Category Archives: Kari Birdseye

Benicia City Council, Benicia elections, Kari Birdseye, Terry Scott

Today’s Benicia election results: Vote margins don’t change much

Mail-in ballots all but complete, counting of provisional ballots began today.

By Roger Straw, November 15, 2022

As expected, Tuesday’s count of additional mail-in ballots at our Solano County Registrar of Voters did not affect the likely final outcome of Benicia’s City Council race. Frontrunners Terry Scott and Kari Birdseye maintained a solid lead.

Today’s Preliminary Results
Click image to enlarge. Source: Solano County Registrar of Voters.
  • Scott has 5,613 votes, 24.74%
  • Birdseye has 5,391 votes, 23.76%
  • Largaespada has 5,243 votes, 23.11%
  • Strawbridge has 4,793 votes, 21.13%
  • Innes has 1,645 votes, 7.25%
By the numbers – note day-by-day vote margins at right…
Click image to enlarge. Source: BenIndy, numbers from Solano County Registrar of Voters.

Scott’s lead over Birdseye decreased today by one from 223 to 222. Birdseye’s lead over Largaespada increased from 142 to 148.

Votes outstanding…
Click image to enlarge. Source: Solano County Registrar of Voters.

Unless there are any surprises, ALL mail-in ballots have now been counted. Another 1,012 or so provisional ballots – countywide – must be counted. Benicia is typically about 10% of total Solano votes, so there are perhaps 100 more provisional ballots for Benicia. The Registrar of Voters expects to certify the final result by November 30.

Previous updates on the BenIndy:
Benicia City Council, Benicia elections, Kari Birdseye, Terry Scott

Benicia election results: Scott and Birdseye increase their lead

Scott and Birdseye distancing from incumbents, will be sworn in on December 6

By Roger Straw, November 14, 2022

As expected, Monday’s count of additional mail-in ballots at our Solano County Registrar of Voters increased the leads by frontrunners Terry Scott and Kari Birdseye.

Many have presumed the race is over.  But on Friday, incumbent Councilmember Lionel Largaespada conceded on his Facebook page, and both the Benicia Herald and this Benicia Independent called the race for Scott and Birdseye.  (I read somewhere that Christina Strawbridge conceded, but I am unable to confirm it.)

By the numbers – the lead increased each day…

Scott’s lead over Birdseye has remained pretty much equal, increasing only from 209 to 223.

Birdseye’s lead over Largaespada has increased from only 42 to 112, and tonight to 142.

Ballots still outstanding…

All but  approximately 250 mail-in ballots have been counted. Another 1,671 or so provisional ballots must be counted. The Registrar of Voters expects to certify the final result by November 30.

Previous updates:
Benicia City Council, Benicia elections, Kari Birdseye, Terry Scott

Benicia elects Terry Scott and Kari Birdseye to City Council

Vice Mayor Scott and Councilmember Birdseye unseat two incumbents, form new progressive majority

By Roger Straw, November 11, 2022

The guesswork and waiting is over. There are more ballots to count, but concession phone calls have been made, and our local newspaper, The Benicia Herald, has called the race.

We congratulate and celebrate with Terry Scott and Kari Birdseye, our new Benicia City Council representatives.

The candidates and their campaigns worked hard, reaching out to voters throughout the city. And every candidate and residents from every camp called out the interference of Valero and labor PACs in our local election – a possible factor in a very close election.

With 5 candidates vying for the two open Council seats, Scott has a clear lead, and will become Benicia’s new Vice Mayor. Birdseye will claim the second seat as the only female voice on Council and a leader for environmental sensitivity and climate action.

A majority of Benicia Independent readers will join me in celebrating a new majority for industrial oversight, worker safety and security, climate justice and democratic (small d) values. I believe Benicia has a bright future under the leadership of Mayor Young and our four elected councilmembers, Scott, Birdseye, Campbell and Macenski.

Solano County won’t announce the final result until next week sometime, and the election won’t be certified until November 30 or thereabouts. County offices are closed today for Veteran’s Day and over the weekend, so counting of outstanding ballots will continue on Monday November 14. An update should appear on the Registrar of Voters website around 5pm on Monday.

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Benicia elections, Kari Birdseye, karibirdseyeforbenicia.com, Valero PAC

Valero is spending big money to promote their preferred candidates ….. Again.

By Kari Birdseye, October 28, 2022

Mailers with misinformation

Greetings Benicians,

We were really hoping for a clean election this year. However, two weeks before election day, the glossy mailers started arriving in every mailbox (except mine) in Benicia.

First, they paid for the “First Responders” to weigh in on their favored candidate, with the subtle indication that not all of the candidates support our brothers and sisters in public safety. WRONG.

No one is trying to defund any departments in Benicia, especially those who protect us. I come from a family of firefighter folks and grew up with a police and fire scanner in my house, so just don’t.

Even worse was the mailer Benicians received today, depicting Lionel Largaespada and Christina Strawbridge next to pictures of Mayor Young and Vice Mayor Campbell, both of whom have endorsed me and Terry Scott.

This piece is so deceiving that I’m hoping the City of Benicia will utilize the Fair Election ordinances we have on the books and, at the very least, issue a violation.

There have been a number of misinformation pieces sent this election cycle. Benicians who aren’t politically active may easily believe the misinformation, fueled by big oil money. A campaign that is energized by volunteers and less than $30,000 can’t compete. Knowing that makes me want to work even harder to get out the vote and show why I deserve the support of the majority of our local voters.

Moving Forward…

We continue to get the vote out, which this week included an online forum, held by the Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) Solano Napa Chapter, in collaboration with Vallejo Alumnae Chapter and Solano Valley Alumnae Chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. The 2022 Solano Countywide Virtual Candidates Forum can be viewed here and if you want to fast forward to our talk, go to 1:45:15. I was one of only two of the five candidates who showed up.

Thanks for your support!

I will continue to connect with Benicians and focus on the solutions we can create together. If you want to help me hit the maximum donations allowed under Benicia’s local ordinances, please visit this page and your support in other ways is always appreciated here.

In Service,

Kari

[BenIndy Editor: see more letters on Valero’s sham endorsement on Kari’s website at Valero’s misleading mailers.  – RS]