Category Archives: Solano County Board of Supervisors

Critical race theory, Equity Diversity Inclusion Training (DEI), Solano County Board of Supervisors

Equity Training & Critical Race Theory – Open Letter to Solano County Board of Supervisors

Brandon Greene: Solano Board discussion ‘disappointing but not surprising’

June 25, 2021

To:
Erin Hannigan, Supervisor District 1
Monica Brown, Vice-Chair, Supervisor District 2
Jim Spering, Supervisor District 3
John Vasquez, Chair, Supervisor District 4
Mitch Mashburn, Supervisor District 5

Greetings all,

Brandon Greene, at Benicia Juneteenth Celebration, June 19, 2021

It was disappointing but not surprising to watch the Board of Supervisors’ June 22 discussion of DEI training [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Training], something that seemingly should be such an easy lift.

It’s astonishing that elected officials can have so little knowledge of this topic even as the country is facing a reckoning.

Ludicrous comments were made about critical race theory, something the vast majority of its detractors do not understand (hint: critical race theory is not taught in elementary, middle, or high school. Nor is it taught in college.  My former professor explains here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87hQ2Gpa390).  A comment like, “I don’t want one person’s perspective on history,” is so counter factual to how history is taught and understood that it is astonishing to actually hear it vocalized.

Elected officials did not respond at all to misinformed comments about Marxism and other terms, and allowed callers to declare that grappling with equity is anti-Western in perspective and that all white people are racist —  unconscionable.

It is so distressing to watch people elected to represent the entire county be so comfortable in their lack of knowledge, so secure in their biases and so intractable in their perspective.

“I was born this color,” said John Vasquez, the only supervisor of color.  He said he had been “trained every God-damned day,” but would not allow the color of his skin to define his life.  “I resent someone telling me who I am,” he said.

This is a demonstration that merely being a person of color does not insulate the need for training nor does it automatically equip someone with the knowledge or expertise to lead on equity. It also highlights at best a surface level understanding of how systemic racism and inequity works and at worst, indifference.

This is particularly disturbing given that Supervisor Vasquez co-chairs the equity committee.

It’s embarrassing to see this on display, and exhausting to think about just how far behind this County and its elected officials are.

Nonetheless, we stand on the shoulders of giants and so we will continue to push and move this county forward.

Brandon Greene
Benicia

Gun control, Gun shows, Solano County Board of Supervisors, Solano County Fairgrounds

Vallejo Fairgrounds Board has discussed banning gun shows, Solano County could take action

[Editor: I’m calling on the Fairgrounds Board and the Solano County Board of Supervisors to ban these horrible events as have officials in other local fairgrounds sites.  Too many guns are already in our homes and on our streets – stop the gun violence now!  – R.S.]

Bill to ban gun shows won’t impact Solano County Fairgrounds

State-owned property only

The Code of the West Gun Show runs three to five times a year at the Solano County Fairgrounds’ Exposition Hall. The possible ban of gun shows won’t impact the county-own fairgrounds. (Times-Herald file photo)
Vallejo Times-Herald, by Richard Freedman, June 10, 2021

A bill passed by the state Senate on June 1 that would ban gun shows on state-owned property will not impact the Solano County Fairgrounds.

Though the Dixon May Fair site would be affected because it’s state-run, the Solano County Fairgrounds in Vallejo is county-owned.

However, a policy against gun shows could still be enacted by the Solano County Board of Supervisors, said Solano County Fairgrounds Executive Director and CEO Mike Iokimedes.

“It’s something our (fairgrounds) board definitely has discussed,” Iokimedes said by phone Thursday. “Other jurisdictions have passed local legislation that prohibits gun shows.”

Gun show production company Code of the West out of El Dorado Hills books the fairgrounds three to five times every year, confirmed Iokimedes “and has done so for while.” The next gun show is in the books for July 10-11.

Iokimedes said there have “been no incidences” at the gun shows.

Authored by state Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, SB-264 heads to the Assembly after passing the Senate by a 21-9 vote.

Min told the Orange County Register that the idea for his bill was born in 2019, when mass shootings took place on two consecutive days in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

Min doesn’t believe property the state manages on behalf of taxpayers should be used to sell guns that in some cases get dispersed into the community, where they may contribute to gun violence and its incalculable social and financial costs, he said.

State Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, agrees.

“I’m a hunter myself, but California shouldn’t be in the business of renting state property to sell guns,” said Dodd. “We cannot in good conscious contribute to a problem that threatens the safety of every community.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, who has backed several gun-control bills, didn’t comment on the pending gun show ban “because he doesn’t usually comment on state legislation since it’s outside his jurisdiction,” said Alex MacFarlane, Thompson’s Washington, D.C., representative.

Iokimedes said the gun shows at the fairgrounds “have run pretty smoothly” and emphasized that fees generated by Code of the West “allow us to provide the fairgrounds” at no cost for various community events such as, ironically, the Vallejo Gun Buy-Back, and Food is Free distribution.

Iokimedes said there are strict requirements the Code of the West or any other gun show producer must adhere to, including no loaded weapons “and other criteria that’s the same as other events.”

If the state bans gun shows “straight across the board, then we could not host gun shows,” Iokimedes said.

Though the fairgrounds board welcomes the gun shows, it rejected one promoter hoping to stage a cannabis event, Iokimedes confirmed.

“Our board of supervisors were not comfortable with any onsite consumption,” Iokimedes said.

Citizen Oversight Board, Solano County Board of Supervisors, Solano County Sheriff, Solano Supervisor John Vasquez, Solano Supervisor Monica Brown

Open Letter to Solano Supervisors: Call for a Civilian Oversight Board for Sheriff Department

Civilian Oversight for Sheriff’s Department

Open letter by Jean Walker, May 30, 2021
Jean Walker, Benicia

On September 22nd, 2020, the Solano County Board of Supervisors listened to our county’s employees as they described how Solano County’s hiring and promotions system was bogged down by institutional racism. After much discussion, the Board, on a 5-0 vote, created a Subcommittee on Diversity and Equity. On a 3-2 vote, the Board approved funding of $150,000 to support the work of the Subcommittee.

The members of the Subcommittee on Diversity and Equity, including chair Erin Hannigan and Board Chair John Vasquez, have most likely met a few times since last year. I imagine the Subcommittee has hired an equity consultant, as planned, to assist with the process of focusing on internal human resources operations and delivering equitable services to the County’s residents.

As a constituent I am pleased to see that when an important issue like institutional racism in the County’s hiring practices must be addressed, the Board is capable of coming together as a team.

The Board of Supervisors now has another opportunity, via Assembly Bill 1185, to create a Citizens’ Oversight Board for the Sheriff’s Office.

Civilian oversight benefits the public AND benefits police and sheriff’s departments, by …

    • Improving community relations through more open communication between the Sheriff’s Office and the public;
    • Reassuring the community that misconduct is investigated, and that appropriate discipline and training will occur;
    • Increasing the public’s understanding of law enforcement policies and procedures;
    • Improving those policies and procedures; and
    • Assessing liability management, thereby reducing the likelihood and cost of litigation.

Please, Supervisor Brown, I hope you will once again raise the motion to agendize the proposal of discussing a Civilian Oversight Board. I hope one of the two members of the Diversity and Equity Subcommittee will be a good team member and second Supervisor Brown’s motion.

Jean Walker
Benicia

#BBLM, #BlackLivesMatter, Anti-government, Local elections, Local vigilance, Solano County Board of Supervisors, Solano County Sheriff, Solano Sheriff Tom Ferrara, Three Percenters, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Solano Sheriff to seek reelection, despite controversy

JohnGlidden.com, by Scott Morris, May 28, 2021
Solano County Sheriff Tom Ferrara. (Courtesy Elect Thomas A. Ferrara Sheriff-Coroner 2022).

VALLEJO – Solano County Sheriff Tom Ferrara announced on Friday that he would run for reelection in 2022, seeking another four-year term after 10 years in the position.

Ferrara has faced recent controversy after it was revealed that several deputies posted symbols of the Three Percenter anti-government militia on social media. Ferrara declined to investigate the extent of extremism in his department, falsely said the FBI cleared the deputies of association with extremist groups, and has faced calls for new oversight of his office.

In a video message posted on Facebook Friday morning, Ferrara touted the support of the deputies’ union and the correctional officers’ union. “Now more than ever Solano County needs proven leadership,” Ferrara said. “I have shown this type of leadership through multiple disasters, civil unrest and the pandemic, which we’ve all experienced in the last few years.”

Ferrara was appointed sheriff in 2012 after his predecessor retired. He won his first election unopposed in 2014 and fended off challenges from sheriff’s Deputy Daryl Snedeker and Fairfield police Lt. Dan Marshall in 2018.

But Ferrara has faced political controversy and protest in recent months after an investigative report revealed that three high-profile members of his staff had openly displayed Three Percenter emblems on social media pages.

They included Sgt. Roy Stockton, a Vacaville councilmember who was endorsed by Ferrara, Sgt. Cully Pratt, the department’s former public information officer, SWAT team member Sgt. Ty Pierce, and Deputy Dale Matsuoka, the department’s homeless outreach coordinator.

In response to the revelations, Ferrara said in a statement that the employees named “all serve this agency and this community with passion and dedication.”

Ferrara argued that the deputies had intended to show support for the 2nd Amendment, but Three Percenter groups often call for violent resistance to the federal government if they interpret restrictions on gun possession as against their interpretation of the Constitution. Three Percenter groups have been implicated in bombing and kidnapping plots and the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The sheriff later defended the deputies by writing in letters to Benicia Black Lives Matter and the Solano County Democratic Central Committee that he “consulted with the FBI, who confirmed none of my employees are members of any extremist organizations.”

But the FBI disputed Ferrara’s statement, saying that it did not track participation in extremist groups nor is it “sufficient basis for an FBI investigation.”

Unsatisfied by the sheriff’s response, members of Benicia Black Lives Matter have called for the Solano County Board of Supervisors to create an oversight board of the sheriff’s office.

But only Supervisor Monica Brown supported even discussing the suggestion. Meanwhile, the Solano County Republicans have organized in opposition to any new oversight.

Benicia Black Lives Matter has continued to protest the sheriff’s office, including staging a rally outside the sheriff’s office on the anniversary of the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Scott Morris is an independent journalist in Oakland covering policing, protest and civil rights. If you appreciate his work please consider making a contribution.