By Nick Sestanovich

The filing period for Benicia’s school board election is not until tomorrow, but if a panel at Thursday’s Progressive Democrats of Benicia (PDB) meeting was any indication, the race has already begun. Among other things, the panel saw the emergence of a potential challenger and the announcement by an incumbent that she would not seek re-election.

What remains to be seen is if the election will be a repeat of 2016, in which no election was held since only three candidates ran when three seats were available. One thing is for certain though: No matter the outcome, there will be new faces on the school board.

This year, three seats are up for grabs: those belonging to President Diane Ferrucci and trustees Celeste Monnette and Peter Morgan. Morgan announced at a previous school board meeting that he does not intend to seek re-election, and Monnette— a social worker who has served on the board since 2016—made the same announcement at Thursday’s PDB meeting.

Source: Potential school board candidate comes forward; incumbent trustee will not seek re-election