Category Archives: Local elections

Benicia Mayor, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Local elections

Mayor Steve Young Announces for Re-Election, Promises Four More Years of Proven Leadership

Click the image to visit www.reelectyoungforbenicia.com.

From the Campaign to Re-Elect Mayor Steve Young, received July 10, 2024

Benicia, CA – Mayor Steve Young today announced his campaign for re-election with a pledge to continue the work he started in his first term. “This is a critical election,” Young said. “We are not just deciding on a city leader for the next four years; we are at a crucial juncture that will define the future of Benicia.”

Young, who was elected to his first term as mayor in 2020, has led the City through some of its toughest times. He led the City Council and City government staff in crafting a strong and responsible response to the global pandemic. He has worked to build a solid financial foundation for Benicia, overseeing the rezoning of land to encourage more housing while promoting the City’s vibrant downtown, art community and business park. He also championed the simplification of City processes to make it easier for residents and business to access City services, including by limiting the scope of the Housing Preservation Review Commission.

“I have made transparency and communication the core mission of my service to Benicia residents,” Mayor Young said. “I am the first Mayor to regularly monitor, engage and communicate with constituents on social media, and I consistently respond to direct and public questions.”

“But the job is not done,” Young continued. “More challenges remain as we continue to shape the vision of Benicia’s identity, aspiring to create a community that embodies resilience, prosperity and a balance between smart progress, historic preservation and continued sustainability.”

 

Young was raised in Burbank, California, where he graduated from Burbank High School in 1969. He earned a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley in 1973 and went on to earn his MA in Urban Policy and Administration from San Francisco State University in 1975.

He spent his entire career focusing on the challenges cities face. For 28 years, he worked with cities in California and Virginia, overseeing various projects in the fields of community development, re-development, affordable housing, neighborhood preservation and economic development. In 1999, he was named Community Development Director of the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA).

 After retiring from SHRA, Young and his wife Marty moved to Costa Rico for four years to allow their daughter to have the experience of attending high school internationally. Following her graduation, the family returned to the US and moved to Benicia in 2012 where he quickly put his career experience to use.

Click the image to be redirected to the 2022 LA Times column featuring Mayor Steve Young.

He was appointed to Benicia’s Planning Commission in 2013, just as the Crude by Rail proposal began working its way through the City approval process. With his expertise, he was able to guide the Commission through the complicated process that helped lead to the Planning Commission’s unanimous rejection of a project that could have put Benicia residents’ safety and health at risk. The Planning Commission decision was ultimately upheld by the City Council.

Young was elected to the Benicia City Council in November 2016 in his first attempt at elected office. He was elected Mayor in November of 2020.

 “I love our City, its beauty, strong culture of arts and history, its friendly small town sense of community,” he said. “But to continue to survive, we must grow, and to grow successfully while keeping what makes Benicia special is the challenge before us all. I am asking Benicians to re-elect me so I can continue the work that we’ve started in shaping Benicia’s future.”

To learn more about Mayor Young’s re-election campaign, donate, or volunteer, visit his website at www.reelectyoungforbenicia.com.

Benicia CA, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Benicia's Budget Crisis, Local elections

Mayor Steve Young: Join the Conversations on Benicia’s Real Property Transfer Tax Proposal

Benicia Mayor Steve Young. | City of Benicia.

By Benicia Mayor Steve Young, June 9, 2024

Tomorrow, on Tuesday, June 11th, the City Council will hold the first of a series of public hearings on a specific tax proposal that, if passed, would increase taxes solely on the sale of real estate.

These public hearings will focus on the proposed structure of a proposed Real Property Transfer Tax ( RPTT), targeting only residential and commercial properties when they are sold, with the potential for the issue to be decided by our voters on the November ballot.

No one likes taxes.

And it is challenging to ask voters to approve new ones, even when applied to a limited number of people. But the City’s financial situation, while improving, is not yet stable.

The overwhelming approval by Benicia voters of Measures A and B provided critical funding to maintain service levels for most City programs. But it will not provide enough to address our remaining financial challenges.

We still have a shortfall of tens of millions of dollars to address our need to upgrade deteriorated city facilities, improve our parks, and continue to maintain top quality employees.

The City Manager has been quite transparent in discussing his plan to develop enough sustainable revenue to carry Benicia forward into the future and address our many unfunded needs. At the same time, he will shortly announce even more internal, significant, cost-savings brought about by restructuring of departments and reduction in personnel.

A Real Property Transfer Tax already exists. Solano County taxes all Benicia property at $1.10 per $1000 of sales price (0.11%).  We are asking voters to allow it to be raised in a way that is similar to other neighboring communities. It is paid by either the buyer or seller (or negotiated) in real estate transactions, and is paid as part of closing costs.

Historically, there are between 200-250 property sales per year in Benicia. Unless and until you plan to sell a property here, you would be unaffected.

We should also look to the possible future housing growth in the city.  If we do see new home construction, we will have in place a taxing tool to collect our fair share of the sales transaction.

Only charter cities are allowed to increase this tax (if approved by voters), so a companion measure is required that authorizes a limited Charter, restricted only to this use.

Related issues that will be discussed by the Council, and for which public comment is desired, include the following:

    • Should there be a flat tax where all property sales be taxed at the same rate?  Or should the rate be progressively higher as the sales amount increases?
    • What rates are appropriate in each case?
    • Should property sales under $500,000 (for example) be exempt?
    • Should transfers among immediate family members be exempt?
    • How will commercial property sales (which do not happen often) be managed—variable or flat rate?

Other anticipated exemptions involve circumstances such as sales due to a divorce, non-profit ownership, sales by government entities, and corporate re-organizations under bankruptcy laws

Again, your input is desired, either by attending any of the meetings (in person or virtually) listed at the end of the staff report, or by submitting written comments to the city clerk at lwolfe@ci.benicia.ca.us.

Save these dates

Below is the City of Benicia’s projected timeline for next steps to place the limited charter and RPTT on the ballot for the November 2024 election:

  • Tuesday, June 11, at 5:30pm (tomorrow): Special City Council Meeting – Limited Charter Public Hearing #1; Direction on RPTT Rate Models and Exemptions*
  • Sunday, June 23: Notice of Public Hearing #2 (by publishing in Benicia Herald Sunday Edition and posting at three public places within the City)
  • Tuesday, July 16: Limited Charter Public Hearing #2 – City Council Meeting
  • Tuesday, August 6: Last day for City Clerk to submit resolutions to Registrar of Voters to place a measure on November 5, 2024 Ballot

For more information about attending these meetings, either virtually or in-person, view the City of Benicia’s Tuesday, June 11 Full Agenda Packet.

*The City has a closed session starting at 4:30pm. The public portion of this meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30pm, but may start as late as 6pm.

Benicia CA, Benicia Measure A, Benicia Measure B, Benicia Measure C, Benicia's Budget Crisis, Local elections

Benicia resident Mark Christian: Benicia’s given us a lot. Give a bit back by voting ‘Yes!’ on A, B, & C

Image by DALL-E.

By Mark Christian, February 25, 2024

I’m writing in today to show my support for Measures A, B, and C, which are on the March 5 Primary ballot. All three of these measures are focused on laying the groundwork for Benicia’s continued growth and well-being:

  • Measure A will slightly increase the hotel tax, bringing in an extra $250,000 a year without costing us residents a dime. These proceeds can help improve city services that benefit everyone in town.

 

  • Measure B proposes a sales tax increase, but the impact on our wallets will be tiny: about $10 a month, or less than a Netflix subscription. In exchange, we’ll get better emergency services, get to keep all of our parks open, and improve library services.

 

  • Measure C is near and dear to my heart because it focuses on our schools: it will allow the school district to issue $122 million in municipal bonds so we can upgrade our educational facilities, making them safer and better equipped to get our kids ready for the future. That means better technology, safer buildings, and improved learning environments for every student in town. (I don’t know about you, but I would prefer my kids not to be sitting in a musty old classroom that was already old when their parents were sitting in it.) Whether you have kids in the district or not, investing in education today will pay dividends for generations to come.

Voting yes on these measures is voting yes for a better Benicia. It’s about protecting and improving our city’s infrastructure, safety services, and education. Together, these three measures will keep Benicia the great place to live, learn, and grow that always has been.

Benicia’s given us a lot; it’s time we gave it a bit back.

Sincerely,

Mark Christian
Benicia resident

Benicia CA, Benicia Measure A, Benicia Measure B, Benicia Measure C, Benicia's Budget Crisis, Local elections

Benicia resident Larnie Fox: Supporting Benicia’s best future is as ‘easy as ABC’

Benicia resident and artist Larnie Fox.

By Larnie Fox, February 22, 2024

It’s generally understood that Benicians really like Benicia ~ maybe a bit more than residents of other towns like their towns.

Why is that? Answering for myself: I like that my wife feels safe walking home after dark. I like that we greet each other on the street. I like that the value of my house is steadily rising. I like that we have a strong arts community here, a gem of a local art center, a good local history museum, and wonderful local events. I like my neighbors, and am grateful that it’s easy to connect with them. I like knowing that the neighbor kids are getting a good education. I like our parks and our library. I like being able to walk to good restaurants, cafés, bars and galleries. I like our vibrant local democracy, where any of us can show up to a City Council meeting and tell them what we want ~ and they will listen! Benicia is an interesting, beautiful, historic place, and I feel safe here.

Why is that? It’s because of Benicia’s community and their government. Government is what we decide to do together. That’s why I’m asking you, neighbors and friends, to vote on or before March 5, and vote YES on Measures A, B and C. None of us will feel much financial pain from these votes, but all of us will benefit. We’ll benefit by maintaining our good schools. If you don’t have young kids, you might own a house that will keep its value, and you might be a bit safer if our kids are well nurtured. That’s Measure C. Measures A and B will directly affect your safety through supporting fire and police. It will keep our library afloat, help support our downtown, and hopefully maintain some support for our hard-working local nonprofits that do so much to take care of our less fortunate neighbors and make this a vibrant community. And, it would be nice to get the roads fixed.

For me this is a no-brainer. Please vote, and vote yes on Measures A, B and C.

Larnie Fox
Lower East Side, Benicia