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Major Win: Grassroots Coalition Efforts Halted California Forever’s Plans Once Again
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
As August came to a close—and the California State legislative session ended—our Solano Together coalition achieved a major victory against California Forever: halting attempts to fast-track development of a shipyard in Collinsville through last-minute state legislation.
We want to celebrate and thank every Solano resident, supporter, ally, and partner who showed up in strong numbers to ask decision-makers not to cut any last-minute deals with the billionaire-backed developers.
A lot of work went into making it happen—from lobbying at the Capitol to quickly flooding inboxes with thousands of constituent letters to reaching out to neighbors and getting them involved. As we reflect on this win, one thing is clear: this couldn’t have been possible without thousands of people standing strong by our side.
Read on for more details on what we’ve been working on over the last couple of weeks and what is still to come.
Solano Together Goes to the Capitol
Several months ago, California Forever announced in public venues and in the media that they would get special legislation in Sacramento for their project but were characteristically opaque about any details. Solano Together supporters sprang into action, sending almost six thousand letters to the Governor calling for transparency and a democratic process. Our coalition also put together a letter with 60 signers opposing any last-minute deals.
On August 5th, members of Solano Together went to Sacramento to distribute the letter and meet with over thirty offices in the Senate and Assembly. That evening, we hosted a reception with elected representatives from Suisun, Rio Vista, and Vacaville to speak out against California Forever’s secretive and undemocratic approaches. You can watch a video chronicling the day here.
Over August, we connected with nearly every office in the legislature and talked to the press, helping inform reporters for important stories like this CalMatters article and several others.
Coalition members and allies continued to send letters of opposition to the last-minute legislation, reaching over 35,000 letters sent!
The Big Moment: Solano Board of Supervisors Vote to Halt Last-Minute Deal
Our collective advocacy meant that no legislation was introduced through the regular political process throughout the session, despite multiple claims from California Forever that some sort of bill was imminent. However, with just one week to go in the legislative session, they tried a “Hail Mary” attempt to get anything through. On Monday, August 24th, potential legislation (the Solano Maritime and Manufacturing Act) was released publicly for the first time with the goal of pressuring the Board of Supervisors to support it, while giving them less than 24 hours to review.
Over 150 coalition members showed up and spoke against it, reiterating their concerns about skipping environmental review at the mouth of the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, overriding the Orderly Growth Initiative, and setting a dangerous precedent for projects to come.
After hours of public comment and thoughtful consideration, the majority of the Supervisors voted against the legislation for this session.
“It’s intimidating for the average person to go up against billionaires,” said Solano Together member Jim DeKloe. "My message is don’t lose heart.”
“The Board of Supervisors’ vote recognizes that more due diligence is necessary to ensure that development in the area benefits the county and its citizens without harming the Delta,” said U.S. Rep. John Garamendi.
Although the Newsom administration continued to push for this legislation through the final three days of the session, ultimately, no legislation for California Forever was introduced by Final at midnight, showing that our hard work had paid off.
Where do we go from here?
This is a major win for the coalition, perhaps the biggest one since California Forever pulled their initiative from the County ballot in 2024. It showed many in Solano County, Sacramento, and across the state that well-organized people power can prevail against billionaires spending millions on lobbying and political influence.
In the coming months, our coalition will refocus on opposing the Suisun Expansion plan and supporting thoughtful planning that balances the need for economic opportunity and protection of vital agricultural and open space lands.
Our goal is to talk to every registered voter in Suisun before November to share our perspective, but we need your help. Canvassing is the most impactful way to inform voters (and it's also lots of fun), so we hope to welcome new faces to our volunteer network as we enter yet another new and exciting phase of this work.
This has been the work of thousands of us. Momentum is building, but we can’t rest until we put California Forever in Solano’s past.
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