Treasurer: Residents have spoken on keeping position elected, so ‘ let’s move on’

Benicians voted Tuesday to add another penny per dollar to the municipal sales tax to provide more money for city services. But they rejected the opportunity to turn the city treasurer position into an appointed, rather than elected, one.

The sales tax hike, Measure C, won by more than 61 percent of the vote, 4,282 to 2,632. Sales tax will now rise from being the lowest in Solano County, at 7.675 percent, to 8.675 percent, which compares to that of Fairfield and Vallejo.

The new tax is projected to add $3.7 million to the city’s General Fund.

City Manager Brad Kilger issued a statement Wednesday, saying, “Last night, Benicia voters supported a local revenue measure that ensures that we will be able to maintain vital city services that residents have come to expect.

“We take direction from our residents. We are pleased they agree that locally controlled funding is necessary to maintain our quality of life the community deserves after years of a tough economy amid reduced state and federal funding.”

Benicia “is a full-service city,” Kilger said, and its residents prefer that neighborhood policing, youth programs, street repairs and other activities are handled locally.

“We will continue to be prudent with our resources to maintain our quality of life efficiently and effectively,” he promised.

Mayor Elizabeth Patterson echoed much of Kilger’s sentiment.

“I thank Benicians for the vote of confidence. They demonstrate that they care about our quality of life, and that city services are essential,” she said.

“I am looking forward to our streets getting fixed, our parks getting back in shape and a host of other needs our great city has. And lastly, a big thank you to staff and Council for their hard work and dedication.

“Well done!” the mayor said.

Vice Mayor Tom Campbell expressed surprise that voters would agree to raise the sales tax.

“I personally didn’t give Measure C a snowball’s chance in hell of passing,” he said. “I forgot that, when given a chance, Benicians will always do the right thing.

“There’s a reason why Benicia keeps showing up on national and state favorite places to live. It’s the residents.”

Councilmember Christina Strawbridge said, “Measure C was about maintaining the quality of life our residents have come to expect. By passing this one-cent sales tax increase, the community made the choice to maintain the town’s assets and not diminish what keeps Benicia special.”

She referred to a survey released last week that ranked Benicia 12th among Northern California cities as best for young families. “The three factors that the study looked at were public school excellence, housing affordability and growth and prosperity,” Strawbridge said.

“This recognition along with numerous others through the years solidify our ranking as a very special place to live and work.” Thanking voters, she said, “I am very proud of our citizens and their willingness to reinvest for generations to come.”

Measure B, which asked voters if they wanted an appointed treasurer at the conclusion of current Treasurer Kenneth Paulk’s term, was turned down 3,501 to 3,075, or by more than 53 percent of the voters, according to numbers released late Tuesday by the Solano County Registrar of Voters office.

Paulk said that despite the outcome of Tuesday’s election, he doesn’t plan to run for treasurer again in 2016. He has other campaign goals in mind.

“I’m an election type guy, so let’s go ahead and give full disclosure: I’m planning to run for mayor!”

He said the topic of the city treasurer has cropped up frequently, but, “I can’t figure out why City Council and Attorney (Heather McLaughlin) are so bent on this topic.”

He noted that in May the Finance Committee agreed the treasurer should be able to vote on committee decisions — but that recommendation still needs to be confirmed by the Council. “If the treasurer position is so unimportant to have not called for a vote six months later, then what (about) all the time and effort to make it an appointed versus elected position? I just don’t get it.”

Paulk said the city should put the treasurer to work on “value-added projects, and maximize the $200-per-month expense.” But he praised city government overall.

“We have a great city (that is) second to no one regarding city services. I’m proud to live here,” he said. “Benicia citizens (and) voters are extremely smart. The results speak for themselves.”

Added Councilmember Mark Hughes: “The results of Measure B indicate that our citizens would prefer to elect a city treasurer, rather than have it as an appointed position, which I can fully support.”

Hughes and fellow Council incumbent Alan Schwartzman also were on the ballot, but both ran unopposed.

Hughes received 4,312 votes, and Schwartzman, 4,253. Another 211 voters decided to use the opportunity to add write-in candidates to the mix.

“I’m honored to serve our community on the City Council for four more years,” Hughes said. “From an overall community perspective, it would have been better for citizens to have a choice, rather than having just two candidates running for two open positions. That said, from a personal perspective, and to be completely honest, it was a big relief for me.”

Strawbridge said the return of Hughes and Schwartzman to the Council without opposition was “the ultimate compliment to their service on the City Council for two terms. I am very proud to have served with them the last three years and rely on not only their experience but their integrity in making sometimes very difficult decisions on behalf of our residents.”

Voting by mail appealed to more Benicia voters, rather than physically going to the polls.

In the Council races, 2,517 of Hughes’s votes came by mail, compared to 1,795 cast Tuesday. Schwartzman’s numbers were similar — 2,493 by mail and 1,760 on Election Day. (The write-in candidates were nearly evenly split — 108 by mail and 103 on Election Day.)

Likewise, the ballot measures also received more votes by mail — 2,453 for and 1,461 against by mail on the sales tax measure, compared to 1,829 in favor and 1,171 opposed in votes cast Tuesday.

The appointive treasurer measure followed the same trend, with 1,896 against and 1,857 for in the vote-by-mail ballots, and 1,605 against and 1,218 in favor of those who voted at the polls.

Other county votes

In other Solano County votes tallied by the Registrar of Voters, Gov. Jerry Brown received 43,021 votes and his opponent, Neel Kashkari, received 24,291. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, seeking re-election, received 40,561 votes, and his opponent, Ron Nehring received 26,385.

Alex Padilla received 37,296 votes in the secretary of state race; his opponent Pete Peterson received 28,368.

Betty Yee received 38,468 votes in the controller race, and Ashley Swearengin received 27,123.

Solano County voters preferred Treasurer John Chiang, with 40,785 votes, to Greg Conlon, who received 25,093 votes.

They also gave incumbent Attorney General Kamala Harris 39,089 votes and her challenger Ronald Gold, 27,048.

In the insurance commissioner race, Dave Jones received 39,447 votes and his opponent, Ted Gaines, received 26,019.

Solano County voters chose Fiona Ma, with 38,542 votes, instead of James Theis, 25,886 votes, to be a member of the State Board of Equalization.

Benicia is in Congressional District Five, and county voters cast 17,812 votes for incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, a Democrat, and 4,619 for his opponent, James Hinton, who has stated no party affiliation.

“I am honored and humbled by our district’s overwhelming show of support,” Thompson said after election results were announced.

“Now that the elections are over, it’s time to move forward — not divided as Republicans and Democrats, but united as Americans — with the common purpose of making sure our country remains a place where everyone who works hard and plays by the rules has the opportunity to get ahead and succeed.”

In the state Assembly, Susan Bonilla, who represents Benicia and the 14th District, received 16,248 votes, and her apponent, Joy Delepine, received 6,235.

All incumbent justices were affirmed to remain in office.

Tom Torlakson received 34,536 Solano County votes for superintendent of public instruction. His opponent, Marshall Tuck, received 24,304, with 532 write-in votes.

Pam Keith received 3,827 votes in the Solano Community College Board election, with Joe Ramos receiving 2,377.

Gov. Brown promoted two state propositions. Solano County favored both, authorizing a $7.12 billion in general obligation bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects, 42,450 to 23,284, and supporting a “rainy day” budget proposition, 43,659 to 21,208. The second measure requires annual transfers of state general fund revenues to the budget stabilization account and use of half the revenues to repay state debts.