Category Archives: Local elections

Keeping Watch on Earth News, Local elections, Local land use authority, Local Regulation, Local vigilance

Zoning Out Fossil Fuels: Local Action for A Better Future

Repost from STAND.earth  (See far below for webcast)

#ClimateIsLocal

September 22, 2017
By Matt Krogh, Extreme Oil Campaign Director, Stand.earth

Every environmental attack by the Trump Administration further emphasizes the importance of taking local action on climate. Climate inaction at the federal level isn’t new–and neither is real success on climate action at the local level.
 
Hidden by the barrage of bad news stories about hurricanes, wildfires, and international climate agreements, are dozens of good news stories about frontline communities defeating dirty fuel projects and municipalities leading the way on zoning out new fossil fuel infrastructure. 
 
Towns and counties have local land use powers that allow them to change regulations to prevent the siting of new fossil fuel infrastructure. Around the US, activists and NGOs have been working with these city and county governments to effectively “zone out” the ability to permit new dirty fuel projects. 
 
A few of the examples:

  • In Whatcom County, Washington, the County Council will hold a public hearing on 9/26/17 and vote to pass an extension of the moratorium on accepting applications for new infrastructure that could be used for unrefined fossil fuel export. This will eventually become codified in the county’s land use policy.
  • In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the board of Harbor Commissioners and Public Works department, operating under the City of Milwaukee, amended a lease to not allow US Oil to “receive, handle, store, ship or otherwise process or distribute crude oil” at the port.
  • In Tacoma, Washington, a permitting freeze similar to Whatcom’s is close to passage, with plans to alter the port’s industrial zoning to prevent new dirty fuel projects.
  • In Portland, Oregon, an ordinance was passed to prevent the siting of bulk crude storage in the city. The legal challenge from industry is winding through the courts, but the ordinance has a good chance of being upheld.

If implemented broadly, passing municipal land use ordinances can prevent the growth of the fossil fuel economy, and be a critical element in fighting global warming, regardless of what the Trump Administration tries to do.

We hosted a recent webcast with activists from the efforts in Whatcom County, WA and Portland, OR.

Want the local resources mentioned in the webcast? STAND.earth has got you covered. Click here.

Local elections

Benicia Election Results – FINAL COUNT, 12/2/16, Reception & Swearing In on Dec. 6

By Roger Straw, December 2, 2016
[Editor: The sweep of local elections by three candidates who strongly opposed Valero Crude By Rail is to be celebrated. Our next four years in Benicia will hopefully be witness to a new majority on Council, with a vision for progressive values.  – RS]

Solano County seal (400x400)The Solano County Registrar of Voters issued a FINAL day’s end report at 4:50pm Friday 12/02. Mayor Patterson has won re-election. Steve Young has been elected and Tom Campbell has been re-elected to the City Council.

A public reception for incoming and outgoing elected officials will be held at City Hall, 250 East L Street, at 6 PM on Tuesday, December 6, followed by a swearing in ceremony and a Council vote for Vice Mayor at the Council meeting.

ep-vjot-h_2016-11-05
Elizabeth Patterson

Mayor Elizabeth Patterson‘s margin of victory over challenger Mark Hughes nearly tripled since the original count, increasing from 109 votes on the morning after the election, to 332. Hughes phoned Mayor Patterson on the day after the election to concede.

Steve Young & Tom Campbell, Benicia City Council
Steve Young & Tom Campbell

City Councilmember-elect Steve Young was the top vote-getter by a margin of 292 votes over
second-place re-elected Tom Campbell and 808 votes over unseated Councilmember Christina Strawbridge. Traditionally in Benicia, the Council candidate with the most votes becomes Vice Mayor until the next election cycle. Congratulations, Vice-mayor-elect Young !

monica-brown-229
Monica Brown

Solano County Supervisor-elect Monica Brown defeated Mike Ioakimedes by 3616 votes (18463 Brown to 14847 Ioakimedes).

Here is a table showing Benicia details, taken from Steve Young’s website:

City Council (top two are elected)
Candidate Total votes Vote % Election day Vote by mail Pro-visional
Steve Young 6720 26.82 2022 4472 226
Tom Campbell 6428 25.66 1788 4479 161
Christina Strawbridge 5912 23.59 1604 4134 174
Lionel Largaespada 4099 16.36 1233 2718 148
George Oakes 1805 7.20 565 1173 67
Write-in 96 0.38 33 59 4
Over Votes 16 2 14 0
Under Votes 6334 2121 3733 480
Mayor
 Candidate Total votes   Vote % Election day  Vote by mail  Pro-visional
Elizabeth Patterson 7548 50.96 2216 5056 276
Mark Hughes  7216 48.72 2202 4761 253
Write In 47 0.32 15 32 0
Over Votes 1 1 0 0
Under Votes 893 250 542 101
Local elections

Benicia Election Results: All ballots counted, only the audit remains

By Roger Straw, November 29, 2016
[Editor: The sweep of local elections by three candidates who strongly opposed Valero Crude By Rail is to be celebrated. Our next four years in Benicia will hopefully be witness to a new majority on Council, with a vision for progressive values.  – RS]

Solano County seal (400x400)The Solano County Registrar of Voters issued a day’s end report at 4:53pm Tuesday 11/29. All ballots have been counted. Only an audit remains before the County finalizes the vote. The County’s next update will be Friday, 12/02 at end of day. Mayor Patterson has won re-election. Steve Young has been elected and Tom Campbell has been re-elected to the City Council. Patterson, Young and Campbell will be sworn in at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 6. 

Mayor Elizabeth Patterson‘s lead increased by a single vote after today’s counting. Her margin of victory over challenger Mark Hughes has nearly tripled, increasing from 109 votes early on Wednesday morning, to 332 as of today. Hughes phoned Mayor Patterson on the day after the election to concede.

City Councilmember-elect Steve Young‘s lead over Tom Campbell decreased by 1 vote today and his lead over Christina Strawbridge remained the same. Young remains the top vote-getter, now by a margin of 289 votes over Campbell and 808 votes over Strawbridge. Traditionally in Benicia, the Council candidate with the most votes becomes Vice Mayor until the next election cycle. Congratulations, Vice-mayor-elect Young!

Solano County Supervisor-elect Monica Brown also extended her lead over Mike Ioakimedes by 12 votes, increasing her margin of victory to 3790 votes (18784 Brown to 15010 Ioakimedes).

Here is a table showing Benicia details, taken from Steve Young’s website:

City Council (top two are elected)
Candidate Total votes Vote % Election day Vote by mail Pro-visional
Steve Young 6717 26.81 2022 4472 223
Tom Campbell 6428 25.66 1788 4479 161
Christina Strawbridge 5909 23.59 1604 4134 171
Lionel Largaespada 4097 16.35 1233 2718 146
George Oakes 1804 7.20 565 1173 66
Write-in 96 0.38 33 59 4
Over Votes 16 2 14 0
Under Votes 6327 2121 3733 473
Mayor
 Candidate Total votes   Vote % Election day  Vote by mail  Pro-visional
Elizabeth Patterson 7545 50.96 2216 5056 273
Mark Hughes  7213 48.72 2202 4761 250
Write In 47 0.32 15 32 0
Over Votes 1 1 0 0
Under Votes 891 250 542 99
Local elections

Benicia Election Results: Count near final as of Monday, 11/28

By Roger Straw, November 28, 2016
[Editor: The sweep of local elections by three candidates who strongly opposed Valero Crude By Rail is to be celebrated. Our next four years in Benicia will hopefully be witness to a new majority on Council, with a vision for progressive values.  – RS]

Solano County seal (400x400)The Solano County Registrar of Voters issued a day’s end report at 5:44pm Monday 11/28. All Benicia ballots have been counted. A small number of provisional ballots from other cities remain to be counted. The County’s next update will be Tuesday, 11/29 at end of day. Mayor Patterson has won re-election. Steve Young has been elected and Tom Campbell has been re-elected to the City Council. Patterson, Young and Campbell will be sworn in at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 6. 

Mayor Elizabeth Patterson‘s lead increased by 2 votes after today’s counting. Her margin of victory over challenger Mark Hughes has nearly tripled, increasing from 109 votes early on Wednesday morning, to 331 as of today. Hughes phoned Mayor Patterson on the day after the election to concede.

City Councilmember-elect Steve Young‘s lead over Tom Campbell increased by 5 votes today and his lead over Christina Strawbridge remained the same. Young remains the top vote-getter, now by a margin of 290 votes over Campbell and 808 votes over Strawbridge. Traditionally in Benicia, the Council candidate with the most votes becomes Vice Mayor until the next election cycle. Congratulations, Vice-mayor-elect Young!

Solano County Supervisor-elect Monica Brown also extended her lead over Mike Ioakimedes by 81 votes, increasing her margin of victory to 3778 votes (18784 Brown to 15006 Ioakimedes).