This week the Vallejo Sun kicked off our coverage of the slate of local elections coming in November, we reported new details from public records in the 2018 shooting of Ronell Foster, and why the city of American Canyon sued Vallejo and the council's goals for the next year.
We're working hard to make this a sustainable, unique and consistent news outlet that serves the Solano County community.
If you appreciate the reporting we're doing, please consider becoming a paid member – we rely on subscribers chipping in to keep going.
More than a dozen seek a seat on Vallejo City Council
The upcoming Vallejo City Council election is drawing significant interest so far as more than a dozen have officially formed campaign committees in hopes of being elected to one of the three open seats this fall.
Opening a committee allows the person to solicit donations and spend money on the campaign, but it doesn’t ensure they are an official candidate, that happens during the candidacy period in which the prospective candidate files paperwork to be on the November ballot. The candidacy period which began this week runs through Aug. 13.
The general election is scheduled for Nov. 8.
District 4 has generated the most buzz over the last year as six prospective candidates have stepped forward, including former Vallejo school board Trustee Ruscal Cayangyang and current Planning Commissioner Charles Palmares, as both hope to represent the new district that includes Mare Island, downtown and the northern Waterfront. Cayangyang and Palmares are joined by former Planning Commissioner Chris Platzer and community advocate Ravi Shankar.
Meanwhile, five candidates have expressed interest in serving on the council representing the District 5 seat, which covers Vallejo from Sereno Drive to Curtola Parkway between Interstate 80 and Sonoma Boulevard. The candidates include local businesswoman Tara Beasley-Stansberry, Planning Commissioner Melissa Bowman, Peter Bregenzer, Tanya Hall, and Dwight Monroe Jr.
Finally, four have said they would like to represent District 2 in North Vallejo. They include Planning Commissioner Diosdado “JR” Matulac, Cassandra James, who serves on the Housing and Community Development Commission, local realtor Don Jordan, and community advocate Garrett Toles. Get the full story here.
Vallejo police killing of Ronell Foster led to internal conflict, newly released records show
After Vallejo police Officer Ryan McMahon chased, beat, Tased and shot Ronell Foster, killing him in 2018, different evaluations came to different conclusions about whether his actions were within department policy, with administrators contradicting the findings of internal reviews, according to newly released records.
In particular, those new records show that while then-Sgt. Sanjay Ramrakha cleared McMahon of any policy violations in the fatal shooting, both the department's deputy police chief and interim police chief who ordered the investigation disagreed.
By the time then-Deputy Chief Michael Kihmm disputed Ramrakha’s conclusions, McMahon had already been fired for his actions as one of six officers who shot and killed 20-year-old Willie McCoy the following year.
But it was not the first time Kihmm had found Ramrakha’s conclusions in internal affairs investigations to be too lenient.
Later, Kihmm would also be fired, for reasons he said were false and unfounded, while Ramrakha would be promoted to lieutenant and placed in charge of revising the department’s use of force policies.
The internal conflict over McMahon’s conduct shows disagreement between career outsiders who had been hired to help steer the scandal-plagued department and longtime Vallejo police officers like Ramrakha as to what are acceptable police practices. McMahon’s conduct eventually led to the discovery of the department’s tradition of bending the tips of their badges to mark shootings, and he was terminated for jeopardizing another officer’s life. Get the full story here.
American Canyon sues Vallejo over water dispute
The city of American Canyon has filed a lawsuit asking a court to force the city of Vallejo to provide drinking water to certain areas of American Canyon under a 1996 service agreement that Vallejo has sought to limit because of severe drought.
American Canyon filed its lawsuit last week in Napa County Superior Court, which alleges that Vallejo breached the water service agreement between the two cities by failing to provide water to the Canyon Estates development, a new water delivery location for Vallejo that American Canyon said was “designed and constructed with Vallejo’s oversight and approval.”
The development is a 35-lot subdivision located in the hills above American Canyon that is nearing completion. The lots would be purchased for custom home construction.
“Vallejo’s failure to perform its obligations under the 1996 Agreement creates a significant impediment to American Canyon’s ability to satisfy water demands within its Service Area,” American Canyon alleges.
Vallejo already delivered potable water to three locations in American Canyon when Canyon Estates was constructed: La Vigne Connection, Montevino Connection, and High School Connection. But Vallejo has sought to limit the amount of water it delivers as the state faces severe drought, according to the lawsuit. Get the full story here.
Vallejo council adopts its top priorities and goals
The Vallejo City Council was in full agreement Tuesday when it officially named economic development as the city’s top priority for the current fiscal year. The council also identified police reform, finding affordable housing, and providing youth programs as top multi-year goals.
“I can't emphasize enough how important economic development is,” said District 3 Councilmember Mina Loera-Diaz, who was responding to questions on why economic development was selected as the top priority over addressing homelessness and other issues affecting the city.
“But if you think about it for a second, you will understand that, in order to deal with the homeless issue, and everything else that was mentioned a little bit earlier, we need money, you need funds to be able to work [on] the other things,” she added.
Much of the council’s discussion centered on members’ support of youth programming. Get the full story here.
Times-Herald manager named head of Vallejo Chamber of Commerce
Looking from within, the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce has tapped former board chair Shawna Gilroy as the organization’s new president/CEO, the chamber announced Thursday.
Gilroy replaces James Cooper who left Vallejo after six years to take a similar position in the city of Pleasanton in May.
“I'm excited to take on this new role and continue to grow the Vallejo Chamber,” Gilroy said in a statement shared by the chamber. “After being on the Board of Directors for years I look forward to continuing to work with our Board members.”
Gilroy served as chair of the board in 2020 and 2021, helping to keep the organization open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She was recently tapped to serve as chair of the Griffin Technology Academies Board of Directors last month as the charter network attempts to fend off a push to revoke its charter status by the Vallejo school district. Get the full story here.
In other news:
- Solano County has converted the Norman King Center located at 545 Magazine St. in South Vallejo into a second COVID-19 test and treat site, reports Todd R. Hansen with the Fairfield Daily Republic.
- One confirmed case of the rare monkeypox disease has been identified in Solano County, and there are two probable cases pending verification with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Fairfield Daily Republic reports.
- Vallejo debris removal on Monday causes more ‘pain’ for the unsheltered as many at the Reo Alley site question what’s next, reports Thomas Gase with the Vallejo Times-Herald.
- DNA from 2021 sexual assault breaks open 2 cold case homicides – including one from Vallejo, the Fairfield Daily Republic reports.
- Taje Holliman, who struck, killed Quanda McGadney, 51, of Fairfield, a state Department of Transportation worker along westbound Interstate 80 near Lagoon Valley Road in Vacaville on June 3, gets 8 years in prison, the Fairfield Daily Republic reports
- Bay Area Freedom Project, founded in Vallejo, aims to spread awareness about Vallejo Police Department, reports Thomas Gase with the Vallejo Times-Herald.
- U.S. Congressman Mike Thompson voted this week to pass H.R. 8294, a six-bill appropriations package that includes funding for key projects within Solano County including SolTrans 100 Percent Battery Electric Commuter Coaches and preserving and restoring Mare Island landmarks, the Vallejo Times-Herald reports.
- Benicia School Board President Sheri Zada has announced her candidacy for re-election to the Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees for District 1 this week, the Vallejo Times-Herald reports.
- Vallejo fire recruit honored for life-saving efforts during highway incident, the Fairfield Daily Republic reports.
- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) customers and non-account holders can now sign up for notifications for any address to stay informed about Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS), according to the Vacaville Reporter.
Upcoming events:
- Rebuilding Together Solano County Friends and Family are having a parking lot sale on Saturday. The sale will be from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. as donations and purchases go toward providing health and safety support to low income veteran, senior and disabled homeowners in Solano County.
- Vallejo bar to open second, larger location in Vacaville. The grand opening will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday at 1072 E. Monte Vista Ave. Following the ribbon cutting, the Soul Project — who also performed at the Vallejo grand opening — will perform at 5 p.m., and DJ Chuy Gomez will spin nostalgic favorites starting at 9 p.m., reports Nick Sestanovich with the Vacaville Reporter.
As always keep up on VallejoSun.com for the latest news.
Again, if you appreciate the work we're doing please consider making a contribution to help us continue!
Before you go...
It’s expensive to produce the kind of high-quality journalism we do at the Vallejo Sun. And we rely on reader support so we can keep publishing.
If you enjoy our regular beat reporting, in-depth investigations, and deep-dive podcast episodes, chip in so we can keep doing this work and bringing you the journalism you rely on.
Click here to become a sustaining member of our newsroom.
THE VALLEJO SUN NEWSLETTER
Investigative reporting, regular updates, events and more
Scott Morris
Scott Morris is a journalist based in Oakland who covers policing, protest, civil rights and far-right extremism. His work has been published in ProPublica, the Appeal and Oaklandside.
follow me :