Reader Writes: George Oakes for City Council

As we approach the November 8th General Election I wanted to thank the friends and neighbors that have assisted in my effort to gain a seat on the City Council. As a first-time candidate, I can assure you it is an educational and humbling experience. Seeing my name around town always causes me to stop just for a moment and remember why it is there and what it means. I am asking the people of Benicia to elect me to the City Council.

I have learned that many Benician’s do not know me, and I can understand that. I live quietly in our home of 20 years. I traveled for work for many of those 20 years so being home was family time. After the Dot Com bust I transitioned to Real Estate, working with my wife. This allowed me to use my education and experience to volunteer for the Planning Commission. I have served on the Planning Commission for 6 years including the Valero Crude by Rail EIR’s. From that 3-years I learned that Benicia and Valero have passionate and intelligent people that believe their issues are significant and would contribute to a better Benicia and Valero. I learned that our residents hold deep feeling for or against the issue and have a heartfelt concern for our environment. I learned that business moves much faster than government; crude by rail car started before any regulation for “safe” transport was contemplated or completed. I also learned that no single issue is larger than either Valero or Benicia; it is working together that smooths the road of our future.

I was born in Fresno, CA. My father was fresh out of WII and he had opened a gasoline station, things were looking good. Then he was recalled to duty for the Korean War after which his tenure was such that a career in the Air Force seemed the best option. We moved many times to new and exciting places, at least that is what I tell myself about Mountain Home, Idaho where I completed high school. Five days after graduation I was in Navy boot camp. I was a SeaBee and served around the pacific theater including Viet Nam, I am a service connected disabled veteran. Using the GI Bill I attended college and completed my BS in Management, transitioned to Navy Civil Service and retired with the Base Closure rounds of the 1980-1990’s. Completed my Master of Public Administration degree and worked for the City of Oakland until I moved to the software industry. I was employed to transition fortune 500 companies, government agencies and large fleet owners to Enterprise level software. I worked with companies like Bell Telephone, Florida Power and Light, Amtrak, and several Counties and Transit Companies to transition to state of the art software and hardware solutions. Loved that job, the dot Com Bomb killed it for many years.

My wife and I own Twin Oaks Real Estate and we enjoy our work and the friends and neighbors we have made. Corrine gets hugs when we are walking the neighborhoods. I have met so many interesting neighbors. I have found that different areas of Benicia have different issues. The area in the hills with water views have a high concern about trees and who owns them and is to maintain them, etc. Several people have asked about using the open space for “off-leash” dog areas (not sure what this would look like, but interesting), many are concerned about the street signs being overgrown, underground utility vault cover safety, and the condition of our streets. Many are concerned about the new water rates and how the new meters may impact their rates. Not filtering here, just restating discussions I have had in the past few months. I think if people are thinking about these things and if we can build enough support we could move them forward. If you see me and have an issue, please stop me and let’s discuss it. Want to get together to work on such issues find me, I am usually making sawdust or golfing.

My fund raising has been very low key, only about $5,500 or so from several sources. The majority has been from my wife and I, and that is OK with me. As both my wife and I are Realtor’s, are past presidents of our Solano Association of Realtors, and work, party and fund raise with Realtors you can appreciate that a significant amount of the donations are from Real Estate firms or people. I, like three other candidates, received $540 from the California Association of Realtors, via a Local Candidates Recommendation Committee from the Solano Association of Realtors. We, like every other Realtor, are being asked to work on issues that impact home ownership and providing fair and equitable access to housing for everyone. Our Solano Association of Realtors donates many thousands of dollars to ur communities.

With 5 people running for 2 seats on our Council odds are 40% for 60% against. The good news for Benicia is that every one of the candidates is qualified, passionate and concerned enough to help make a difference. I am seeking your vote as are they. Please take the time and effort to make an informed decision for our City. Many thanks to my friends and supporters, may we click wine glasses again soon!

George Oakes for Benicia

GO4Benicia