As San Franciscans prepare to decide whether embattled Mayor London Breed deserves re-election, this fall’s election, expected to be the most expensive municipal election in history, will be dominated by the political power of the city’s tech companies. Political observers are watching closely to see if this will provide conclusive evidence of an increase in the number of people. Elites.
Wealthy financiers, including the city’s traditional financial elite and the region’s emerging tech oligarchs, have spent millions of dollars in recent years on efforts to reshape the city’s political landscape, favoring more moderates over their more progressive rivals. candidates and policies.
That’s been the case this election cycle, with millions of dollars poured into the mayor’s race, contests for several seats on the Board of Supervisors, and expanded mayoral powers, according to campaign finance records from the San Francisco Ethics Commission. A ballot measure is being taken to do so.
The city’s wealthy appear to be splitting their bets on who should lead the city next. Some big-money donors are sticking with incumbent London Breed as she increasingly embraces a law-and-order strategy to address San Francisco’s most persistent challenges, such as homelessness and overdose deaths. . Some are backing former business- and police-friendly Supervisor and Interim Mayor Mark Farrell, while others are plowing their fortunes into Levi Strauss successor and philanthropist Daniel Lurie. . campaign.
Mr. Lurie appears to have a narrow lead in extremely tight polls, but he is by far the frontrunner in overall fundraising, with about $9 million in coffers and $638 under control of political action committees supporting him. It contains millions of dollars. In addition to his own funds, he has received significant support from his mother Miriam Haas ($1 million) and WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum ($500,000). Mr. Lurie chose to forgo public matching funds in exchange for the ability to exceed limits on contributions to individual campaigns. All other mayoral candidates are eligible for up to $1.2 million in public financing.
Breed continues to raise money, raising $2.17 million in campaign funds and $2.51 million in packs. Mr. Farrell is expected to split the vote in the ranking race with Mr. Lurie and Mr. Breed, and is in third place with $1.95 million in campaign contributions and $2.22 million in pack funds.
Aaron Peskin, a city government veteran and staunch progressive who advocates for stronger rent control and opposes the clearing of homeless encampments, raised $1.5 million. Ahsha Safaí, a progressive whose stance is similar to Peskin’s, has raised $985,000 to date.
Breed’s campaign was the largest beneficiary of the matching funds program, with total public funding of $1,094,430.09. Farrell follows closely with $1,063,710 in public funds, with Peskin ($821,543.28) rounding out the field.
“Gray Money Network”
The bulk of the donations are channeled through a network of nonprofit organizations and political action committees, many of which are controlled or funded by big names in technology, real estate, and venture capital.
The largest of these is Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, dubbed the “800-pound gorilla of San Francisco politics” by local news site Mission Local. Although the organization does not fund mayoral candidates, the group endorsed Farrell and Lurie as their first and second choices for mayor.
The group may be financially absent from mayoral races, but it has spent a lot of money on San Francisco politics in recent years. Campaign finance records from 2020 to 2024 show Neighbors SF contributed more than $1 in every 10 spent on political campaigns in the city, totaling at least $8.7 million. is shown.
Keeley McBride, a political science professor at the University of San Francisco, said SF’s “gray money network” and widespread tech spending in recent elections represents the industry’s maturation as a political force in California. “Technology has more money than any industry other than oil and gas. Chevron owned the entire city of Richmond for decades, so a vital industry could finally control city government in its backyard.” It’s not at all out of place in the Bay Area to be in control.”
In the current election cycle, Neighbors SF spent $950,000 to strengthen a ballot measure that would reduce the number of oversight boards in the city and increase the mayor’s ability to fire and hire agency heads. This bill is one of the major plans for gray policy. – Money Network Political Project
Other elements of the network are focused on eliminating members of the oversight committee. Grow SF, a “moderate” pressure group run by former tech workers, spent $72,000 to oust progressive Supervisor Connie Chan and $297,000 to oust Supervisor Dean Preston. (the latter was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America at the time of his inauguration) in 2019.
Investor loyalties are divided in the close mayoral race. Chris Larsen, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Ripple and a longtime political donor, donated $600,000 to Breed’s re-election campaign. William Oberndorf, a tech investor, consistent donor to the Republican Party, and charter school advocate who co-founded Neighbors SF, donated $500,000 to Farrell’s campaign. He has publicly clashed with Mr. Lurie over Mr. Lurie’s attacks on Mr. Farrell. Farrell’s campaign has been heavily supported by people in the real estate and financial industries. Ron Conway, an investor who was critical to Ed Lee’s 2010 mayoral victory, recently donated $100,000 to the pack opposing Peskin, the San Francisco Standard reported.
Michael Moritz, a venture capitalist, founder of two prominent political organizations and owner of the San Francisco Standard, has donated about $3 million to Farrell’s campaign. Moritz also donated $500,000 to a ballot measure aimed at giving the mayor more power.
As the network’s influence in local politics grows, there are signs that state regulators are catching up. Over the summer, Neighbors SF was fined $54,000 for failing to disclose some of its donors in then-District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s 2022 recall. Boudin was a progressive prosecutor whose loss as a bellwether highlighted the political influence of right-wing tech money in San Francisco.
