In the past few months, you may have seen yard signs for various candidates at the local and state level– don’t act like you haven’t. However, come tomorrow as Benicians have cast their final ballots, those signs will be taken down and will likely end up in a landfill. However, if you received a […]
A Different Drummer: Coping with election angst
I really don’t want to face reality this week. I confess I want to hide away and pretend it’s not happening. I cast my vote; now I’d prefer to crawl into a cave, or drive off somewhere with no signal and no bars. Voting this year feels like the free-floating angst that comes after a […]
Grant Cooke: Benicia’s future at stake in local election
In August, I wrote a column about Benicia’s future, the New Economy and why Elizabeth Patterson, Steve Young, and Tom Campbell were the best choices to led our city as mayor and councilmembers respectively. At the time, I was disheartened by the majority of council members’ lack of political will to put a halt to […]
Will Gregory: Police salaries, overtime, and PERS contracts; The 800-pound blue elephant in the room at City Hall
(Editor’s note: This article was slated to be published last week, but due to lack of space it is being posted here instead) “What is the city but the people” —William Shakespeare ” The problem is, when a government entity takes the people’s money, it has a duty to use that money to serve the […]
Marilyn Bardet: Vote for Elizabeth and Steve
If you haven’t already voted, I hope you’ll join me on Oct. 8 to help re-elect Elizabeth Patterson for mayor. I’m especially appreciative of Elizabeth’s ethical, open approach to governance and her tireless efforts to champion the Benicia General Plan’s forward-looking vision for community sustainability. I know that Elizabeth is motivated to serve from a […]
Will Gregory: Is realtor money the new union money?
“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” –Stewart Udall, “The Quiet Crisis” Fair question: Is realtor cash replacing Trade Union PAC money in our 2016 election cycle? Let’s […]
Candidates may have ‘final word’ in pre-Election Day forum (UPDATE)
(UPDATE 11/3/16: This event has been canceled by unanimous decision of the mayoral and city council candidates.) With Election Day being just a week from today, Benicia’s mayoral and City Council candidates are coming under heavy scrutiny. Information is constantly being circulated, primarily through campaign mailers, that may or may not be true. Benicia’s Open […]
Jon Van Landschoot: Actions speak louder than words or endorsements in Benicia mayoral race
The candidates who have shown they have positively advocated for Benicia citizens will always get my vote. Politicians always promise the moon, few actually deliver. In my 30-plus years living in our terrific town, I have not seen any elected official work as hard and get so many things done as our mayor, Elizabeth Patterson. […]
Candidate Spotlight: Seven questions with Mayor Elizabeth Patterson
The Herald recently invited Mayor Elizabeth Patterson for an interview, to discuss her campaign for re-election. Mayor Patterson provided responses to the following questions posed by the Herald. 1. How did you get into politics? When were you first interested? I was always keenly aware that we had limited natural resources, but it was the […]
Candidate Spotlight: Mark Hughes eyes mayoral seat
It was 11 years ago when Mark Hughes— a Pacific Gas & Electric executive and member of Benicia’s Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Commission— was elected to the City Council. He was re-elected in 2009 and 2014, the latter year in which he received enough votes to become the city’s vice mayor. Now he is […]