Building to engage Benicians

“Partisan politics are great, but to put non-partisan politics in the same boat is wrong” was the last line of a recent Forum article, penned by Benicia resident and serial letter writer Bob Livesay. The sentence concluded an 850-plus word essay on the dangers of Benicia residents gathering to discuss politics and share thoughts on what would be best for our local elections next year.
The fear Livesay has expressed over the formation of Progressive Democrats of Benicia club is misplaced. Everyone involved in the new club is well aware of the non-partisan structure of our local government and works to preserve it for a reason. As Paul Peterson wrote in his seminal book, City Limits, “the issues faced by local governments are by their nature non-ideological and hence do not give rise to party politics.” And to quote a famous maxim by New York City’s 99th mayor Fiorello LaGuardia: “There is no Democratic or Republican way to pick up garbage.”
All Benicians should learn about local issues, regional current events and national policies that affect our daily lives. Livesay keeps tabs on local politics, loudly condemning both Mayor Elizabeth Patterson and Councilmember Steve Young with his constant letters to the editor, predicting that Benicia voters would follow his advice last election and roundly reject them. As we know, Mayor Patterson won re-election and first-time candidate Young topped the crowded field and defeated an incumbent in the process.
It makes sense for others with differing political views to build their own boat, just as the Progressive Dems have. That’s the American way. The boat to watch out for is the one where sailors don’t engage and share ideas. That’s where the “authoritarian/dictatorial authority” seeps in and pirates election results to leave good, well-meaning but uninformed citizens with leaders they wouldn’t have voted for if they were paying attention. So thank you Mr. Livesay for giving our new group exposure. We welcome anyone who wants to learn more about our group’s activities and shares progressive values to upcoming meetings, which will be advertised in this paper. And we encourage all Benicians to rise the tide of an engaged democracy.

Ralph Dennis;
chair, Progressive Democrats of Benicia

Citizens unite against dysfunctional council

I attended the Sept. 19 council meeting. I was very surprised how elected members conducted themselves.Not all council members. But Vice Mayor Young was without a doubt_ very unprepared for what was going to happen.The mayor was out of town trying to connect via a phone line. It was not working well. The mayor should have never been out of town for this very important issue.What resulted was the mayor and vice mayor trying to reinvent what a park is.By doing that, it was an attempt to get their way on cannabis locations in this very fine city. Review the council meeting video, and you will understand what I am saying.
The cannabis part of the council meeting was a pure clown act by elected officials that know better than to act that way. It was pure agenda-driven ideals by the mayor and vice mayor to achieve their ultimate goal of retail cannabis on First Street and Solano Square. I have no problem with that, but to carry on about what a park put them in position of my way or the highway. That’s not good governing. They were elected to do the people’s work, and they failed because of their own personal agenda driven ideals. The residents of this fine city never even crossed their minds. That is very selfish and, if I might, say rather ego-driven. The heck with the residents. These two ignored what was said during the public comment session. They appeared to ignore the very thoughtful comments from educators and many other residents’ comments that I would say were very anti-cannabis dispenseries in our fine city. They gave no thought to any of that. They were concerned with their personal confusion of what a park is. Is this what we elected these two very biased officials for? I think not. They were elected to serve this community of very fine residents. These two set their own standards and ignored the very fine residents. I could talk about another councilmember, but that will come later.
We are not Colorado, Oregon or Washington. We are Benicia, Calif. That is what should be discussed, not Oregon. I suggest the fine residents stand up and let your voices be heard. Let Mayor Patterson, Vice Mayor Young and Councilmember Schwartzman hear your concerns. See if they will listen. I think they will not, with the possible exception of Schwartzman.
I was especially moved by Dana Dean and her very emotional comment. Also by Bonnie Silveria who has a wealth of historical knowledge about this fine city. I do not think these two want it destroyed by two very selfish elected officials, that being Mayor Patterson and Vice Mayor Young.
Now is a very good chance for Benicia Happenings members to speak their minds. It is not too late to protect this very fine city. It is now up to the residents to unite and fight for what this city should be. You can do it.

Bob “The Owl” Livesay,
Benicia

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