By Bob Livesay
Special to the Herald

I have been following politics for many years. The first election I voted in was 1954. My first presidential election was 1956. I voted for Eisenhower, and he won. You had to be 21 then, and I was not 21 for the 1952 presidential election. So as you see I have been around for a few years. I was a Republican then and still am. Some would call me a conservative republican, and I would not argue that point. I have no problem with the Progressive Democrats Of Benicia (PDB), but some of the members now may have an issue with this organization. I am only suggesting that there may be a problem with some members. Let me explain why.
Let’s start with the first word “progressive.” “Progressive” has now become a synonym for socialist. That is why I add that to their name when I write. That is not new to me, as I’ve been talking and writing about it for more than eight years.
There appears now to be a small portion of this Democratic group that it would appear is using a similar tactic that was used in their failed attempt at an Industrial Safety Ordinance. You know, that group that calls themselves “Benicia’s ISO Working Group?” A group of about 12  that tried to hijack the City Council and failed? Yes ,they are still active but have now expanded that group to get Kari Birdseye elected to the City Council. They are attempting to hijack this very good group of dedicated Democrats first. They know that if they get one more “Yes” vote on the council, nothing will stop them in their agenda-driven ideals of anti-fossil fuel, anti-Valero, anti-big oil, anti-big business and now possibly out sourcing/contracting many city services. It just started with the city attorney. What services are next? Police, fire, library, sewer and water? Who knows?
Mayor Patterson and Vice Mayor Young are contributors and backers of Birdseye’s campaign. Mayor Patterson even walks the precincts with Birdseye. All you have to do is follow Mayor Patterson’s agenda, of which Vice Mayor Young is also a follower. They walked the campaign together in 2016. Put it all together, and you now have Birdseye with the same agenda ideals. Some call them very progressive, which I have I already described as meaning socialist. That’s not my fault. It is the far-left leaning wing of the new Democratic national party, and Benicia just took the bait.
I am not suggesting that this whole Democratic group is all in. In fact, I would say there is some that may not like the hijacking. I do not know that, but it appears it could be that way. They will have to tell me differently. This City Council election is nonpartisan. Two Democrats appeared before this group for an endorsement, but only Birdseye got their endorsement. They could have backed both, being that both are Democrats but they chose to back a more liberal Democrat in Kari Birdseye. They will not disclose the vote but said it was close. So close that only one or two votes separated the two? That would appear to give Christina Strawbridge an even chance to win the votes of this group. Bylaws say only back one? They will have to tell me. Should they have backed both and had a council with three women? That would have defeated the agenda. It could be Strawbridge is in and Birdseye is out. Now that would not fit their agenda-driven ideals which I have talked about earlier.
I will get into the main issues of this financial strapped city in a later article. I would urge all voters to give all candidates a good review. This is a nonpartisan election, and the best candidate for the city is very important, not a hijacked City Council. See you soon.

Bob Livesay is a Benicia resident.

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