Category: Politics

Chico State Academic Senate calls for TPM policy suspension

photo by Caleb Hearn
Bryce Ingersoll tabled on campus, discussing with students what implementation of the TPM policy would mean.

by Yucheng Tang
posted Nov. 12

The Chico State Academic Senate has called on the California State University (CSU) Chancellor’s office to suspend the interim “Time, Place, Manner” (TPM) policy that sets rules for student protests.

The Oct. 31 resolution says the CSU should “initiate a process of good faith negotiation through shared governance to determine what guidance for peaceful activism … may be justified and consensually applied.”

The local Academic Senate took action days after the Academic Senate of the California State University system passed a resolution condemning the CSU-wide interim TPM policy. The California Faculty Association notes the policy restricts use of face coverings and requires “advance written permission for posters, signs, banners, and chalking.” read more

Key race in City Council election narrows to seven-vote difference District 3 race will decide which slate has majority

photo by Yucheng Tang
Monica McDaniel at the Green City Coalition watch party on election night.

by Yucheng Tang
posted Nov. 7

Nov. 8 UPDATE: The vote gap between Monica McDaniel and Dale Bennett narrowed to just seven votes as of 4:30 p.m. today, with Bennett receiving 3,009 votes and McDaniel 3,002. Updated vote counts will not be available until next week.

Whether challenger Monica McDaniel or incumbent Dale Bennett secures the District 3 seat has become the key question in the 2024 Chico City Council election.

The District 3 candidates are in a tight race; Bennett led McDaniel by only 40 votes Nov. 7, according to the Butte County Clerk-Recorder’s unofficial count that had been updated Nov. 6. The District 3 race will determine which slate will become a majority on the seven-member panel for the next two years. read more

For Which it Stands

photo by Tania Flores
Graffiti in Oakland, Calif.

by Danielle Alexich
guest contribution posted Nov. 6

I would give myself an A plus.
Nobody has done what I’ve been able to do.
–Donald Trump

Grade school mornings
we faced the flag,
hands over hearts,
pride of a nation pulsing inside us.
We compared report cards,
took cuts in line at recess,
played dodgeball in the thin Oakland fog.
Across town and on TV,
dark people got dragged away in handcuffs.
If we saw a drunk collapsed on the street,
we were told not to stare.
People dreamed of getting rich. read more

City Council District 7: Voters have a clear choice Incumbent Tandon and challenger Goldstein explain to ChicoSol contrasting views

District 7 extends into Lower Bidwell Park on the northeast, crosses Highway 99, and is severed by District 6 west of the highway.

by Yucheng Tang
posted Oct. 26

This is the fourth story in our City Council election series.

District 7 voters have a choice. Candidates Bryce Goldstein and Deepika Tandon both want better streets and more housing projects, but differ on other crucial issues, including homelessness, climate change and wildfire planning.

Goldstein, a transportation planner, has served as a City of Chico commissioner for the past five years, formerly on the Planning Commission and now as a Climate Action commissioner. She says on her website that she wants a community where “everybody can afford to live … where everybody can access fresh groceries without having to own a car, and where our trees, parks, and creeks are protected.” read more

The PAC behind the negative mailers "A Better Chico" launches attacks on two liberal candidates

photo by Karen Laslo
Candidate Bryce Goldstein is attacked in a recent PAC mailer that exploits the problem of homelessness.

by Leslie Layton
posted Oct. 22

It cost the political action committee (PAC) A Better Chico some $14,000 to taint election season with a bitter mood by sending out four mailers that attack two City Council candidates who are running for the District 3 and 7 seats.

The two women, candidates Monica McDaniel and Bryce Goldstein, were each targeted with two mailers that make misleading and false statements that exploit the issue of homelessness by showing pictures of tent encampments, piles of litter and needles. read more

Big money plays big role in effort to seat conservative Council candidates Grassroots campaigning helps build Goldstein's campaign fund

photo by Yucheng Tang
Mike O’Brien speaks at a candidates’ forum.

by Natalie Hanson
posted Oct. 21

Chico’s City Council races have become clearly divided between grassroots campaigns that rely on small donors and campaigns funded by wealthy outside interests.

Liberal-leaning candidates rely heavily on door-to-door canvassing and fundraising events. But meanwhile, the hefty financial advantage enjoyed by conservative-leaning candidates has helped drive a strong presence for them throughout the city, from campaign signs to advertising. Conservative-leaning and Republican candidates have long held access to some of the bigger wallets in the region, including in the last City Council race which brought about a 6-1 conservative majority. read more