PRESS RELEASE: I am running for Mayor of Benicia!
Council Member Steve Young Runs for Benicia Mayor
Benicia Council member Steve Young announced this week he is running for the office of Mayor. After four years of serving on the City Council and another four on the Planning Commission, Council member Young says that he will address the tough issues head on with intelligence and an effort to build consensus within our community.
High on his priority list of issues deserving smart leadership are economic development, providing a consistent plan to repair our roads and streets, addressing the local impacts of accelerated climate change, tackling the contentious issues of water rates and continued access to safe drinking water, and meeting our pension obligations.
Council member Young says that Benicia is facing serious challenges, which deserve a serious mayoral candidate willing to discuss detailed plans on how to address them. “While on the Council, I have worked to make practical decisions, which first look toward fiscally responsible solutions to City problems.” said Young. “I have proven that I’m up for the job and look forward to running a clean, thought-provoking campaign.”
Promoting the arts throughout Benicia has been a consistent priority for Young, who helped lead the City effort that resulted in the donation and acceptance of the Neptune’s Daughter statue on the waterfront. The artist who designed, sculpted, and donated the statue, Lisa Reinertson, said “Neptune’s Daughter may not have made it to the waterfront without Steve’s hard work, consensus building and tenacity in making it happen. And those are all the qualities we need in our next mayor.”
Young was appointed to the Planning Commission in 2012, just as the Crude by Rail (CBR) proposal began working its way through the City approval process. His years spent in local government, including as Community Development Director of the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, provided the experience needed to read and understand the thousands of pages of that project’s Environmental Impact Report. Based on his knowledge and research, he asked the probing questions that helped lead to the Planning Commission's unanimous rejection of the project. The Planning Commission decision was ultimately upheld by the City Council.
“Steve’s leadership in asking the critical questions during the Crude by Rail hearings was instrumental to our community understanding the impacts of the proposed project, and that we actually had the right to reject the Valero expansion project, which would have brought 100 rail cars of crude oil into our town every day,” said Marilyn Bardet, a founding member of the City of Benicia’s Sustainability Commission.
Young lives in Benicia with his wife Marty, an active volunteer with the Friends of the Library. His daughter, Cora Young, lives in Vallejo and is a staffer for Congressman Mike Thompson.
For more information, go to SteveYoungForMayor.org.