Category Archives: Stephen Golub

By Stephen Golub, Benicia resident and author, “Benicia and Beyond” column in the Benicia Herald, Feb 9, 2025

*Stephen Golub, A Promised Land – America as a Developing Country*

This past Tuesday’s City Council meeting considered for the first time a nearly final draft of an industrial safety ordinance (ISO) that will help protect our city against toxic emissions, fires and explosions from hazardous facilities here, particularly but not only the Valero refinery.

I’ve never been so proud to be a Benician. I’d guess 80-90 people packed the Council Chambers at City Hall, with about 29 others Zooming in. The large majority comprised folks whom I’d never seen or heard speak up on this issue. The entire crowd seemed to support the unanimous pro-ISO consensus among the 30-plus speakers who ranged from expert engineers to laypersons with kids to protect.

One such engineer, a Valero retiree, didn’t doubt refinery employees’ personal commitments to safety, but pointed out that refinery management is under extraordinary pressure to reduce costs. He emphasized that the ISO could actually help the current refinery engineers maintain safety. (I’ll again state my respect and affection for our Valero-employed friends and neighbors in Benicia, and distinguish them from the huge Texas-based corporation that owns the refinery and calls the shots.)

A parent who attended the meeting with his (I assume) wife and toddler, chimed in to favor the ordinance. Several persons prefaced their remarks by saying “I didn’t intend to speak,” then went on to describe their concerns and support. At least one speaker pointed out that if Valero had an accident like last weekend’s huge Martinez fire and if the wind were blowing the wrong way, our entire town could have been endangered.

All in all, our community came together in numbers and passion spread across a spectrum of perspectives, but united in an unprecedented way in support for the ISO.

Valero representatives did not attend the meeting.

The big news emerging from the meeting is that Mayor Steve Young declared his backing for the ISO for the first time. Vice Mayor Trevor Macenski and Council Member Lionel Largaespada hinted at similar support; Largaespada, whose election campaigns Valero had indirectly backed through political action committees in the past, voiced a belief in strong industrial regulation and oversight.

Kudos to Young for his endorsement of the measure; this would seem to ensure a Council majority for passage, though not counting our chickens before they hatch comes to mind. Let’s hope Macenski and Largaespada join him.

Speaking of kudos: pro-ISO Council Members Kari Birdseye and Terry Scott, who along with Fire Chief Josh Chadwick and other City staff had worked tirelessly to on the ISO for over a year, played particularly powerful roles in the Council meeting’s deliberations.

Birdseye hit the bullseye in a number of illuminating exchanges with fellow Council members. For instance, when Largaespada suggested instructing City staff to review certain administrative and other details (which could in effect delay a final vote on the ISO indefinitely), she pointed out that tremendous work had already gone into thrashing out details in the document and that it was time to move ahead. (As a former New York City government management analyst and international development policy analyst, I couldn’t agree more; you can work forever on tweaking a document and never reach closure.)

Birdseye similarly pushed back successfully and forcefully when it was suggested that the Council approve formal ex officio (non-voting) membership on the ISO’s citizen Oversight Commission for Valero or other regulated businesses. As she asserted, we don’t want “the fox in the henhouse.”

Scott had his own “Great Scott!” moments. Young suggested that Valero be consulted yet again to ascertain whether the ISO could be altered to address its concerns. In response, Scott pointed out the many, many times that the City had sought constructive Valero input over the course of over a year of ISO preparation, only to be met repeatedly by dozens of pages of legalistic criticism and unhelpful feedback. He also noted that Valero had not even attended Tuesday’s Council meeting.

There are miles to ago and at least two additional Council meetings to hold before it finally votes on the ISO – which, it should be noted, is the kind of ordinance every other Bay Area refinery community has. Lots could go wrong, but so much could go right. I’ll save that for another day.

For today, I’ll just say that if Texas-based Valero seeks to block the ISO, it will be taking on not just a city but a very motivated community. Last Tuesday’s Council meeting proved that.

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Stephen Golub, Trump

We’re Not Alone: MLK’s Dream, Not the Trump Nightmare, Should Define January 20

January 20, 2025 Roger Straw

Dr. King Saw the Civil Rights Movement as Part of a Global Struggle. That Means Even More Today

By Stephen Golub, Benicia resident and author, A Promised Land – America as a Developing Country [sta_anchor id=”top” /]

**Click for info on Benicia celebration of MLK Day, Monday 1/20/25, 7pm**

So, Inauguration Day is here. Our president is a racist, rapist, insurrectionist and narcissist, as well as a corrupt, convicted crook – to put it mildly. But to get through today’s dismay, and to take heart for the next four years, it’s far better to make January 20 about the other event it commemorates: Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This includes learning from Dr. King’s under-appreciated dream about how the fight for freedom in America relates to similar struggles abroad, in stark contrast with Trump’s nightmarish outlook.

Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue

Trump famously proclaims his stand-alone America First worldview, including disdain for democratic allies and praise for autocrats such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Like Trump, Orban won and then lost his post and then regained it. Having hobbled a once-vibrant democracy by partly crippling his country’s courts, free press and opposition, his rule represents a potential model for Trump’s second term.

Then there’s Trump’s imperialistic impulse to take over Greenland, the Panama Canal and even Canada. Whether or not he’s wholly serious, he’s certainly undercutting the case America could make against both Russia’s calamitous attacks on Ukraine and China’s potential plans to seize Taiwan. He strengthens those repressive, aggressive regimes’ international hands in the process.

Immigration similarly reflects his outlook. There are legitimate debates to be had about how to handle this issue. But Trump trashes any notion of nuance and compassion as he seeks to turn our land of immigrants into a place that resents new arrivals, ridiculously accuses them of stealing and eating Americans’ pets, and vows to end constitutionally guaranteed birthright citizenship.

He Had a Dream

Compare what Trump’s inauguration augurs with Dr. King’s role in the world and how he saw America fitting in. One lesser-known aspect of his work was its international dimension. In a 1957 sermon, after returning home from ceremonies celebrating Ghana’s independence from British colonial rule, he placed the U.S. civil rights movement within the larger context of human rights and anti-colonial campaigns across the globe. As he emphasized, “[F]reedom never comes on a silver platter. It’s never easy.”

Traveling to India in 1959, he wrote that “India’s [Mahatma] Gandhi was the guiding light of our technique of nonviolent social change.” He further linked “the Christian doctrine of love” to the Hindu leader’s words and actions.

Dr. King supported and inspired other human rights struggles abroad. He helped mobilize international opposition to the South African government’s 1957 prosecution of Nelson Mandela and 155 other anti-apartheid activists for alleged treason. Mandela in turn echoed King’s resounding “Free at last!” cry on several occasions, including when proclaiming his party’s 1994 election triumph that capped the end of apartheid.

We’re Not Alone

With Trump’s nightmare ascendant and Dr. King’s dreams currently eclipsed, these are dark days. They will grow darker in the months to come. Here and around the world, it may seem that an autocratic tide could become a tsunami.

But Dr. King’s global role reminds us that we are not alone in our communities or country. The struggle for freedom and justice stretches beyond our shores. Such fights ebb and flow. Even today’s body blows can give way to triumphs tomorrow.

Other nations can thus inspire us to persevere despite the storms ahead. In recent years we’ve seen once-resilient autocrats defeated in Bangladesh, Brazil, Poland, South Korea and Syria. And even in Hungary, the authoritarian Orban’s party suffered setbacks in 2024’s European Parliament elections.

The tide can turn. Not necessarily. Certainly not immediately, as we lick our wounds and watch what outrages, weaknesses, self-inflicted injuries, surprises and successes emerge from Trumpworld (including, we can hope, some steps that might even do some good). But with patience and determination, we may well develop effective strategies to help our democracy survive and thrive – not least if we learn from other countries, as Martin Luther King Jr. did.

Or as Dr. King might have put it: We shall overcome.

We’re Not Alone: MLK’s Dream, Not the Trump Nightmare, by Stephen Golub.

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#PresidentHarris2024, 2024 General Election, Presidential politics, Stephen Golub, Vice President Kamala Harris

Your Vote: Fear Less, Regret Nothing

November 4, 2024 BenIndy

[The BenIndy received two submissions recently that warranted juxtaposition given the shared topic, timing, and connection between the authors. While independently crafted, these op-eds offer complementary perspectives.]

No Regrets

By Betty Lucas, November 3, 2024

When I turned 18, my father drove me to the polls and insisted I vote the way he wanted me to vote. I believed him when he said he could find out how I voted. I later learned that all votes are private. Today, I regret that I gave away my vote out ofunfounded fear.

Now, recently on Fox News, some pastors are telling women it’s their duty to vote as their husbands wish! In the US, we are fortunate to have the right to vote, unlike some countries where there is no choice.

America is and has always been a nation of immigrants. Our history is of people fleeing a dictatorship. Meanwhile, Trump admires the dictators Putin, Orban and – it was recently revealed – Hitler. When individuals or the press disagree with a dictator, they are threatened with retribution and violence. A dictator’s playbook is to keep people frightened and uninformed and to demonize innocent individuals.

A wall is spray painted with the words 'No One Is Illegal' — Photo by Miko Guziuk on Unsplash

Some brush Trump off with, “Oh that’s just Trump being Trump.” No, he is telling us what his is going to do. Project 2025 will gut funding for education, Social Security, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act and much more. High tariffs will hurt consumers, who will be forced to pay more.

Trump’s wife is an immigrant. Some hardliners would consider Elon Musk an illegal immigrant. Yet they both demonize even legal immigrants and those who look or live differently. Christian core values are to love thy neighbor and to forgive others who have wronged you.

(From L) Plaintiffs Damla Karsan, Austin Dennard, Samantha Casiano, Taylor Edwards, Center for Reproductive Rights attorney Molly Duane and Amanda Zurawski attend a press conference outside the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas on July 20, 2023. A Texas state court will hear arguments from both sides in Zurawski v. State of Texas, a lawsuit filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of thirteen Texas women denied abortions despite serious pregnancy complications. | Photo by Suzanne Cordeiro for AP via Getty Images.

The Republican party used to stand for small government; now it is co-opted to track women’s health decisions. I hope you will consider all that is at stake in this election, not just that food prices are too high, or because you are angry and want change.

Democrats are not perfect, there is much to improve. If your car breaks down, you fix it. Democracy needs fixing, but we don’t burn down the whole government.

Did you know that Elon Musk has warned citizens to expect “temporary hardships” as he plans to cut $2 trillion from the federal government? He can afford temporary hardships, can you?

I am not telling you how to vote. We are all in news silos, hearing only what we want to hear. Considering all the above, vote for the outcome you want for you, your family and the future of democracy. I am writing this to have no regrets before the most important election of my lifetime.

Don’t Freak Out! Five Reasons – Starting with Women – Why Harris Wins

By Stephen Golub, November 3, 2024, originally published on A Promised Land

Are you a Harris supporter stressed about the election? Me too.

Let’s not panic, though. Kamala’s (probably) got this. I’ve got five reasons why.

But first, you can start de-stressing by watching the Saturday Night Live clip above, especially commencing at the 5:45 mark.

Now, on to those reasons:

1. The Gender Gaps

American women (along with some men) will save the day in two ways: Far more women than men vote; far more women than men will vote for Harris. In fact, according to a Brookings Institution review, if those margins stay the same in 2024 as they were in 2020, “Harris could win Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada.”

In fact, the margins could prove even larger this year due to greater motivation and thus turnout by women: Many wise pro-Harris women are standing up for their rights; many macho pro-Trump men are simply standing up for supposedly standing tall. Pro-Harris fires could be fueled by the Supreme Court’s anti-abortion Dobbs decision, pro-abortion ballot measures (including in swing states Arizona and Nevada), Trump’s ever-more-misogynistic rhetoric and (though she’s downplayed this) Harris’s trailblazing status.

Even more to the point: Women far outnumber men in early voting, by a 10 percent margin, unnerving even leading Trump supporters. And one key group whose votes Trump seeks, young men, simply tend to not show up for elections.

2. The Passion Gap

A recent Gallup poll found that more Democrats (77 percent) are enthusiastic about voting than Republicans (67 percent) are. Another survey detected a similar 10 percent edge for Harris versus Trump supporters regarding feeling angry if their candidate loses. Enthusiasm and potential anger don’t necessarily turn into votes, but that underlying passion might still help.

3. The Puerto Rican Gap

Don’t underestimate the anti-Trump impact of the idiotic comedian who slammed Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” (while making a slew of other racist remarks) at Trump’s recent New York rally. This could well infuriate many Puerto Rican voters in Pennsylvania (which has almost 300,000) and other swing states. It certainly spurred superstar recording artist Bad Bunny to back Harris, making him part of the wave of Puerto Rican stars who reached out to over 340 million Instagram followers to show similar support after the rally.

4. The Momentum Gap

After a rough patch during which Trump seemed to be inching up, Kamala is regaining momentum in myriad ways. The final New York Times poll shows Harris up in four swing states, virtually tied in two and behind in one. A respected Iowa pollster’s survey showing Harris ahead there could combine with other recent poll results to be a harbinger for demographically similar swing states, even if Kamala (likely) loses Iowa itself. Survey results, including from Pennsylvania, indicate that she’s shrinking or even reversing Trump’s edge on the economy. And as I’ve already indicated, the fact that women are turning out much more than men in the early voting, with arguably much greater motivation to do so, could prove pivotal.

Now, what about all of those polls showing Trump tightening the race? For one thing, as I’ve noted, some recent surveys hold good news for Harris. But in addition, polling today involves so many subjective judgments by the even the best pollsters that the science is suspect. While this could work out to Trump’s benefit as much as Harris’s, it’s a reason to take surveys – and even averages across surveys – with a grain of salt.

In a development that’s gotten little press attention, Harris may benefit from an allied political action committee pouring up to $700 million into ads, social media posts and other messaging down the stretch, employing an unprecedented (though admittedly unproven), rigorous process for testing individual messages’ efficacy.

Finally, that SNL clip with which I opened this post shows it can’t hurt to close out the last Saturday of the campaign with a surprise star turn on the most popular entertainment show with folks aged 18-49.

5. The Get-Out-the-Vote Gap

Last but certainly not least, Harris has a more proven and organized get-out-the-vote (GOTV) operation than Trump does, a phenomenon I witnessed during my recent canvassing in Pennsylvania. While Elon Musk and others are mounting massive pro-Trump GOTV efforts using paid canvassers, they may well be fraud-plagued and less effective. This approach certainly failed when Ron DeSantis relied on it (and on the same strategist Musk is now using) in his ill-fated campaign. Harris volunteers are more likely to actually do their bit, in contrast with Trump contractors prone to scamming the compensation system.

Speaking of GOTV: I’m told that Kamala’s campaign knocked on 2.7 million doors last weekend alone. Even at this late date, you can go to the Harris campaign’s volunteer site, including to sign up to call voters in swing states. Having just done this, I’ll say that it’s far easier to do than it looks at first on the site. And bear in mind that even one persuaded or mobilized pro-Harris voter per two-hour shift can prove crucial when multiplied by volunteers’ millions of calls.

It’s not too late to act. As Coach Walz explains, “We’ll sleep when we’re dead.”

[Hat tips: BB, DW, AL.]

Benicia CA, Benicia City Council, Benicia city staff, Christina Gilpin-Hayes, Elizabeth Patterson, Stephen Golub, Tom Campbell

Stephen Golub: Public Service in Troubled Times

August 13, 2024 BenIndy

[BenIndy: This post was first published in the Benicia Herald (to subscribe to the Herald, scroll to the end to find instructions). You can find more from Steve not only on the BenIndy but also at A Promised Land: America as a Developing Country, where he blogs about domestic and international politics and policy, including lessons that the United States can learn from other nations. If interested, you may sign up for future posts by subscribing to the blog.]

By Stephen Golub, originally published in the Benicia Herald, August 11, 2024

Though the presidential campaign is already reaching full steam, things will get even hotter once we hit Labor Day and the attacks, counterattacks, hard truths, big lies, TV ads, online snipes and everything else really kick in.

Which brings me to praising Benicia’s public servants.

It’s never been easy to be an elected, appointed or contracted city official. I’m no expert, but decades ago I worked in the New York City Council President’s office and then on an anti-poverty program in one of the Big Apple’s sprawling bureaucracies. In both jobs, the work was exciting, challenging, difficult and stressful.

Benicia is about as far from New York City as you can get, in terms of being a far more pleasant place to live and work (though I’ll endlessly praise to high heaven NYC pizza and delis, and still get a tremendous charge out of visiting there). But in terms of American society and government, we live in far more distressing times in 2024 than we did when I started my government work way back when, particularly as the current presidential race inevitably turns ugly. And that comes on top of the everyday hassles and even harshness that government personnel can experience.

So please, let’s bear in mind that especially for Benicia’s elected officials governing can sometimes be a thankless task for which the main compensation is certainly not financial, relative to the tremendous time and effort they put in. That compensation comprises a small monthly stipend, plus health care coverage of which some can’t or won’t avail.

The true compensation instead, I would think, is the satisfaction of doing some good in some ways. A price they pay involves significant amounts of time away from family and friends, for endless meetings and other commitments.

They also experience frequent requests, demands, carping and even condemnation from folks who may mean well but don’t walk in the Mayor’s or City Councilmembers’ shoes. True, such matters come with the territory. But when they become all too frequent they can be burdensome. (I got a brief taste of this a while ago when I was apparently mistaken for Mayor Steve Young by a fellow I was introduced to at an apolitical social gathering. The guy’s first words to me were along the lines of, “I want to talk to you about lights on the tennis courts.”)

This is by no means an argument against criticism of our elected officials or city staff. The freedom and ability to do so is part of what effective democracy is all about.

Nor am I saying that all officials everywhere should be held in high esteem. We can look to other localities and the national scene to find folks who’ve violated the public trust, and perhaps to Benicia’s earlier years before its modern era.

And I’m certainly not suggesting that our city officials are flawless saints. They’re human, just like you and me.

But one of the many things that keeps Benicia special is that by and large (and I know there have been exceptions to this rule) these officials and the rest of us keep things civil and functional.

This civility is especially important as the national discourse turns nasty. The next three months will be rough. Unfortunately, post-election disputes may be even rougher. I’ll continue to voice my own strong thoughts and feelings about what may well transpire in the presidential campaign.

But this column, today, fundamentally focuses on Benicia. I’m thankful that the city is led by Steve Young, one of the most even-keeled individuals I’ve ever met. We may well need his calm leadership here during the troubled times ahead nationally.

I’m also thankful for our current Council as a whole for its service, as praised by retiring Councilmember Tom Campbell.

And for folks such as former Mayor Elizabeth Patterson and former Councilmember Lionel Largaespada, spanning much of Benicia’s political spectrum, with whom I may disagree on some matters but for whom I have considerable respect for their own service.

And for community leader Christina Gilpin-Hayes, who recently tossed her hat into the City Council electoral ring for November, as well as for others for similarly seeking office here this year.

And for the city staff who keep Benicia running and thriving.

In some ways, we’re in the calm before the national electoral storm right now. Let’s be grateful for what we have as our local campaigns unfold, and for the chance to make Benicia even better.

[The Benicia Herald does not have an online edition. Supporting local journalism is crucial for ensuring communities are informed and facilitates transparency and accountability during important local events and initiatives. You can subscribe to the Herald by email at beniciacirculation@gmail.com or by phone at 707-745-6838.