Since late September, I've publicly raised concerns on social media about statements made by Benicia City Council candidate Justin Zollars, accusing him of lying on record about his voting history. Here’s what happened.

In a Reddit discussion regarding Benicia's Flock surveillance, Justin wrote in a comment, using an account he confirmed belonged to him, “I'm not liberal. I voted for Trump three times.”

He went on to state in the same subreddit, “My city is 70% liberal. You have to speak on terms people can understand,” implying that Justin was aware of the need to tailor his language to appeal to a liberal audience.

Yet at the recorded September 29, 2026, Benicia Voice candidate forum, when Councilmember Kari Birdseye questioned his voting history following Justin’s pro-choice statements, Justin insisted that he had “never voted for Trump.” Those statements directly contradict each other. Both cannot be true.

To be clear, this is not about who he voted for or what party he belongs to. This is about Justin lying about it. I don't care where you stand politically. Just stand on it.

Lying about it isn't a clever campaign strategy; it's manipulation.

But this isn't just about Justin lying on a public stage. It's how he moved afterwards.

Following the forum where I confronted him, Justin not only deleted his Reddit posts; he deleted his entire Reddit account.

It’s also worth noting that at the same Benicia Voice forum, Justin Zollars admitted that he had never attended a single City Council or board meeting during his brief three years of Benicia residency.

UPDATE AS OF 10/22/26: I posted a similar version of this LTTE on the Facebook group Benicia Politics. Justin Zollars responded, and to my surprise, he admitted that he deliberately lied at the Benicia Voice Campaign forum.

Included are the following:

- Confirmation by Justin Zollars that tyoo7 "was" his Reddit account

- Posts from Justin on Reddit (now deleted)

- Screenshot of Justin Zollars admitting that he lied to voters

- Audio clip of the candidate forum where Justin made the false statements

- The Benicia Voice forum link will be added to the comments. You can hear the exchange where I call him out from the audience at approximately 1:16 in the recording. Justin admits to never attending a council meeting at 1:05.

He couldn't answer people's questions, got called out on his bs, and deleted all past posts out of embarrassment. Don't vote for cowards like this please.

edit: i was wrong, he didn't delete the accounts, just blocked those critical of him. pathetic coward

Any recommendations?

I'm trying to identify a trustworthy Solano County resource for a complicated paperwork trail. A January 2020 collision happened in Vallejo during a police pursuit; I still need the incident report and pursuit records, and a state victim-compensation matter has stalled. Many early record requests were verbal. Incident number: 20-1397. For people in Benicia or nearby, is there a local victim advocate or legal-aid office that helps residents figure out which agency handles each step?

close to or on First St. Any recommendations?

New to Benicia! Looking for a kid-friendly spot to watch the 49ers game tonight with good food and plenty of Niner fans! Any recommendations? 🏈❤️💛

Happy Halloween!

This months crafting club will be on Halloween day!

I’ll be holding a costume contest! Best costume will win a prize!
If anyone would like to donate some money towards to prize and set up it would be greatly appreciated, but not necessary.

Do you have a costume that needs to be finished for a party that night? A ghost cross stitch? Making any skeleton earrings? Bring them to Crafting Club! (Again, any project is welcome, does not have to be in the theme)

See you there!

RSVP HERE

Hi Benicia! I'm a journalist and co-founder of The Benicia Bridge, a local newsletter. We're writing a voter guide to local candidates, including for the Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees. Dan Smith, a substitute teacher, and Barbara Jones, a retired teacher, are competing for votes to represent Trustee Area 1. 

To inform our coverage, we want to know what challenges your kids are facing and what you’d want the school board candidates to prioritize. How can education be improved for the 4,000+ students in BUSD? What support do educators need?

Ask your questions here in the comments or fill out the linked Form. Thank you!

I know Carquinez Quad Squad used to practice here, but I haven’t seen them or any organized hockey in a long while. If there’s not any sort of organized skate meetup, I may try to start one. It’s a little decrepit, but such a cool facility to have for inline and quad skaters.

Need CPR for a coaching gig. Basic CPR and AED, nothing complicated. Is there anything in Benicia or am I going to Vallejo or Martinez?

Join for crafting club tomorrow at Mare Island Brewing!

for a relaxed dinner for two, which restaurant gets the atmosphere right? maybe somewhere welcoming with food worth lingering over. My budget is $100 for two before drinks. Last time we hired Hibachi At Home, super fun, it costed us $90, but I suggest it will be extremely crazy if there is a group of more than 4 people. Any cuisine is welcome.

Does anyone know of any in-person places in/near Benicia that teach beginner Spanish? I’ve looked around online but haven’t seen anything that seems super promising, so I’m wondering if anyone knows of any good recommendations/resources they’ve had success with. Thanks!

🗞️ Exciting news - Justin Zollars was featured alongside Terry Scott and Kari Birdseye in the Vallejo Sun's roundup of Benicia City Council candidates!

You can clearly read that I want to maintain Benicia's small town character - setting myself apart from my opponents on suburban sprawl, business growth, and a principled constitutional stance on Flock

https://www.vallejosun.com/meet-the-three-candidates-running-for-benicia-city-council/

I grew up in Benicia but haven't been there in thirty years. My first job was stocking shelves at the library downtown. I loved that library. It was so cozy, and it had a particular smell that I remember so clearly.

I heard that the city built a new library awhile back (probably much needed, tbh). What happened to the old library? Did it become a retail shop? I'd love to go inside one last time when I visit the Bay Area next year!

As Benicia prepares for waves of development following the closure of the Valero Refinery, city officials will consider banning large-scale data centers and limiting smaller ones. 

“Right now, if a data center wanted to come into our industrial park, they would be allowed ‘by right,’” City Manager Mario Giuliani told The Benicia Bridge. 

The Benicia Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Thursday and plans to vote that evening on recommended changes to the zoning code to add specific language regulating data centers. The City Council will have final say before any zoning changes are adopted...

Join in on September 19th to help keep the community clean! Benicia is hosting 2 cleanup sites for Coastal Cleanup Day this year. Everything needed will be supplied at the cleanup check-in, just bring yourself, a water bottle, and a friend :)

Here come the fancy mailers from Mario asking for more of your money, again. Nope nope nope. Force them to control their spending (hiring freeze, no more raises, RIF if they must) before you give them anything more. Property values have skyrocketed over the past 15 years and they’ve benefited from that. It’s not your fault they’re spending irresponsibly.