San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Ultra-wealthy pour money into battle over Boudin recall
Money from ultra-wealthy political donors, many who’ve made their fortunes in the tech industry, is pouring into the battle to unseat San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin as the dueling campaigns enter a critical stretch.
To date, nine weeks away from the June 7 election, the recall camp has a huge financial advantage, generating more than $2.7 million in donations, versus $1.05 million contributed to the two groups supporting Boudin.
By far the most impassioned and embittered grounds for debate are rooted in what Boudin — among the most progressive prosecutors in the nation — is or isn’t doing about crime in San Francisco. But Boudin’s supporters said some donors plunging money into the recall effort were motivated by Boudin’s clashes with gig economy companies over worker classification issues.
Boudin is also receiving support from wealthy, tech-connected donors. And several tech investors seeking to oust Boudin from office said their financial support was intended as an expression of their beliefs that Boudin’s approach to criminal justice was making San Francisco less safe, rather than a material interest in the companies they support.
Among the wealthy investors helping to funnel money to recall Boudin is investor Ron Conway, a tech industry investor and political fundraiser. In an email around the holidays, Conway painted a dire picture of San Francisco — a city that he said was in the clutches of a crime wave with “record highs” in its homicides, assaults and burglaries. San Francisco crime data shows that overall violent and property crime rates are lower than they have been in recent years and in previous decades, though homicides have increased and burglaries have spiked since the pandemic began.
Conway wrote, “now is not the time to throw up our hands and walk away from the needs of our beloved city.”
Conway followed up with an urgent call to action, asking the email’s recipients to contribute to the recall campaign of District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Those unable to donate to political campaigns, the email added, could instead contribute to an organization called Neighbors for a Better San Francisco Advocacy — a super PAC that has to date funneled $1.8 million into the recall effort, according to the city’s Ethics Department.
Campaign finance records to date show that Conway has not personally donated to the recall effort. But as a local rainmaker in city politics, Conway is known for rallying support behind moderate Democrats and pro-tech causes behind the scenes.
Conway was also an early investor in DoorDash, an online food-delivery company that Boudin sued in 2020.
Along with the home repair company Handy, DoorDash is one of the two gig-economy firms that San Francisco prosecutors said were violating state law by classifying their workers as independent contractors instead of employees. This law, AB5, drew the ire of tech giants like Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, who pumped a record $200 million into a 2020 campaign to carve out exemptions for themselves.
Reclassifying gig workers as employees, which could afford
Philanthropist Ron Conway is among the wealthy investors spending big on the battle to recall S.F.’s district attorney.
them access to a range of benefits such as company-sponsored health insurance, would be costly for companies.
While voters approved AB5, the topic is still being fought in court. The district attorney’s suits against DoorDash and Handy are still pending.
“Of course I support the recall of Chesa Boudin, along with San Franciscans from every background and every neighborhood, because he’s incompetent as District Attorney and makes our beloved city less safe every day he remains in office,” Conway said in an email to The Chronicle.
“As a native San Franciscan, grandfather, and homeowner who cares deeply about the city and its future, these are my sole motivations to support his recall, and they’re reasons enough!” Conway wrote.
Gary Tan, a top donor who has sunk $100,500 into the recall effort, frequently weighs in on Boudin-related issues on social media, and blames the prosecutor for what he sees as a more dangerous city where Asians are frequently targeted for crime.
“I am sick of seeing my elders robbed, stabbed, and maimed,” Tan wrote in a recent Twitter post to his 238,000 followers.
Tan, an investor in the grocery delivery company Instacart, which also operates within the gig economy, denied that his
support for the recall was rooted in business interests. In an email to The Chronicle, Tan said the local government is “not taking care of or protecting its citizens.”
“I have respect for what Chesa Boudin is trying to accomplish, but I don’t believe he is doing his best to protect and ensure those who commit violent crimes are held accountable for victimizing the poor, the disadvantaged and the general public,” Tan wrote.
David Sacks, a partner at Craft Ventures and former PayPal executive, handed over $75,000 to the first recall campaign, Committee Supporting the Recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin, which failed to collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
“There are plenty of people in the (tech) industry who support Chesa Boudin, who support criminal justice reform and have deeply immersed themselves in this issue,” said Julie Edwards, a spokesperson for the campaign supporting Boudin.
“And then you do have people who may be involved in businesses who are subject to action by the office, who are being held accountable in a way that they don’t like.”
Corey Cook, a political scientist and professor at St. Mary’s College of California, said the issue was more complicated than that, and that it was often difficult to draw a direct line between any donor’s motivations and their support of a campaign. There could be philosophical motivations or material ones, he said, and they’re not always mutually exclusive, he said.
“It’s hard to tease out because those things are closely related,” Cook said. “The reason (Boudin) filed these lawsuits is reflective of how he operates as district attorney.”
The extent to which the political donations to date will affect the outcome of the race is difficult to measure. Recent polling by the recall team showed support for ousting Boudin was at 68%, while the anti-recall campaign reported different polling data that showed an even split at 44% yes, 44% no and 12% undecided.
Tech executives are also some of the biggest donors to the effort to keep Boudin in office. Chris Larsen, a technology executive and investor, pitched in $100,000. Jessica McKellar, the founder and chief technology officer of bookkeeping software service Pilot, donated $50,000.
McKellar wouldn’t speculate on why others in the technology sector supported the recall, but said the reasons they publicly state “don’t check out to me.”
“If you really care about health and safety, the District Attorney’s Office is not where you should be focusing your attention,” she said. “That’s largely not where crime reduction happens.”
McKellar said if recall supporters were truly interested in public safety, they would be passionate about the city budget, and investing in addiction support treatment, creating job opportunities and mental health treatment.
“If you want to elect a new person next time, fine. Go for it,” she said. “But please don’t waste even more money on a campaign that is clearly not about health and safety.”