A new political action committee active in lobbying against pro-worker state bills is turning towards San Francisco: The group is spending handsomely to back supervisors Alan Wong and Stephen Sherrill in their June races.
As of May 20, the PAC, the political arm of the statewide group California Alliance of Family-Owned Businesses has spent $66,000 to boost Wong in District 4 and another $52,000 for Sherrill in District 2.
The committee can take in and spend unlimited amounts in support of its favored candidates. California Alliance of Family-Owned Businesses was created in 2024 to advocate for business owners who operate franchises like McDonald’s, according to its website.
The PAC’s top donors are franchise groups across California, including one that runs about a dozen McDonald’s stores in Central Valley, and two others that operate McDonald’s locations near Los Angeles and in Palm Desert.
The group was formed by such franchisees, specifically those who fought a California law that increased the state minimum wage for fast-food chain restaurants to $20 in 2024.
Most recently, the California Alliance group objected to the Know Your Rights Act, which requires employers to give workers written notice of their rights. The organization also opposed a bill to limit workplace surveillance, and another that allows employees up to five unpaid days to attend immigration appointments.
Wong, who touts his experience as a labor organizer and received support from some construction unions, is now backed by a group that has rallied against worker protections and wage increases. Candidates have no controls over independent expenditure committees and are not allowed to coordinate with them.
Wong and his campaign did not respond to requests for comment, but Wong has addressed third-party PAC spending on his behalf in the past: He is also benefiting from $881,000 PAC support, including from a group of Mayor Daniel Lurie allies that took a quarter-million check from a MAGA megadonor.
“There’s a lot of interest in the outside independent expenditures,” Wong said when asked about PAC spending at a Mission Local forum back in April. “I encourage people to look at my record of service rather than who they see as outside spenders.”
“I think it’s fair to say that Alan has broken away from seeking union support,” said Kim Tavaglione, executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council. The council endorsed Natalie Gee, one of Wong’s opponents. The Building and Construction Trades Council, the city’s other umbrella labor group, is neutral in the District 4 race.
Tavaglione had nothing to say about Sherrill; labor unions are not involved in the District 2 race.
Sherrill’s campaign pointed to his union backing from SEIU 87, the firefighters union, Teamsters and the Building and Construction Trades Council. “By law, the campaign has no connection to these independent expenditures,” the campaign wrote in a statement.
At least part of the group’s spending was for two 15-second social-media videos promoting Wong and Sherrill.
The one for Wong opens with a photo of him as a teenager with a voiceover.
“He knows our community and has served the Sunset his entire life,” the narrator said. “As supervisor, he is working to help small businesses and keep our streets safe and clean.”
A similar video for Sherrill said, “Supervisor Sherrill knows that a city that gets the basics right is a city that thrives. For him, no problem is too big, and no task is too small.”
Wong gained major labor support in 2024 when he ran for re-election to the City College Board, including from the San Francisco Labor Council, SEIU Local 1021 and others. This, however, didn’t portend that Wong would do well with labor today.
In his present bid to retain his supervisor seat, Wong’s labor backing is much spottier, although he has received endorsements from the Teamsters, SEIU 2015 and some other building trades.
The California Alliance of Family Owned Businesses has funded other PACs across the state, including in the Bay Area, to back local candidates before.
The group in 2024 put $800,000 into a PAC named A Better Bay Area that mostly supported candidates in Oakland and San Jose, including spending about $89,000 to boost Oakland mayoral candidate Loren Taylor against Barbara Lee.
It gave $5,000 in 2024 to an independent expenditure committee supporting Daniel Lurie, and $500 to District 9 also-ran Trevor Chandler’s campaign, but both donations were voided.
It has given to both Republicans and Democrats in previous elections. It contributed $100,000 to the California Republican Party in 2024, but also $95,000 to the California Democratic Party.
Alan Wong is exactly what the people hate about politics. He should have to take his meals to-go. Shameful tool.
If you want to say “fuck you” to your boss and start a small business to compete, minimum wage laws make it harder to do so. Minimum wage protects lazy people while hurting the hardest workers. They have to pay the best employees less money.
You must be really fun to talk to at parties, John