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Benicia City Council

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City of Benicia

Benicia City Council

This person would hold one of two at-large seats on Benicia's five-member City Council. It sets the citywide budget, land use rules, and oversight of city staff. Benicia is in Solano County and has 27,131 residents. A directly elected Mayor sits on the council but isn't part of this race. A professional city manager runs day-to-day operations.

Three candidates are running for two at-large seats on Benicia's City Council. Incumbents Terry Scott and Kari Birdseye face challenger Justin Zollars. Voters may pick up to two. There is no primary.

Council seats are elected at-large and citywide. Benicia also has a directly elected Mayor, Steve Young, who was re-elected in 2024. He is not part of this race. In some Solano County cities the Council chooses a Mayor from its own members. Benicia's voters elect the Mayor separately. Winners join the rest of Benicia's 5-member Council. The Council sets the city budget and land use, and oversees city staff. Benicia is a Solano County city of 27,131 residents, per the 2020 Census. A professional city manager runs day-to-day operations. Council seats carry 4-year terms. Both incumbents in this race were elected in November 2022. Scott's own filed statement describes the seat as a coming "four years."

Two incumbents and one challenger are competing for two seats. The practical question is whether Zollars should replace either sitting Councilmember. The other option is that Scott and Birdseye continue together. Both incumbents filed official statements. Both also received dedicated coverage from Benicia Independent, a local news site. That coverage describes their records and platforms. Zollars is a first-time candidate for city office. Their filed statement is the only source found describing their background. It centers on their opposition to the city's use of Flock Safety license plate reader cameras. All three candidates' terms would begin after Valero's refinery closure and the resulting city revenue gap. Every candidate's statement addresses that theme in some form.

Terry Scott

Terry Scott is the incumbent and a former Vice Mayor. He spent 14 years as a senior executive at Hasbro. His platform centers on closing the revenue gap left by Valero's closure. He puts that gap at roughly $7 million.

Kari Birdseye

Kari Birdseye is the incumbent. She spent 11 years as a CNN journalist. She then moved into nonprofit communications work. Her platform centers on redeveloping the former refinery site. She also wants to protect Benicia's air and water.

Justin Zollars

Justin Zollars is a software engineer and the race's only challenger. They led local opposition to the police department's license plate reader cameras. They pledge to remove them. They have spent 15 years in technology at companies including Adobe.

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A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

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