It’s 12 days until the primary on June 2, and there’s a lot of election news: billionaires and business groups dropping six-figure sums on local races, candidates dropping seven-figure sums into their own races, and Jeopardy-themed flyers landing in mailboxes, among many, many others items.
Mission Local is starting a pre-election blog for these small(ish) pieces of news, and we’re starting with something rather large: Sergey Brin, the Google co-founder whose turn to the right — and “MAGA girlfriend” — the New York Times recently profiled, has made his first foray into San Francisco politics.
Brin dropped half a million to tank the union-backed “Overpaid CEO tax.”
The campaign against that tax was already flush: It had raised some $4.1 million when Mission Local last published a fundraising update just two weeks ago, and its total is now over $6 million.
Brin is not the only one:
- Amazon contributed $150,000 on May 20. That’s on top of $50,000 contributed earlier in February.
- Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, the group we once referred to as the 800-pound gorilla of San Francisco politics, put in $550,000 on May 12. In total the group has given $860,000 against Prop. D
- “SF Believes,” a PAC funded by Mayor Daniel Lurie’s wealthy allies that counts a MAGA megadonor among its financiers, has put in $100,000.
- Target chipped in $50,000.
- And Katherine Auguste-deWilde, the former president of the now defunct First Republic bank, donated $50,000.
Read more about why the mayor opposes both Prop. C and Prop. D, where virtually every other elected official stands on Prop. D, and what other measures are on the ballot.
In other election news:
Congressional candidate and centimillionaire Saikat Chakrabarti spent another $1.1 million on his campaign, at least. That brings his total self-financing to at least $5.9 million. By Thursday evening, we’ll know more: that’s the next congressional campaign finance filing deadline.
While Nancy Pelosi endorsed Chakrabarti’s opponent, District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, on Monday, Chakrabarti had his own endorsement to tout this week: Rashida Tlaib, U.S. representative for Michigan’s 12th District and longtime member of the “Squad,” endorsed Chakrabarti’s campaign.
Finally, we wrote this week on how corruption allegations that surfaced regarding District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill’s appointment are not making waves among district voters, not yet at least.