By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

Benicia Open Government Commission on Monday will review both the recent public voters forum and the effectiveness of the panel’s farmers market booth, then will look toward planning the 2015 commemoration of Law Day.

City Attorney Heather McLaughlin wrote Oct. 20 that the Oct. 11 event had combined the commission’s annual forum with that of the League of Women Voters, a proposal that received approval of the City Council.

Unlike in past years, the incumbents seeking re-election to the Council this fall — Mark Hughes and Alan Schwartzman — are unopposed, leading to a downsizing of sorts of the forum.

However, four people are running for the three vacancies on the Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees. Incumbents Rosie Switzer and Steve Messina are seeking re-election, Trustee Peter Morgan is seeking election to his first full term and Diane Ferrucci is seeking her first term on the board.

Those attending the Oct. 11 voter forum heard the pros and cons of state Proposition 1, a bond proposal to address the state’s water quality, supply and infrastructure, and Benicia’s measures to determine whether the city treasurer should be appointed and if the city should increase the sales tax by a penny on the dollar.

Questions from the audience were answered by the trustee candidates, who also were allowed to give a 30-second biography.

The forum was broadcast live on local cable television and rebroadcast Oct. 15 and Oct. 18.

Also Monday, the commission will review the success of staffing a booth at the Benicia Certified Farmers Market, which closes its season Oct. 30.

“This year’s biggest change was partnering with city departments who came to the booth with current information about events, activities and issues, to help provide even more information to the public,” McLaughlin wrote. “This partnership has been a great success.”

She wrote that water conservation giveaways — shower timers, hose nozzles, low-flow faucet and shower heads — were popular and helped the city reach its goal of 20-percent water savings.

The booth also gave city employees a greater opportunity to speak with residents about reducing water consumption.

More than 1,600 visited the booth during the 21 Thursdays the market has been open this year, McLaughlin wrote.

“The Open Government Commission is definitely providing information to the public about events, family activities, local government commissions, meetings and ways to participate,” she wrote. The commission also will review reports from those who represented the panel at the booth.

Looking ahead, the panel will begin its planning for Law Day, May 1, 2015.

McLaughlin wrote that the American Bar Association has decided the theme of Law Day 2015 will be “Magna Carta: Symbol of Freedom Under Law,” to mark the 800th anniversary of the document.

Latin for “great charter,” the Magna Carta was the first document imposed on a king of England by his subjects. In this case, England’s feudal barons believed King John’s government was oppressive and objected to higher taxes and failed war efforts that cost them possessions, and they sought to protect their rights by limiting the powers of John by asserting that no freeman could be punished except through the law of the land.

The Surrey meadow along the River Thames, called Runnymede, is believed to be the place where John was forced June 15, 1215, to seal the Magna Carta in exchange for the barons’ renewed fealty.

In its statement, the ABA wrote, “Perhaps more than any other document in history, Magna Carta has come to embody a simple but enduring truth: No one, no matter how powerful, is above the law.”

The statement called the Magna Carta “an international symbol of the rule of law” and “an inspiration for many basic rights Americans hold dear today, including due process, habeas corpus, trial by jury and the right to travel.”

The cost of Benicia’s celebration will depend on the activities it chooses to do, McLaughlin wrote. Among other features, the 2014 celebration had a coloring contest based on the theme “Every Vote Matters.”

The Open Government Commission meeting will start at 5 p.m. Monday in the Commission Room of City Hall, 250 East L St.