Steve Young was elected to the Benicia City Council in 2016. He was appointed Vice-Mayor from 2016-2018. In 2020, Steve was elected Mayor, and re-elected in 2024. Steve currently serves as a Board member on the Bay Area Air Quality Air Management District (BAAQMD), California Council of Governments (CALCOG), Solano County Mayor’s Committee, Solano County Water Agency (SCWA), Solano Transit (SolTrans), and Solano Transportation Authority (STA). Steve has spent 28 years in local governments, managing various projects in the fields of Community Development, Redevelopment, Affordable Housing, Neighborhood Preservation, and Economic Development in various cities in California and Virginia.
In 1999, Steve was appointed Director of Community Development for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA). In that position, his duties included overseeing the redevelopment and revitalization of the closed Air Force bases at Mather and McClellan. He also was responsible for the funding, oversight, and preservation of California’s historic Sacramento Delta town of Locke and worked closely with the Sacramento Sheriff and District Attorney in efforts to reduce crime in Sacramento’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.
In 2008, Steve retired from SHRA, and, with his wife Marty and their daughter Cora, moved to Costa Rica to experience a different culture, learn a new language, and broaden their horizons. While in Costa Rica, Steve and Marty volunteered with local programs and schools teaching English as a second language to young adults.
Upon Cora’s graduation from The European School in Costa Rica in 2012, she started college at the University of Puget Sound. At that time, Steve and Marty moved back to the US, settling in Benicia. In 2013, Steve was appointed to the Benicia Planning Commission where he served for four years.
Steve has a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley and an MA in Urban Policy and Administration from San Francisco State University.