Category Archives: Napa-Solano Central Labor Council

2024 General Election, Endorsements, Lionel Largaespada, Napa-Solano Central Labor Council, Trevor Macenski

Largaespada and Macenski Apparently Enter Benicia City Council Race (We Guess? Kind Of?)

[BenIndy: To our knowledge, neither current Council Member Trevor Macenski nor former member Lionel Largaespada has officially announced their candidacy. However, we can infer a few things from the labor council’s announcement. First, we can guess that these two intend to run. That’s an easy one, and not surprising at all.  Second, the filing period hasn’t closed yet, indicating that the council is not interested in considering a full field of candidates before anointing their favorites. (To be fair, early endorsements aren’t uncommon, but frequency and equitability aren’t the same thing.) Third, this suggests that neither Macenski nor Largaespada plans to challenge Mayor Steve Young in his reelection bid. Fourth, it shows that the labor group is willing to endorse GOP candidates, assuming Largaespada has not changed parties since this 2018 SF Chronicle profile. While labor unions sometimes endorse conservative candidates, it is rarer due to the GOP’s history of blocking minimum wage increases, weakening safety and health protections, cracking down on union activity, and ignoring violations of workers’ rights to benefit mega-corporations. Although the labor council may have stolen some of the apparent candidates’ precious potential thunder by preempting their actual announcements, we’ll share them when we see them.]

Napa-Solano Central Labor Council announce endorsements for election

They include Largaespada for Benicia City Council, Dr. LaTanya Young for Vallejo School Board

Vallejo Times-Herald, by Thomas Gase, July 20, 2024

The Napa-Solano Central Labor Council, representing workers across both Napa and Solano counties, announced its early November election endorsements on Saturday.

Officials say the candidates were interviewed by the United Workers for Local Government, which consists of representatives from the Napa-Solano Central Labor Council and the Napa-Solano Building Trades Council, as well as workers from across all parts of the local economy, from the public sector to construction, and from manufacturing to teachers, nurses, and the service sector.

The endorsements:

  • Michael Silva, Vacaville City Council
  • Trevor Macenski, Benicia City Council
  • Lionel Largaespada, Benicia City Council
  • Ana Petero, Fairfield-Suisun School Board
  • Dr. LaTanya Young, Vallejo School Board
  • Scott Sedgley, Napa Mayor
  • Beth Painter, Napa City Council, District 2
  • Bernie Narvaez, District 4
  • Measure G, Napa City Bond Measure

Following in-depth interviews, these candidates were evaluated based on their track record of support for workers’ issues. Additionally, ballot measures in the City of Napa (Measure G) and the City of Benicia (Measure F, also known as the Save Our Streets measure) were evaluated and endorsed based on their impact on workers and broader communities.

Over the coming weeks, the Napa-Solano Central Labor Council will interview candidates in all other races across these two counties.

Napa-Solano Central Labor Council, Vallejo Education Association

Vallejo Education Association “outs” Jon Riley and quits the right-wing Labor Council

Vallejo Times Herald, Letters, December 13, 2020

A matter of values

On Nov. 12 at our representative council, the Vallejo Education Association unanimously voted to leave the Napa Solano Labor Council effective immediately. This was not an easy decision — we have collaborated on many projects and campaigns in the past but we have come to determine that the NSCLC no longer shares our values. Our values, as stated by the California Teachers’ Association Mission Statement, are “to protect and promote the well-being of its members; to improve the conditions of teaching and learning; to advance the cause of free, universal, and quality public education for all students; to ensure that the human dignity and civil rights of all children and youth are protected; and to secure a more just, equitable, and democratic society.

Over the past few years, the VEA and the NSCLC and its executive director did not see eye to eye on many issues, including supporting politicians that advocate for charter schools, pushing to endorse a candidate who stated they would cross a union picket line, the use of misogynistic and homophobic language by its executive director, condoning attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement by member institutions and seeking to discipline those who criticized police and fire unions when they publicly and privately attacked our CTA members who ran for public office along with many other issues.

Although we have parted from the Napa Solano Labor Council, the Vallejo Education Association remains committed to supporting and engaging its members on issues of social justice and improving the lives of our students and teachers, as our students’ learning conditions are our working conditions. We will welcome partnerships and collaborations with any institutions that remain committed to improving quality public education for our students.

Steven Quinlan
Former Trustee, Napa Solano Labor Council
Political Action Chair Vallejo Education Association

"Push poll", Benicia City Attorney Heather McLaughlin, Benicia City Council, EMC Research, Kari Birdseye, Lionel Largaespada, Napa-Solano Central Labor Council, Research America, Valero Benicia Refinery

Polling companies decline to provide Benicia with survey questions

Repost from the Vallejo Times-Herald
[Editor – Thanks to Times-Herald reporter John Glidden for requesting poll questions and call data from Valero. The polling companies refuse to comply with City Attorney McLaughlin’s request, but Valero paid for the poll and thus owns the poll information. So far, not a word from Valero. BUT… guess what. There’s a NEW campaign phone poll going around, openly promoting 2 of Kari Birdseye’s opponents and smearing her.  My guess is that the wording for this new poll is based squarely on the results of Valero’s incendiary push poll.  Sponsors of the new poll and the candidates they endorse are benefiting from Valero’s shady research.  – R.S.]

Polling companies decline to provide survey questions

By JOHN GLIDDEN , October 11, 2018 at 4:17 pm

BENICIA — The City Council will strategize in closed session once again about an alleged “push poll” incident after two polling firms have refused to provide a copy of the survey questions that were asked to residents in September.

Gary Winuk, with the Los Angles-based Kaufman Legal Group, which represents Research America and EMC Research, sent a three-page letter to City Attorney Heather Mc Laughlin on Wednesday arguing that the council’s request for the questions was improper.

“This requested disclosure of information is particularly inappropriate where the city is making the request and the poll explored subject responses to statements regarding City Council candidates whose campaigns are being personally supported by current members of the council,” Winuk wrote. “The city should not place itself in the position of immersing itself in the back and forth of electoral politics by attempting to force the public disclosure of confidential poll information.”

Vice Mayor Steve Young reported in a Sept. 20 letter first published by the Benicia Independent that he received such a survey call, with the questions allegedly smearing Benicia council candidate Kari Birdseye while championing fellow council candidate Lionel Largaespada.

Asked for comment about Wednesday’s letter and Winuk’s assertion of impropriety by the council, Young said all the councilors have endorsed candidates in the council race.

“However,  I imagine they may be targeting me since I was one of the Benicia voters who actually received and took the poll, and then reported on the nature of the questions. Fortunately, there are many more people who reported not only receiving the poll, but also confirming the biased nature of the questions,” Young wrote in an email to the Times-Herald. “The attorneys claim it is not a push poll, but by simply complying with the City’s request to provide a complete list of the questions, that question could be put to rest. Now, all we have is their word.”

Young has called the survey a “push poll,” which is a type of survey meant to influence voters instead of gathering objective survey information from those called.

Representatives from the Valero Benicia Refinery have already admitted to Benicia City Attorney Heather Mc Laughlin that the refinery paid for the polling that was carried out by the polling firms Research America, and EMC Research.

Young said he doesn’t know if Winuk represents Valero as well.

“We have not heard anything directly from Valero; only a conversation between the City Attorney and Valero General Manager Don Wilson in which Wilson admitted Valero paid for the poll,” Young added. “And since they did pay for the poll, the requested information should be their property, and be made available to the city.”

Wilson has not returned requests by this newspaper for comment on the poll and a copy of the survey questions.

Winuk further reiterated in his Wednesday letter that the poll was done to gather feedback from Benicia voters “on issues relevant to the upcoming election.”

The Benicia City Council met in closed session on Oct. 2 to talk about the survey and whether it may have violated the city’s municipal code when the pollsters failed to state who paid for the polling. Winuk has maintained that the poll was not a campaign communication and thus didn’t need a “paid-for” disclaimer.

Councilors at that time directed Mc Laughlin to investigate and find out who paid for the polling and receive a copy of the questions asked.

The Council is scheduled to meet in closed session on Tuesday.