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Tech-backed PAC is biggest spender in DCCC race [1]
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Date: 2024-02-06 20:27:23+00:00
A new political action committee — backed largely by tech money and known as Families for a Vibrant San Francisco — has emerged as the largest single donor in the March 5 election for the Democratic County Central Committee, San Francisco’s branch of the Democratic Party.
The “D-triple-C” holds the coveted power to officially endorse candidates and measures on behalf of the party. Its endorsement is key in a presidential election year, when less-informed voters will be looking to the Democratic Party’s official seal of approval to fill out their ballots.
The Families PAC has given at least $239,909 this year to candidates for the DCCC, according to campaign finance filings — 16 percent of the total spending. Those filings capture all donations through Jan. 20 and larger ones since then.
And the PAC has yet another $212,210 left in its war chest, meaning that, without raising an additional dollar, it could still give more than $50,000 every week until the election.
Data from the San Francisco Ethics Commission. Amounts include all donations of $100 or larger as of Jan. 20 and any donations above $1,000 as of February 1. Information on which candidates are running for each slate was obtained from their respective websites, Labor and Working Families and SF Dems for Change. Chart by Kelly Waldron. For the optimal experience, use the desktop version.
The PAC supports the San Francisco Democrats for Change slate, a group of 24 candidates trying to oust progressives from the obscure but influential party body.
Collectively, the San Francisco Democrats for Change slate has outraised its progressive rivals nearly 4-1.
The oppositional slate is hoping to retake the DCCC from progressives, who have controlled it — and the Democrats’ endorsement process — since 2016. In November, those endorsements will be key for voters seeking advice on supervisors, the mayor and ballot measures.
The Families PAC is headed by Todd David, former executive director of the Housing Action Coalition and one of the main forces behind the school board recalls.
David is also behind the recently-launched Abundant SF, a group planning to spend millions on local races to elect pro-housing, pro-transit candidates.
This spending is part of that effort, and David said the DCCC slate came together largely focused on “public safety, affordable housing, and better public education.”
Coordinated, well-heeled effort may flounder in face of name recognition
Money, however, is not everything in the DCCC race, according to political consultants.
The progressive slate has a seeming advantage: It is stacked with incumbent and former politicos, like District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, Public Defender Mano Raju, former District 11 Supervisor John Avalos, former District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim, former District 1 Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, former District 4 Supervisor Gordon Mar and others who sit or have sat on various city committees and commissions.
The oppositional slate, less so. District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey and District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani are running, alongside former District 2 Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier and others — but not many as familiar as the progressives.
“The moderates, despite the money they spend, haven’t had a lot of big names interested in running for this,” said David Latterman, a retired political consultant on the moderate side. “I just got my first mail piece like yesterday and I’m looking at these people, and I don’t recognize many of them.”
“Look at the progressive side, they have a bunch of elected officials and former elected officials,” said a current San Francisco consultant, who has historically worked with moderate candidates. “The moderates have not typically valued the DCCC in terms of putting people up.”
To voters scanning dozens of names on a ballot, familiarity is paramount — and the progressives have the clear advantage there, consultants said.
David, for his part, acknowledged the importance of name recognition in a race like this, but said the slate could do well when residents’ dissatisfaction is at all-time highs. “Voters in San Francisco right now are frustrated with the status quo.”
Still, the race is deeply down-ticket, an insider’s affair that usually only attracts those paying the closest attention to San Francisco politics. The voters who turn out to off-cycle March elections, historically less than half of the city’s electorate, are the half that cares most about local politics and may have already made up their minds.
“Big names counteract big money,” Latterman said. “Sometimes you just can’t throw money at it.”
Donors are familiar tech backers
The Families PAC is being underwritten by deep-pocketed but familiar names to San Francisco campaign finance: Chris Larsen, the billionaire founder of cryptocurrency exchange Ripple, Emmett Shear, the founder of streaming platform Twitch, Jeffrey and Erica Lawson, recently-departed CEO of cloud communications firm Twilio and his wife. All have donated between $37,500 and $150,000.
Abundant SF’s parent organization, Abundance Network, whose previous name was Effective Government, set up the Families PAC, said David. The nonprofit has so far given more than $50,000 towards the political action committee through “non-monetary” contributions, largely staff time.
Other large donors to the Families PAC include investor John Jersin ($22,500) and his entrepreneur wife Erica Johnson ($20,000), one-time supervisorial candidate and millionaire Nick Josefowitz ($10,000), founder of Code for America and Obama’s deputy chief technology officer Jennifer Pahlka ($10,000) and Y Combinator partner Gustaf Alströmer ($7,500).
The Families PAC is the fourth highest-earning committee in San Francisco as of Feb. 6, according to campaign filings, having received at least $473,739.
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https://missionlocal.org/2024/02/tech-backed-pac-is-biggest-spender-in-dccc-race/
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