It’s been two years since the 2016 crude-by-rail permit for Valero was denied, but a strong memory of it remains for me and probably for a lot of Benicians. It’s because of that experience that I’m urging Benicians to vote for Kari Birdseye for the Benicia City Council.
Birdseye was a new Planning Commissioner when the permit process fell into the Commission’s authority, and she really did her homework to keep us safe in Benicia.
When I spoke to her about that process, she said she would stay up long into the night reading the stacks of material submitted to the commissioners and also would focus intently on everything the public said during the Planning Commission meetings.
She added that it was Kamala Harris, California’s attorney general at that time),who made the biggest impact on her in her comment about how local permitting measures absolutely applied to this process. Birdseye said “I knew then, that the state of California had our back.”
Birdseye voted against the permit along with all the other Planning Commissioners.
When I asked her why she denied the permit besides the significant local reasons, her voice choked when she said “My dad, my husband, my sister and my two children live here, why would I want to risk the health and safety of my family, friends, and all Benicians by bringing in 100 crude oil rail cars into our town, when the safety of this form of transport was in question with the rapid increase of oil train explosions. I did not want our town to be the next tragic headline news story.
She continued, “After listening to so many of the speakers say, ‘I’m afraid of this,’ ‘Let’s not do this,’ ‘We don’t need this for our community,’ ‘Valero doesn’t need this,’ and ‘There are safer ways to bring in their oil,’ our community certainly wasn’t in favor of it, so how could I possibly vote for it?“
After the planning commission denial, Valero appealed to the City Council to certify the Environmental Impact Report and issue the permit. After a five-month delay, this is where another 2018 City Council candidate, then-Councilmember Christina Strawbridge, also voted to deny Valero’s appeal for the permit. It ended up being a unanimous vote to deny Valero’s appeal for the permit, mostly based on the Planning Commission’s work. Another 2018 council candidate, Lionel Largaespada, was also involved in the crude-by-rail process. Largaespada was in favor of approving the permit and commented to the Planning Commission before their vote, “I understand the concerns. I understand the risks. But I urge you to be objective and pragmatic. Because the fact — the reality is that we need this project to ensure Benicia’s economic future and prosperity. I urge you to certify the EIR and to issue the conditional use permit.”
Based on this recent history of our town and the way the candidates handled the CBR issue, I’m encouraging Benicians to vote for Kari Birdseye because I think she has the compassion and diligence to do the hard work to put the safety of our community first, especially when the next big permitting process comes along. Also, praise to Christina Strawbridge, because she did the right thing.
Pat Toth-Smith is a Benicia resident and member of Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community
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Pat, BIRDSEYE WAS SILENT DURING THAT LONG DRAWN OUT PROCESS. THE ONLY THING THE RESIDENTS SAW FROM HER WAS HER VOTE. The big voice was now councilmember Young. Now Vice Mayor Young and Mayor Patterson are full backers of candidate Birdseye. Mayor Patterson even walks the precincts with candidate Birdseye. Candidate Birdseye was on the Steering committee with you and Vice Mayor Young of the PDB which I add Socialist to. Birdseye did step down for the duration of the campaign. By the way the PDB voted in a close vote to support candidate Birdseye and not Strawbridge. If it was so close a vote why not support both. Simple reason the PDB want the third vote on council so the council will now have a majority council run by a shadow government. CBR is a dead i9ssue. The big issue the city of Benicia faces is financial stability.. Candidate Birdseye is apparently clueless on that fact. Her big issue is clean air and water. I think you will find out that we have clean air and water in spite of what the PDB say. Candidate Birdseye says she is not anti fossil fuel nor anti Valero. Could of fooled me. She runs around town with the mayor who is both and a huge supporter of candidate Birdseye. Candidate Birdseye is all talk with no solutions just words.
Pat,
I just reviewed reports on tanker incidents occurring within the last year, here are some of interest:
• Explosion in Manchester, NY after car slams into fuel tanker – Nov 10, 2017
• Derailed locomotive leaks 1800 gallons of fuel in Taunton – Dec 14, 2017
• Two Killed in Head-On Collision, Tanker Explosion on HWY 20 in Sierra – Jan 31, 2018
• Trains Collide in Kentucky, Derailed Cars Cause Hazardous Material – Mar 19, 2018
• Princeton train derailment cleanup continues Tuesday, fire is out – Jun 19, 2018
• Crude oil pours into river after train derails in US – Jun 23, 2018
• Derailed train dumps 3200 gallons of diesel fuel into Mississippi River – Aug 8, 2018
• Freight train derails in Southern California, spills liquid chemicals – Aug 22, 2018
• 2 killed in fiery tanker crash on 105 Freeway in Hawthorne – Aug 24, 2018
Kari did the homework and made an informed decision concerning a very real threat.
I do not think there was any doubt that the residents did not want CBR. They won and Valero moved on. Just what is the issue. CBR is over and done. The big issue is finances. Birdseye apparently has no know knowledge of budgets, cost, planning and directing city staff in the right direction to solve that issue. She will be attached to Mayor Patterson and Vice Mayor Young and will follow orders. They will all talk about the same thing. Anti fossil fuel and anti Valero along with climate change and how Valero is contributing to the air quality of Benicia. We all must remember Benicia has been surrounded by industry for over 150 years or more. We are still here and thriving. Except for the interruptions that the mayor brings up such as Sanctuary City, ISO, Global Warming, Anti Valero, More taxes, new normal, best practices. Come on we are a full service city and need revenue. If you want to lose services and have a “Shadow Government” then yes vote for the demise of this city. Birdseye if electe4d will take this city down the path of financial crisis. By the way we are headed in that direction and Birdseye will just make it happen faster.
What my article was about was the past performance of the three candidates during the crude by rail project. When I hired nurses as a supervisor I would evaluate their past performances on their previous jobs to gage how they would work for me. Kari in my eyes was job well done and unfortunately Largaespada countinued to support the project when it was unanimously denied by the planning Commission. Not my vote for city council…. economics over safety… in a refinery town you want safety to be a big priority,
Pat you must have miss last nights Candidates Spotlight. It is very clear Lionel is for safety and for sure the economic survival of this city. Turns out Candidate Birdseye was not even running. All the other candidates talked about Mayor Patterson and Vice Mayor Young. This city council election has nothing to do with Kari Birdseye. It has everything to do with Mayor Patterson and Vice Mayor Young. Mayor Patterson has a ring in the nose of Vice Mayor Young and now wants another councilmember under her control in Birdseye. Worse yet she thinks Birdseye has already won and is looking to 2020. She wants her pro bono lawyer from the “Shadow Government” confirmed to the Planning Commission. Trying to complete the trifecta for complete control of the city council by 2020, I do believe the voters are catching on. Excellent night for Lionel. He was well prepared. Thank you Lionel.
Bob. I continue to read your wild accusations and interpretation of the facts. And have not responded. But I believe you’ve now crossed my line of what is acceptable in public discourse. Forgetting the issues for the moment I take great displeasure and discomfort in you using phrases like ” ring in the nose” and “shadow government.” I think your use of disparaging terms relating to Kari etc is inappropriate and makes you look even more foolish than you are. In addition. I am so amused by your use of the term “shadow government”. How do you make this claim? Is it a shawdow government when things are done that you don’t agree with and a transparent government when you agree? I am neutral so far in this election. So I’m not defending Kari out of some political agenda. I’m saying to you to add a bit of mindfulness and issue specifics when writing your continual drumbeats.
Sorry I offend you. I am a conservative and have taken a lot of personal heat because #1 I predicted President Trump would win and #2 still support him very strongly. To my use of a “Shadow Government” I did explain the use of that phrase. It is a political term and folks can take it at its meaning. ” Ring In The Nose” is very common term used in many cases even in political uses. To meet your demands I will not use the term “Ring In The Nose” any more. Does that meet your needs. But at the same time please explain my will “wild accusations and interpretations of the facts”. I will do my part now you do your part. If not we are back to square one. Is that OK with you. Thanks for the comment.
Terry I use my name and am proud of it. I have family in town and will not hide under a one name like “BOB”. So “Terry” does not get it for me. Tell me and the readers just who you are. What are you hiding. I hope nothing. I am Bob “The Owl” Livesay and will user my name on all issues. Try it “TERRY”.
“Tell me and the readers just who you are.” Why does that not apply to posters like Matter and Vegetable?
Who says it doesn’t. I care because that comment was directed at me. Get WOKE Thomas. If knowing the person it might help to reach out and explain your issues and comments. I have done that with some folks and we did meet and it was very productive.
I get it, it is based on the perception of the level of one’s self importance.
Stop it Thomas in the recent past you have used fake names and admitted it to me. No it is about owning up to a personal comment direct at someone in this case me. That is all it is Thomas. Get WOKE.
Stop making stuff up, Bob. I don’t think it is a good idea for you to comment while being turnt.
I hereby certify that everyone on this thread has got woke, so we can stop using this term. Right?
Nobody cares about your name.
I do and so do you. You did give out your name. You know as well as I do ID is very important in making points. If afraid someone may know you because of a professional position do not comment.
Names are worthless on the internet. I have zero proof that you’re telling the truth about your name. You could be anyone pretending to use that name. It’s meaningless.
Want to see my birth certificate? Born in Martinez, Ca. 1933 July 15. Martinez Community Hospital. You see BB I am not afraid to tell when and where I was born. Most folks are not as you say. They are proud of their name and place of birth. Anything else you need B B? Get WOKE!
Bob,
As a person who does not use his name, when posting here, I am going to speak out in favor of not using a full name. I use my initials when posting here and have never pretended otherwise that it is not me doing so.
I do recall last year our discussion on the subject and you referred me to another posting board where someone posting under the name of “Rojee Kitsap” was identified as being one of the regular posters on this board. So your statements in that regard are correct. If he chooses to post under the made up name of “Rojee Kitsap”, he does have that right.
But when called out on it, one would expect that he would own up to it, rather than go into a denial mode.
You are correct on that. thank you.
Thanks for the comprehensive look at the intrinsic danger of transporting high-potential explosive big oil products. CBR was massively unpopular in this state, in our city, and every city and town up-rail. Pat did her homework as well, quoting [___________] verbatim, sticking with the facts. Any “character assassination” will be self-inflicted.
Bob, I think I’m clear on your opinion. Thanks for sharing, yet again.
Thomas, Thank you for these recent statistics… I used facts from the Crude By Rail permit record for my article and my own opinion to evaluate the candidates performance. I worked alone from my home to write this…there was no conspiracy…. 🙂
OK, I get it that NIMBY folks generally are not risk takers. CBR gives the appearance of increased risk. However, crude by oil tanker has its own set of risks. And guess what, an oil tanker spill is potentially much larger than a crude rail car. In any case, the decision was made and the NIMBY neo-luddites were successful in reducing a minor risk yet kept the major risk–that of crude by tanker. And, before you NIMBY neo-luddites chime in and say that “that’s another reason we want Valero gone”…the refineries across the strait will still be there and getting crude by tanker…so getting rid of Valero won’t diminish that risk. Be nice if everyone was logical and less stupid, but I’ve given up on that, hence, I speak to vegetables.
Actually they made the overall risk worse. The dangerously explosive and toxic crude from North Dakota now goes by rail to Seattle where it is loaded on ships and transported along our beautiful coastline in rough waters eventually reaching the Bay and our fair City. The rail distance is not much less so not much reduction in risk there but the transfer risks and transport risks by ship are much greater and an explosion or leak from a ship in the Bay would be devastating, far worse than a rail accident. And we’ve had, what, two shipping accidents in the Bay in the past ten years that resulted in severe environmental damage. So we are actually far worse off.
There are risks transporting oil. There are risks distributing electricity via high power lines. There are risks transporting food on refrigerator trucks. There are risks manufacturing solar panels.
I say let’s eliminate all electrical and power generation and distribution, and grocery stores. Too risky. After all, electrical power lines caused the Napa fires, correct? What’s more polluting than that?
People need to live without. Plant your own gardens. Raise your own livestock. Save your own water. Process your own waste. Utopia.
I suspect tongue is in cheek…but that’s ok…the neo-luddites would want that utopia until they realize there’s no tv, no internet, nothing but really hard manual labor to keep food on the table–and, oh by the way, probably 80% of the world population would have to die.
“Plant your own gardens. Raise your own livestock. Save your own water. Process your own waste.” Gee, sounds like one of those rugged individualists some like to go on about (but, fail to have the slightest ability to emulate).
“Rugged individualism. The belief that all individuals, or nearly all individuals, can succeed on their own and that government help for people should be minimal. The phrase is often associated with policies of the Republican party and was widely used by the Republican president Herbert Hoover.” – http://www.dictionary.com
It’s hard to figure out what these folks want.
Well, Thomas, your link didn’t actually go to the Hoover speech of 90 years ago…nor is your definition quite what HH had in mind. http://apush-xl.com/DocumentsHOOVER.pdf
We still (90 years later) face the same issues, “…between the American system of rugged individualism and a European philosophy of diametrically
opposed doctrines – doctrines of paternalism and state socialism. ” I continue to be a rugged individualist and believe the Horatio Alger dream continues to be achievable…I worked hard and smart and owe no man for my successes…my sisters kids grew up in poverty and 3 are pharmacists and one an engineer…my brothers kid is an inventor and wealthy….it truly does rain soup for anyone smart enough to carry a bowl.
Well, Vegetable. That’s all very nice. It’s good to hear that you ran a very successful company, that did not depend on clients for generating revenue.
I can’t take credit for the definition. However, if you go to the link I provided and enter in .”Rugged individualism” it will take you to that definition. If you are still displeased I’d say your quarrel is with dictionary.com.
As an aside, not sure if I’d eat soup that was falling out of the sky
“As an aside, not sure if I’d eat soup that was falling out of the sky” That’s the problem with folks today, no sense of adventure.
You are correct Mr. Petersen! We silly, naive, and stupid conservatives just want to live in the Stone Age. So glad you liberals want to help us all by increasing energy costs, food costs, and 15% inflation rates. But at least we won’t have that nasty Valero bothering us anymore! We will happily fund the city coffers by growing weed and buying solar panels. Thanks for all you want to do us!
Matter, That seems like a bit of a logical fallacy, with a light dusting of self-deprecation.
Also, I didn’t know you identified as a conservative.
Petersen… as always, your comments are “off the rails”.
However, I cannot understand why your rails are so inconsistent….. you don’t like train rails when transporting oil, but you like rails when transporting people. It is apparently too dangerous to transport oil via train, but completely encouraged to transport people via trains. In the first, unsafe and dangerous. In the second, safe and encouraged.
Your logic is a twisted universe that can only be understood through the prism of leftist logic; don’t confuse the prevalent emotion with facts.
👎“but you like rails when transporting people”. Matt , You need to put a little thought into your premises before you reach for the stars. Good grief!
Thanks Pat for the great letter. I do think you need to look at a person’s past in order to see how they will act in the future. Action means more than words. Lionel supported Crude by Rail right to the end despite voluminous evidence of the dangers it would bring to our community, including the possibility of explosions that Dr. Phyllis Fox predicted could kill over a hundred people. Last night he said he would put public safety first, but when Benicia was actually at risk he put public safety last. I think Birdseye is a great candidate who has her own opinions just like Steve Young does. Seems to me Livesay wrote a letter to the Herald about all the ways Young and the Patterson voted differently. I fear Lionel will vote with Valero all the time at the expense of Benicia.
Thanks for the publicity Kerridge. I do not need it. CBR is in the past and he did not bring it up. Vice Mayor Young voted against the Mayor on noise and possible wanted to move beyond the Amport issue. Not a big deal. This election is not about Birdseye it is about the “Shadow Government” that the mayor wants for full control. Maybe Socialist views?
Slightly over four thousand Benicia voters aligned with bomb train advocacy in the 2016 election, either knowingly or unwittingly. The winners were against CBR, with well over six thousand votes each. There were just over six thousand under-votes. There is no way a candidate with a fondness for big oil, big real estate, and no cannabis can pull anywhere near six thousand votes in modern Benicia. Shaping up to be a womens’ majority, all (D) council for the next two years. This is not sitting well with hard-line conservatives. Benicia has evolved and they haven’t.
Kerridge you are supporting an elitist attempt to take over this fine city. All lead by Mayor Patterson and her lemmings. There was more mention of Mayor Patterson by three of the candidates at the candidates night than any other candidate. Does that tell you something. Could I call it Socialist or could I call it Orwellian. It makes no difference. the attempt is by the Mayor , the Mayors Twelve all backed by your group of Progressive Democrats of Benicia. Get a three vote majority and you will be able to move any personal agenda ideals to the City Council Agenda for review. Which will mean the ISO. I do believe Kerridge you have stated to me that you would rather Valero was not in Benicia. I assume that also means the other four refineries across the bay. Your groups beloved Mayor is very vocal on her anti fossil fuel and anti Valero. The Mayors backing of someone like Birdseye is the move that you want. You DO NOT CARE ABOUT THIS FINE CITY ONLY YOUR PERSONAL AGENDA DRIVEN IDEALS. Totalitarian leadership ,will not work in this fine city. The voters are now catching on to what is happening. Do not vote for Birdseye.
I’m confused. If it’s going to be a shadow government, shouldn’t it be in shadows, like the POTUS’ shadow VA managers? If it’s “shadow” how can we tell who is in it? Seems like all the candidates are fully in the light. Asking for a friend…
You do not understand politics or the meaning of “Shadow Government”. Get woke.
Well, yes I do, and I was merely pointing out the ridiculousness of such a term. It’s a dog whistle, if you know what that means.
You do not know the meaning of “Shadow Government” nor do many of the folks that comment. I used that comment correctly and will continue to use it.
I get a kick out of the campaign season and have been for the past 25 years or so. I remember a day when local, city elections were supposed to be free from political parties. Then in the early 1990s Dan Smith (the first to do so that I remember) mentioned that the people of Benicia should vote for him because he was a registered Democrat and most people in Benicia are registered as Democrats. This didn’t gain a lot of traction at that time but similar comments have been made over the years. Then 2 years ago, the election for mayor brought this issue up again with someone claiming Mark Hughes was a Republican and Elizabeth Patterson a Democrat. I felt at that time and still do that this was a blatant attempt to encourage voters to make an UNINFORMED decision in a NON PARTISAN race for a city. Uninformed because instead of looking at the issues and what the two mayoral candidates had to say it was an attempt to sway people to vote based solely on a party registration.
The same type of thing is happening now. The CBR issue is settled. Yet by bringing up a 2 year old issue it is an attempt to sway voters opinion. Instead of focusing on the past, how about we focus on the present issues that the city is facing. Deficit spending. Rising costs associated with pensions and health care for current and retired city employees. Water and sewer rates. The condition of our roads. The vastly underutilized industrial park with no high speed internet. I haven’t heard anything concrete from Ms, Birdseye on these issues that are current. She is campaigning door to door with the mayor trying to ride her coattails, but at what cost? Where is the money going from the water and sewer rate increases? Where is the money going to come from for the increased pension and health care costs? (Actually, this one is rather easy. We will be told we have to support a fee or revenue increase -notice I didn’t use the tax word – or city services will have to be cut. Fewer police, fire, shortened library hours etc). What will happen when the gas tax that was recently shoved down our throats if overturned in November? What about water? Is there a final accounting of the missing 25% we could not account for and if so where was it going? What is the unaccounted for amount now? What are the maintenance projects that we are paying for and what is the schedule for getting these projects off the ground? I personally don’t believe these projects will be funded as sold – the money will go to defray the pension costs I mentioned above.
Not to sound too jaded but the PDB is a not so subtle attempt to sway voters in non-partisan elections to vote based on party lines and not based on what the candidates stances are on various issues.
Whew, now I feel better!
Thanks John I am glad others see what I have been seeing for a long time.
By the way we need a digital billboard to send that message. Do you think Birdseye is in favor of digital billboards? He He He
Not making anything up Thomas or is it Rojee? Got you Thomas.
Or maybe Gunther.. What every you would answer to.. Own up Thomas.
For F’s sake, Bob. Not this again. Yes, you are making stuff up, Hundo P. And, all because I reminded you that your really quite inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.
J. Do you even know what it means? Get WOKE!. Do you know what a “SHADOW GOVERNMENT ” is? Now tell all the readers what it means. Need a hint?
Well, I know that “get woke” originated in African American street language and refers to becoming aware of social injustice and inequality issues, as well as police brutality. It became well known via the Black Lives Matter movement, which is why I find using it in reference to a city council election in a small CA town pretty ironic and humorous, even if the user wants to appear hip and trendy. Shadow government definition: “The term shadow government, besides its party political meaning, also refers to what is sometimes called “the secret government” or “the invisible government,” an idea based on the notion that real and actual political power does not reside with publicly elected representatives but with private individuals who are exercising power behind the scenes, beyond the scrutiny of democratic institutions. According to this belief, the official elected government is in reality subservient to the shadow government who are the true executive power.” Since the so-called shadow government members seem to be pretty well identified by you, seems like a bit of a stretch to use it in reference to Benicia. BTW – I grew up in DC, went to high school 4 blocks from the US Capitol and my Social Studies assignment senior year was to go to the US Senate and watch the debate on the Civil Rights Bill. My father was a federal employee and we were lousy with political types, so I grew up in a family that was totally aware of politics and expected to pay attention to them. I resent the accusation that, since I disagree with your use of some language, I must be ignorant about politics. I’m not. Believe me.
Very good, J. You are correct.
I do not think your ignorant about politics. But at the same time you had to go to Wikipedia to find out about WOKE. I referenced “Shadow Government” and laid out examples of “Shadow Government”. Again it appeared you had to go again to Wikipedia to get a definition. I think that is good.The failed try at hi-jacking the City Council, City Staff, City Attorney City Manager and more important the voters/residence on the ISO issue is a very good example of “Shadow Government}. It was a very vain attempt by the Mayor using a Pro Bono Attorney to try and say that outside “Shadow Government” types were better than the in-house professionals. Well it went down big time. “Shadow Government” tactics are being used in local politics. Take a good look at the city council candidates. There is no doubt who the Benicia Independent, Benicia PDB are supporting. Both of ,these Mayor Patterson and Vice Mayor Young want a three voter majority on the council by electing candidate Birdseye. That sounds good on the outside looking in but it is their influence on the elected ,officials that counts. Those two groups without a doubt will go to the council and seek political control/influence on city business. “Shadow Government” controlling the city council. This is a non-partisan election. We need candidates that have the interest in the entire residence/voters not agenda driven council members being influenced by a “Shadow Government”. Believe me it is there right before your eyes and very active.
Sorry, but if it is right before my eyes, it’s not in shadow. I did not use Wiki – never do, I already knew what “get woke” means as I did a lot of reading about it and have taught language to adults and children for years. I put the quoted definition of Shadow Government up because I wanted to make sure it was correctly described. End of discussion.
I accept that J. Thank you.
I appreciate the letter writers opinion to put safety first. Candidly, that is a given for any sane candidate.
It is the degrees of safety that are at issue. Nothing is 100% safe, but we can manage safety
What are the important issues facing Benicia? First, I would argue budget issues. Our city is facing a devastating financial future with CalPERS expenditures rising 300% near term. We need revenue. And we must balance that with safety considering that nearly 50% of our revenue is related to Valero.
We can lock down Valero, punish them as Mayor Patterson wants, and risk our financial future.
I would argue that common sense steps be taken while encouraging Valero to expand and make more profit so the city can collect more revenue.
Any discussion of safety or environmental issues without linking economic development is a fools errand.