Amy Hirsh appears to win special Benicia school board election

BENICIA – Employment attorney Amy C. Hirsh appears to have won a special election to represent Trustee Area 5 on the Benicia Unified School District Board after taking a commanding lead in unofficial results released by the Solano County Registrar of Voters this week.

Hirsh, who has two sons who are students in the district, has received 643 votes, or 57.82% of the total votes counted as of Thursday, according to unofficial results. The polls for in person voting closed Tuesday.

Ariana A. Martinez is significantly behind Hirsh with 304 votes or 27.34% of the total and the final candidate, Ali Mansour, is trailing with 163 votes or 14.66%.

The Solano County registrar of voters will accept mail in ballots up to April 18 but those ballots must be postmarked no later than April 11.

Solano County Assistant Registrar of Voters John Gardner said that he expects to receive less than 50 more votes before the legal cutoff on Tuesday. Then the county will wait a week to contact voters for any signature errors before they certify the final results on April 24.

“I am very honored and excited,” Hirsh said in an email. “I think voters want someone who can provide a voice for those who have children currently attending Benicia schools.”

So far 1,113 votes have been counted out of 4,110 registered voters in Trustee Area 5, which is the northern portion of Benicia. According to Gardner, this is a normal turnout for an off-cycle election.

The special election was held because no candidates applied to run for the regular election in November of 2022. This prompted the board to appoint a candidate for the vacant position.

The board interviewed four applicants, including Hirsh and Martinez, and after deliberation the board appointed Martinez to fill the seat.

But Hirsh and the two other applicants accused the board of nepotism because Martinez’s mother is the District Superintendent's assistant. The applicants called for the board to terminate Martinez’s appointment.

The board reviewed the decision but found no reason to disqualify Martinez.

In response, Hirsh and another applicant petitioned for the special election. They stated that the appointment of Martinez was an attempt by the board to exclude the voices of parents with school age children because neither Martinez nor any of the current board members had children enrolled in district’s schools.

Ali Mansour registered as a candidate in the special election but he was not one of the applicants in the special appointment process. Martinez and Hirsh were the only applicants from the special appointment process that registered as candidates in the special election.

The county will pass the cost of the special election on to the school district. Gardner estimates that the election will cost the school district $40,000.

“I look forward to collaborating with my fellow Trustees in ensuring all students in Benicia schools receive an excellent education,” Hirsh said. “I believe voters value my legal background, which has trained me to approach issues in a measured, logical, and comprehensive manner. I have deep roots in Benicia and I will approach this new role with optimism, energy, and the goal of uniting our community through our shared values.”