At the second part of its two-part meeting Tuesday, the city council swore in its newly-elected members, heard brief acceptance speeches and approved its meeting calendar for 2017. Mayor Elizabeth Patterson also announced that the meeting would be adjourned in memory of Benicia artist and musician Travis Hough, who perished in the recent Ghost Ship […]
Incoming, outgoing elected official reception preceded two-part council meeting Tuesday
The city council hosted a reception Tuesday to allow the public an opportunity to meet and greet incoming and outgoing elected officials. The regularly scheduled city council meeting, held in two parts, immediately followed the reception. The 7 p.m. meeting began with a dedication by Mayor Elizabeth Patterson to the victims of the recent […]
BREAKING: Elizabeth Patterson narrowly elected to third term as mayor of Benicia
Steve Young elected to council; Tom Campbell to serve fourth term; Christina Strawbridge defeated for re-election After what turned out to be a very tight race, mayoral candidate Mark Hughes conceded the election Wednesday to Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, who will serve her third term through 2020. Patterson said the call was very gracious, and “he […]
With all precincts reporting, Elizabeth Patterson maintains slight lead in mayoral race
Steve Young and Tom Campbell leading in city council race As of Wednesday morning with all precincts reporting, Mayor Elizabeth Patterson has a slight lead over her opponent Mark Hughes. Patterson currently possesses 50.37 percent of the vote to Hughes’ 49.33 percent. The Solano County Registrar of Voters has identified one overvote and 528 undervotes. […]
Candidate Spotlight: Seven questions with Tom Campbell
The Herald recently invited City Councilman Tom Campbell for an interview, to discuss his campaign for re-election to the council. Dr. Campbell provided responses to the following questions posed by the Herald. 1. How did you get into politics? When were you first interested? Dr. Campbell’s interest in politics grew of his involvement with the […]
Candidates address, mingle with residents at LWV meet and greet
Thursday evening was a night for Benicia residents to talk to their mayoral and City Council candidates as people, not as politicians, and also get them to answer their burning questions. Benicia’s League of Women Voters hosted a candidate meet and greet in the Dona Benicia Room of the Benicia Public Library, where citizens could […]
Mixed-use development, historic preservation discussed at Candidates’ Night
(This is the second of a two-part series. For Part 1, go here.) Northern Gateway Project Following discussion of Valero’s Crude-By-Rail Project at Tuesday’s Candidates’ Night forum, moderator Peter Friesen then turned the discussion to another controversial proposal for Benicia: the Northern Gateway development. The project, brought forth by the Orinda-based company Schwartz Land Development, […]
Candidate Spotlight: Second Planning Commissioner, George Oakes, files for Benicia City Council race
2 incumbents, 3 newcomers in race Planning Commissioner George Oakes filed papers in July to appear on the November ballot as a candidate for Benicia’s city council, the second planning commissioner to do so this year. Steve Young filed his intent to run just a few months earlier. In an interview at the Herald on […]
Council votes to move funds at Tuesday meeting
At its regular meeting Tuesday, Benicia City Council heard reports on greenhouse gas emissions, Net Energy Metering income, and Benicia’s urban water management plan. In addition, the council approved a motion to arbitrarily increase the agendized annual contract award of $100,000 to Benicia Main Street (BMS), opting to increase the proposed contract amount to $110,000 […]
Economic Development Board vice chair, Lionel Largaespada, to run for Benicia City Council
Lionel Largaespada, the vice chair of Benicia’s Economic Development Board, recently announced his intention to run in the Benicia City Council’s November election. Largaespada graduated from Pinole Valley High School in 1989, majored in government and minored in philosophy at St. Mary’s College in Moraga and received his master’s in mass communication at Boston […]