Benicia voters will fill two City Council seats on Nov. 3, and three people are running. Councilmembers Terry Scott and Kari Birdseye, both elected in 2022, face software engineer Justin Zollars, the Vallejo Sun reports. Benicia elects its council citywide, so voters can pick two and the top two vote-getters win four-year terms, according to the city.

Why it matters: The city faces an $8 million budget shortfall tied to Valero's departure, and the council will steer the cleanup and redevelopment of the refinery site. The mayor, vice mayor and one other council seat are not up until 2028.

Terry Scott

Scott, a former Hasbro senior vice president who moved to Benicia 14 years ago, chaired the Arts and Culture Commission and led the Benicia Community Foundation. He points to a balanced budget and consolidated departments, and sees housing projects at the refinery, Rose Estates and Jefferson Ridge as a way to "mold a new Benicia while still maintaining small town values."

He supports Measures X and Z. On Flock license plate cameras, he said, "The minute I hear that the system has been misused or ICE has tapped into it, it's the time we pull the plug on Flock." He doubts data centers could prove they aren't "bad for the environment." He is endorsed by state Sen. Chris Cabaldon, Assemblymember Lori Wilson and Mayor Steve Young.

Kari Birdseye

Birdseye, a former CNN journalist who works as a regional media director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, has lived in Benicia almost 26 years. She cites the first structurally balanced budget in more than a decade, an air district grant and the city's industrial safety ordinance. "What we do the next four years is going to define who we are for the next 50 years," she told the Sun.

She supports Measures X and Z, favors a temporary moratorium on data centers, and said the city should reevaluate its Flock relationship. She is endorsed by the Solano County Democratic Central Committee and Mayor Young.

Justin Zollars

Zollars, 44, a software engineer at Veracyte who moved from San Francisco three years ago, said he entered the race mainly over privacy concerns about Flock. He prefers infill development to suburban expansion and would prioritize new businesses over new housing.

He supports Measure Z, opposes Measure X because it taxes gross receipts rather than profit, and said he cannot endorse Measure Y because he finds it confusing. Measure Y must pass for Measure Z to take effect.

The measures

Measure X rewrites the business license tax, exempting businesses with $100,000 or less in receipts. Measure Y makes Benicia a charter city, and Measure Z adds a real property transfer tax. Our Benicia Measures X, Y and Z explainer has the rates.

Across the county line, see the Vallejo City Council races and Solano County Measure E. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. More in our Election 2026 guide.