Category Archives: Christina Strawbridge

Benicia City Council, Benicia Climate Action Plan, Christina Strawbridge, Good Neighbor Steering Committee, Kari Birdseye, Keeping Watch on Earth News, Local elections, Northern Gateway Project, Seeno property, Valero Crude By Rail

Candidate Strawbridge defends her environmental record – the Benicia Independent responds

Christina’s comments, with my apologies and rebuttals

By Roger Straw, October 13, 2018
Kari Birdseye

In Friday’s Benicia Independent newsletter, I wrote that the one Benicia City Council candidate who stands out as a shepherd of the planet’s future is Kari Birdseye.

Christina Strawbridge

I pointed out that candidate Christina Strawbridge made a huge difference in 2016, voting to stop Valero’s dangerous and dirty Crude by Rail proposal, but I went on to give a critical review of a few of Strawbridge’s votes on environmental issues.

Christina wrote a friendly and detailed response to my criticism, and she deserves to be heard on the issues.  Here are her comments, along with my responses:

SEENO

BENINDY NEWSLETTER: “…she voted in favor of Seeno development…”

CHRISTINA: I did not vote for development of the Seeno Property. It never came before me while I served on the Council. This fabrication was used extensively against me in the last election. The closest I came was to ask Council in a 2 step process to put the use of the property on the Agenda to discuss. Even though a majority agreed to that request it never happened.

ROGER: I apologize for misstating the facts in my newsletter, however there is more to the story.  Seeno was back with a proposal, the Northern Gateway Project in 2015-2016, when Christina was on Council. She is right to point out that the project never came before Council – for approval. The project proponent, suspected Seeno surrogate Schwartz Land Development, approached the Council to be placed on the agenda for “guidance.”  Christina voted approval with a majority and so Council convened a workshop.  Ultimately the developer withdrew their plans when public opposition arose. Opponents of the project were strongly objecting to the housing element in the proposal, and skeptical of the developer’s claim of no relation to the Seeno family.  When a proposal comes before Council in a 2-step process, it is often fair to vote for an airing of pros and cons and discussion regardless of one’s opinion on the merits of the proposal.  But when Council convened the “guidance” workshop on Feb 23, 2016 Christina offered the following accommodating remarks as shown in the minutes: “Council Member Strawbridge discussed the need to figure out economic development within the City. The issue is what would be a viable project in the area. She would like to move forward with the project so we can see what can be done creatively out there (affordable housing, etc.).”  [Emphasis added.]

VALERO GETS GOOD NEIGHBOR SETTLEMENT MONEY

BENINDY NEWSLETTER: “[she voted] in favor of a nearly million-dollar give back to Valero…”

CHRISTINA: The million $$$ give back to Valero. I believe you are referring to the grant recommendations through the Sustainability Commission for remaining money in the Good Neighbor Settlement. This was at the height of the historic drought and the project that Valero wanted to use the money for was a large water conservation project.

ROGER: Valero’s boiler construction project was a good idea at the height of our historic drought.  But the Sustainability Commission’s settlement funds were no substitute for the deep pockets of Valero Energy Corporation to fund the project.  Christina voted with Hughes and Schwartzman on June 17, 2014 to flip $829,000 of the Valero / Good Neighbor settlement money back to Valero to fund the project.  The Community Sustainability Commission recommended against distribution of grant funds to corporate giant Valero, pointing out that Valero could easily afford the outlay itself and recoup costs in about a year.  The CSC preferred to spread the money over a longer period of time to fund local climate solutions that would otherwise be unlikely to move forward.  By flipping the recommendation, most of the remaining funds were spent, decimating the ability of the Sustainability Commission to make further significant investments in smaller projects that would benefit Benicia.

DEFUNDING OF BENICIA’S CLIMATE ACTION COORDINATOR

BENINDY NEWSLETTER: [she voted] “in favor of a budget that discontinued employment of Benicia’s Climate Action Coordinator”

CHRISTINA: Funding the Climate Action Coordinator. As you might recall the contract ended for the CAP coordinator Alex Porteshawver when she left Sonoma State University’s Center for Sustainable Communities to work for a for a company that wanted to provide less service for more money. There was thought that the solar project savings would pay for the coordinator. That was not the case. During deliberation, I asked the Community Development Director if there had been an attempt to negotiate with the company to allow some continued presence of Alex. Staff’s response was the company was not interested. I believe the CAP coordinator was an important asset to our community and Alex was really well thought of in the industry. Perhaps with a different staff and more creative thinking she would still be here.

ROGER: Christina gives a fair defense here.  Budget decisions are complex and difficult, and often must include compromises.  Public support for the Climate Action Coordinator was huge, and the numbers showed that she more than paid for her salary through city savings.  Disappointment lingers.  If Christina is elected, I hope she will work with our new City Staff and Council to revisit funding for a Climate Action Coordinator.  Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

CHRISTINA’S OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL VOTES & ENDORSEMENTS

CHRISTINA: Some things you left out about being environmentally insensitive with my voting record:

  • voted for MCE Marin Clean Energy
  • supported the completion of the solar project pump 3
  • voted to move forward for obtaining grants for the water reuse project
  • served/serve on the Solano County State Parks Committee to coordinate efforts to keep the 2 State Parks open and get the State to do work on deferred maintenance, (Currently on the board of the Benicia State Parks Association)
  • voted to fund the BRIP Business Resource Incentive Program whose goal was to assist businesses in improving productivity and viability through energy and resource savings. BRIP won multiple awards in combining economic development and sustainability for Benicia businesses
  • voted for a comprehensive water conservation program to save water and find funding for lawn replacement, gray water use, etc.
  • I have also been endorsed by the Sierra Club and the Solano County Orderly Growth Committee.

ROGER: Christina’s record on environmental issues definitely has some pluses, but it also has some poor marks.  Suffice to say, every vote on Council is nuanced, and there are often times when a compromise is called for.  In the end, however, the alliances we strike are in fact important, and outcomes matter.  In her 2016 campaign for Council, Christina aligned herself with Mark Hughes for Mayor.  Hughes’ comments and votes on Council have been uniformly insensitive to needs of the environment – he even waffles on the significance of human causes of climate change. Hughes strongly supported Valero Crude by Rail and has fallen short on many other important issues.  Christina is currently supported in her run for Council by Hughes.

Benicia City Council, Benicia Planning Commission, Christina Strawbridge, Climate Change, Crude By Rail, Kari Birdseye, Lionel Largaespada, Local elections, Valero Benicia Refinery

Our Benicia Election is a referendum on Climate Change

By Roger Straw, October 12, 2018

MY LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE – THE CLIMATE AND OUR LOCAL ELECTION

Roger Straw, Benicia

      For the first 35 years of my adult life, my priority was on peace and freedom, justice and equality under the law. That and helping folks in need.
      Sometime in 2007, a friend and colleague spoke convincingly to me about the planetary threat of climate change, global warming.  I was skeptical, but I didn’t argue with her.  I listened, and somehow, I came to understand that everything – EVERYTHING – is at stake, that creation itself is in the balance.  The science is indisputable.
      My life since then has revolved around environmental causes, and I’ve taken seriously the mantra, “Think globally, act locally.”  I’ve helped elect Benicia leaders who share my views; I’ve campaigned against bulldozing development on Seeno land; I’ve helped organize Benicians to successfully deny giant Valero’s dangerous and dirty crude by rail proposal; I’ve helped awaken Benicia to the serious need of better air monitors in and beyond the refinery.
      These concerns are front and center as I consider my vote for City Council this fall.
      One candidate spoke out repeatedly in favor of toxic and potentially explosive oil trains: Lionel Largaespada.  He’s a nice guy but he doesn’t belong in a position of power at the heart of our city.
Another candidate was a deciding vote in 2016 to stop Valero’s oil train proposal in its tracks.  Christina Strawbridge will get a lot of votes for that, and she should.  I hope Christina wins, but it’s hard to overlook many of her votes.  She frequently voted with business-friendly and environmentally insensitive colleagues.  For instance, she voted in favor of Seeno development, in favor of a nearly million-dollar give back to Valero, and in favor of a budget that discontinued employment of Benicia’s Climate Action Coordinator.
      The one candidate who stands out as a shepherd of the planet’s future is Kari Birdseye.  Thoughtfully independent and caring, she now presides collaboratively over Benicia’s Planning Commission, where she voted in 2016 to send Valero’s oil train proposal down the tubes.  Her professional work is for an award-winning environmental non-profit.  She’s also a mom, with a long history of involvement in Benicia’s schools, where she has raised funds for good causes and led everyday moms and dads to unite for constructive outcomes.  Those abilities will be needed in our future as we work together to build economic diversity and sustainability in our beautiful, family-friendly art town by the Strait.
      I have come to know Kari personally.  She’s a straight shooter, tough and yet nurturing, open to conversation and compromise, but with eyes always peeled for the good of mother earth, the air, land and water.
      Kari Birdseye is my number one priority in this election.  And I hope she will be yours as well.  Check her out, order a yard sign, volunteer and donate at BirdsyeForBenicia.com.

"Push poll", Benicia City Council, Christina Strawbridge, Kari Birdseye, Lionel Largaespada, Local elections

Benicia City Attorney investigating outsider election smear campaign

Repost from the Vallejo Times-Herald
[Editor: Vice Mayor Steve Young and many others who received the call have been perfectly clear about the smear tactics of the “push poll” callers who have spread misinformation and lies about candidate Kari Birdseye.  Kari’s opponents have publicly raised questions about whether there even was a bias (see  Largaespada’s and Strawbridge’s highlighted comments  below).  For a detailed and accurate description of the blatant bias, see Steve Young: Benicia voters should be wary of fake polls.  Kudos to City Attorney Heather McLaughlin for looking into this.  Learn the truth about Kari Birdseye at BirdseyeForBenicia.com.  – R.S.]

Benicia officials looking into push poll incident

By John Glidden, October 1, 2018 at 7:01 pm

BENICIA — City Attorney Heather McLaughlin has launched an investigation into whether the city’s campaign ordinances were violated after several residents reported receiving a survey call about the current Benicia City Council candidates.

McLaughlin confirmed last week that she will be meeting with the City Council in closed session on Tuesday about possibility initiating litigation in response to the calls.

The calls came to light after Vice Mayor Steve Young wrote a letter, first posted on the Benicia Independent website, stating he received one of the calls from Research America, Inc, a data collection company which has multiple branches throughout the United States.

Young said the call originated from a Saratoga phone number, and the pollster said she would be asking questions about the City Council, senatorial and gubernatorial contests. However, Young alleges that only questions about the council were asked.

He further said that the person asked a few questions about Christina Strawbridge, and none about William Emes, however, “there were lots of questions about Lionel Largaespada and Kari Birdseye.”

“The statements about Mr. Largaespada were uniformly positive and stated how, for example, he would use his small business background to improve the City’s economy and relations with its businesses,” Young wrote. “The statements about Ms. Birdseye were the opposite. Among these statements were ‘She wants to shut down Valero, costing hundreds of jobs,’ and ‘She will bring radical left-wing politics to City Hall.’”

Young said the call was a push poll. Such polls are meant to sway public opinion instead of recording objective information from those surveyed.

Reached by phone Monday, a Research America employee, who declined to give his name, said the company was paid to “collect data as an opinion poll only.”

He also denied the poll was meant to sway voters. However, the employee confirmed EMC Research paid for the poll. A representative of the company couldn’t be reached for comment on Monday.

McLaughlin said her investigation centers on whether the pollsters disclosed who paid for the campaign poll.

“It is a little hard to say what section (the polls) are violating since we don’t know enough about the poll,” she wrote in an email, first reported by the Benicia Herald. “If the poll is paid for by a candidate there are rules for that. If it is paid for by an independent committee there are rules for that. All of it basically boils down to disclosure. They should be disclosing who is behind the poll.”

In a letter posted online, Largaespada said he had “no involvement whatsoever with this poll.”

“I do not know who is conducting it, and it was done with no input or permission from me,” he wrote. “ I have heard from many residents about the poll, and I have heard many different opinions on how it was conducted – ranging from Steve’s claim that it is biased towards me, to residents who found it equally balanced, to others who thought it was negative-sounding towards me. As with most topics, people have differing reactions and take always based on their own beliefs and opinions. ”

Largaespada said he is against push polling as it doesn’t benefit anyone.

A blog post on Birdseye’s campaign page, “When they go low, we go high,” said the campaign had nothing to do with the poll.

“However, the telephone pollster offered lies about me and flattering comments about one of the other candidates,” she wrote.

Birdseye followed up by responding to Largaespada’s comments about the poll.

“The favored candidate has publicly denied involvement. I believe him, but then he claims that the poll wasn’t necessarily biased,” she wrote. “He suggests that people hear what they want to hear.  But many Benicians have reported that the push poll is an obvious attempt to smear my good name.”

Strawbridge also said she does not favor push polling.

“It has no place in our town’s election process. That said, during most of the elections I have participated in, there has been influence coming from both outside and inside Benicia. At times the facts have not always been true for or against a candidate,” Strawbridge wrote in an email to the Times-Herald on Monday. “Since I was not surveyed  and there have been conflicting reports about the content of the questions , more information is needed as to the who and the what of the poll.”

She further said forums are a great way to find out where candidates stand on important issues.

Financial records submitted by the three campaigns last week to the Benicia City Clerk’s Office show that none hired EMC or Research America to conduct the poll.

Benicia City Council, Christina Strawbridge, Kari Birdseye, Lionel Largaespada, Local elections

Campaign finance reports – Benicia City Council

Repost from the Vallejo Times-Herald
[Editor: The Benicia Independent endorses Kari Birdseye for City Council.  This report documents her fundraising success.  More is needed – learn about Kari and make a donation at BirdseyeForBenicia.com.  – R.S.]

Benicia City Council candidates raise funds

By John Glidden, October 1, 2018 at 3:05 pm

BENICIA — The three active City Council campaigns have had a spend-now mentality during the last three months as they spent a combined $31,735, nearly $6,000 more than what they took in, according to financial records submitted to the Benicia City Clerk’s Office last week.

Kari Birdseye, Christina Strawbridge, and Lionel Largaespada raised a combined $24,000 in cash contributions during the same three-month period from July 1 through Sept. 27, records show.

A political newcomer, Birdseye raised the most with $10,523 in cash contributions, her campaign reported. Interestingly, the campaign picked up several individual $500 donations. They included: Kathy Kerridge, Michael Keischnick, Mildred Brennan, Brian Mitchell, Kelly De witt, Tom Wilson, Jill Wilson, David Hackman, and Jeremy Hartgraves.

Other major donations include, $540 from Dirk Fulton, $300 from Benicia school board candidate Adrean Hayashi, with Jack Ruszel contributing $300, $350 coming from Ralph Dennis, and James Birdseye giving $550.

The United Democrats of Southern Solano County donated $500 to Birdseye’s campaign as well.

Almost half of the campaign’s $11,079 in expenses was spent on television advertisements and production costs. The majority of the expenses were also allocated for campaign literature, records show.

The campaign has about $3,100 in its coffers.

Former Benicia Councilwoman Christina Strawbridge received $6,900 in cash contributions during the same period.

Councilman Mark Hughes gave the campaign $250, records show. Hughes and Alan Schwartzman both decided not to seek re-election to the fiver person City Council this fall, paving the way for two new councilmembers.

Strawbridge received notable donations, including $500 from the UA Local 342 PAC fund, $500 from IBEW Local 180, $540 from the Tim Grayson for Assembly 2018, $330 from the International Association of Heating and Frost Insulators PAC, $330 from Tim Hamann, $330 from Jean Hamann, and $100 from Gary Heppell and attorney with the Vallejo-based Favaro, Lavezzo, Gill, Caretti, Heppell law firm.

Her campaign spent the most with $13,922 in expenditures since July 1. About $2,300 of that went to Mary Hand Mango Consulting, with $1,750 going to Mark Lampkin to help film a commercial. Another expense was $5,000 for a television advertisement.

According to her financial documents, Strawbridge’s campaign has nearly $6,000 in the bank.

Finally, the Lionel Largaespada for Benicia City Council 2018 campaign picked up $6,698 in cash. Hughes also donated $250 to the campaign, with additional notable contributions of $500 from Richard Bortolazzo, $500 from Sherri Bortolazzo, $540 from the Tim Grayson for Assembly 2018 campaign, $500 from IBEW Local 180 PAC, $500 from Bob Triggila, $540 from Ponder Environmental Services, $580 from the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulator and allied Workers Local 16, AFL-CIO PAC fund.

Largaespada’s campaign received $311 in non-monetary funds for a walk list which was paid for by the San Diego-based GROW Elect, a PAC which funds, endorses, and recruits Latino Republicans for public office.

The campaign had $6734 in expenses with a majority of the funds being spent on campaign literature, the same records show. About $10,354 was in the campaign’s coffers as of Sept. 27.

A fourth City Council candidate, William Emes doesn’t have a campaign committee so he wasn’t required to submit financial forms.

The election is Nov. 6.