animal lover, I’ll start asking about your interests by addressing your involvement with animal rescue. Could you describe that work and how you got involved with it?

 CGH: I’ve been involved in animal rescue in some form since I was a kid. Back then, it was sneaking sick feral kittens into my room without my mom finding out. I’ve volunteered for West Coast Boxer Rescue (WCBR) for over a decade and had previously volunteered for other rescues as well. I foster dogs who are waiting for their forever homes or those with medical needs who need a soft place to land while they heal. I also transport dogs from high-kill shelters to rescue or from rescue to their new adoptive homes. As an adoption coordinator, I meet with families to ensure the dog they’re interested in is a good fit for their home and activity level.

Before my involvement with WCBR, I rescued two boxer puppies who were being sold at just 5 weeks old and were very sick with parvovirus. My plan was to find them adoptive homes once they recovered, but one was deaf and partially blind and relied heavily on her sister, so I kept both girls. Lola passed away in 2022 at 9 years old, and Gemma, my deaf girl, passed away just a few weeks ago at 11.5 years old.

SG: What other community activities have you been involved with, whether elsewhere or especially here?

CGH: I am the founder of the Benicia LGBTQIA Network. We started the group to create social and networking opportunities for our LGBTQ+ community, and it has been very well received in Benicia. We alternate between hosting free events, like a picnic in the park, and events at local Benicia businesses to keep our dollars in the community. We did host one event in Martinez at a movie theatre, but otherwise, we stay local in Benicia.

We’ve participated in most of the activities Benicia has to offer. We enjoy the farmers market, the peddler’s fair, the dog festival, and all the great outdoor activities. My wife just started paddleboarding on the Strait, and we both enjoy hiking around Lake Herman and attending events at City Park. 

I’ve always been involved in community activities, whether through an official organization or by stepping in when I saw a need that wasn’t being met. During the early stages of COVID, in my previous neighborhood, we offered grocery shopping or ran errands for our elder or at-risk neighbors. I also helped organize a peace march and rally in Richmond after a violent attack on a student following a homecoming dance in 2009.

I’ve often hosted fundraisers and community meetings at my home when a suitable venue wasn’t available or affordable. Being involved is something I feel strongly about, and I strive to live by that commitment every day.

SG: I understand that you also host a neighborhood gathering/film show for kids on Halloween. What is that like?

CGH: I do! I’ve been doing this for many years at my home in Oakland, and I continued the tradition when we moved to Benicia. We hang a projector on the garage, show kid-friendly Halloween movies, and invite our neighbors to come over and hand out candy with us. The first year in Benicia, we had just a few people, but last year we almost ran out of room on the driveway!

We live in Old Southampton, on a block that may not have the same trick or treating reputation as other areas in Benicia, but since we started this, word has gotten out. Our first year, we had only 7 kids; this past year, we had almost 50! While that might seem low compared to some of other neighborhoods, 50 kids in Old Southampton is impressive! We posted on Nextdoor and Benicia Happenings, and people drove up with their kids to trick-or-treat before heading to the flatter neighborhoods.

The kids enjoy getting treats from multiple homes at one stop, and we also make sure there are plenty of snacks and drinks for the adults who might need a break from the Halloween activities.

SG: Could you tell us something more about your personal and professional backgrounds?

CGH: I grew up in Citrus Heights, a suburb of Sacramento, and lived in Pittsburgh, PA, where I met my wife, for eight years, followed by nearly two years in Chicago. The Chicago winters were too much for me, so I moved back to California in 2007, settling in Oakland. I completed my bachelor’s degree at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, focusing on Business Communication and Organizational Behavior.

I started my legal career at a small legal service company before moving into a paralegal role at a large firm in Pittsburgh. I’ve worked at several large firms, including assisting startup companies. I later moved into a leadership role, managing almost 100 paralegals and case assistants. After a brief stint in financial services, I returned to a law firm where I now serve as the Operations Manager on our Innovation team. We’re building state-of-the-art legal technology solutions (in layman’s terms, software to make corporate legal services less expensive and more efficient). I lead a small team and do a lot of training, which I really enjoy.

SG: Thanks very much, Christina.

Stay tuned for Part Two of this interview, coming Sunday, August 25.

The Benicia Herald  does not have an online edition. Supporting local journalism is crucial for ensuring communities are informed and facilitates transparency and accountability during important local events and initiatives. You can subscribe to the Herald by email at beniciacirculation@gmail.com or by phone at 707-745-6838.

Benicia CA, Benicia City Council, Benicia city staff, Christina Gilpin-Hayes, Elizabeth Patterson, Stephen Golub, Tom Campbell

Stephen Golub: Public Service in Troubled Times

[BenIndy: This post was first published in the Benicia Herald (to subscribe to the Herald, scroll to the end to find instructions). You can find more from Steve not only on the BenIndy but also at A Promised Land: America as a Developing Country, where he blogs about domestic and international politics and policy, including lessons that the United States can learn from other nations. If interested, you may sign up for future posts by subscribing to the blog.]

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land

By Stephen Golub, originally published in the Benicia Herald, August 11, 2024

Though the presidential campaign is already reaching full steam, things will get even hotter once we hit Labor Day and the attacks, counterattacks, hard truths, big lies, TV ads, online snipes and everything else really kick in.

Which brings me to praising Benicia’s public servants.

It’s never been easy to be an elected, appointed or contracted city official. I’m no expert, but decades ago I worked in the New York City Council President’s office and then on an anti-poverty program in one of the Big Apple’s sprawling bureaucracies. In both jobs, the work was exciting, challenging, difficult and stressful.

Benicia is about as far from New York City as you can get, in terms of being a far more pleasant place to live and work (though I’ll endlessly praise to high heaven NYC pizza and delis, and still get a tremendous charge out of visiting there). But in terms of American society and government, we live in far more distressing times in 2024 than we did when I started my government work way back when, particularly as the current presidential race inevitably turns ugly. And that comes on top of the everyday hassles and even harshness that government personnel can experience.

So please, let’s bear in mind that especially for Benicia’s elected officials governing can sometimes be a thankless task for which the main compensation is certainly not financial, relative to the tremendous time and effort they put in. That compensation comprises a small monthly stipend, plus health care coverage of which some can’t or won’t avail.

The true compensation instead, I would think, is the  satisfaction of doing some good in some ways. A price they pay involves significant amounts of time away from family and friends, for endless meetings and other commitments.

They also experience frequent requests, demands, carping and even condemnation from folks who may mean well but don’t walk in the Mayor’s or City Councilmembers’ shoes. True, such matters come with the territory. But when they become all too frequent they can be burdensome. (I got a brief taste of this a while ago when I was apparently mistaken for Mayor Steve Young by a fellow I was introduced to at an apolitical social gathering. The guy’s first words to me were along the lines of, “I want to talk to you about lights on the tennis courts.”)

This is by no means an argument against criticism of our elected officials or city staff. The freedom and ability to do so is part of what effective democracy is all about.

Nor am I saying that all officials everywhere should be held in high esteem. We can look to other localities and the national scene to find folks who’ve violated the public trust, and perhaps to Benicia’s earlier years before its modern era.

And I’m certainly not suggesting that our city officials are flawless saints. They’re human, just like you and me.

But one of the many things that keeps Benicia special is that by and large (and I know there have been exceptions to this rule) these officials and the rest of us keep things civil and functional.

This civility is especially important as the national discourse turns nasty. The next three months will be rough. Unfortunately, post-election disputes may be even rougher. I’ll continue to voice my own strong thoughts and feelings about what may well transpire in the presidential campaign.

But this column, today, fundamentally focuses on Benicia. I’m thankful that the city is led by Steve Young, one of the most even-keeled individuals I’ve ever met. We may well need his calm leadership here during the troubled times ahead nationally.

I’m also thankful for our current Council as a whole for its service, as praised by retiring Councilmember Tom Campbell.

And for folks such as former Mayor Elizabeth Patterson and former Councilmember Lionel Largaespada, spanning much of Benicia’s political spectrum, with whom I may disagree on some matters but for whom I have considerable respect for their own service.

And for community leader Christina Gilpin-Hayes, who recently tossed her hat into the City Council electoral ring for November, as well as for others for similarly seeking office here this year.

And for the city staff who keep Benicia running and thriving.

In some ways, we’re in the calm before the national electoral storm right now. Let’s be grateful for what we have as our local campaigns unfold, and for the chance to make Benicia even better.

[The Benicia Herald  does not have an online edition. Supporting local journalism is crucial for ensuring communities are informed and facilitates transparency and accountability during important local events and initiatives. You can subscribe to the Herald by email at beniciacirculation@gmail.com or by phone at 707-745-6838.