Two seats on Benicia’s City Council are up for election in November, and residents will choose between two incumbents and one political newcomer to fill them.
Terry Scott and Kari Birdseye are both up for re-election after finishing their first terms on the City Council; both were elected in 2022. Justin Zollars, a software engineer with no political experience, filed papers to run shortly after Scott and Birdseye.
The city is at a crossroads. The shuttering of its largest taxpayer and employer in February, the Valero Benicia Refinery, could mean an estimated $8 million annual revenue deficit, according to Mayor Steve Young, as well as hundreds of job losses across the region.
But the crude oil processing facility’s closure also means relief from decades of pollution — and could portend possible growth. Valero’s sprawling 900-acre property is being planned for redevelopment, which could bring thousands of housing units and new industrial and commercial uses.
Kari Birdseye
Birdseye, a journalist and media director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, has lived in Benicia since 2000. Her work in the city has included health and environmental advocacy for residents, and her campaign vows to bring a “diversified tax base” to the city after its loss of Valero. Birdseye is endorsed by the Progressive Democrats of Benicia, the Solano County Democratic Party, and Solano Orderly Growth, a land conservation group.
Terry Scott
Scott, a retired executive for the billion-dollar Hasbro gaming company, has lived in Benicia for 14 years. A businessman and self-described “futurist,” Scott’s campaign describes a practical approach to governing, including a balanced budget and generating revenue from new businesses to fill the void left by Valero. Scott is endorsed by Black Women Organized for Political Action, the North Coast States Carpenters Union, Solano Orderly Growth, the Napa-Solano Central Labor Council and the Solano County Democratic Party.
Justin Zollars
Zollars, a longtime tech worker, seeks to bring Benicia into the 21st century. “Post-World War II suburban development is a financial failure,” states his campaign’s website — though he also pledges to maintain Benicia’s small-town charm. Zollars also claims that the current City Council is to blame for the looming deficit.
Zollars has taken strong stances against billionaire-backed development project California Forever, which acquired 70,000 acres of unincorporated land in Solano County in the last decade to build a utopian “walkable” city.
In recent years, according to Zollars’ campaign, he has advocated against Flock Safety automatic license plate readers, arguing that the technology is an invasion of privacy. Zollars is endorsed by the Solano County Republican Central Committee.