Harris to close PACs, donate leftover money
WASHINGTON — Vice Presidentelect Kamala Harris is dissolving her political fundraising committees as she prepares for her inauguration with Presidentelect Joe Biden on Jan. 20, and will give the leftover money to California charities.
The dollar totals left in the accounts are far less than the tens of millions Harris raised as a candidate, most of which was spent on her unsuccessful run for president. But her decision to close the accounts, shared exclusively with The Chronicle, also leaves Harris with no active fundraising PACs of her own — a signal to those who question whether her focus will be on a 2024 presidential campaign of her own rather than a Biden reelection.
Harris will donate the roughly $ 60,000 left in the accounts of her Senate campaign committee and a separate political action committee to
three charities. She intends to close her presidential campaign committee as well, but cannot do so until a complaint filed against it with the Federal Election Commission is resolved.
The California Democrat is distributing $ 20,000 to each of the three charities she selected, according to her transition staff. She picked organizations that have been especially valuable amid the pandemic, her staff said.
In the Bay Area, Harris will donate to Bananas, a resource to help families access child care. The organization serves families and providers in Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, Piedmont, Emeryville and Alameda. Harris is an East Bay native.
The group has the top score possible on Charity Navigator, which assesses how much money a charity spends supporting its mission versus on administrative costs.
In Central California, Harris will donate to the UFW Foundation, affiliated with the United Farm Workers labor group. The foundation works primarily with immigrant farm workers, many of whom are undocumented, to offer financial and legal support. During the coronavirus pandemic, it also has distributed meals and personal protective equipment. It also has the highest score available on Charity Navigator.
Harris has a long history with UFW. The group, established in 1962 by liberal organizing icons Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and Gilbert Padilla, endorsed Harris during the Democratic presidential primary, and Huerta personally endorsed Harris as well.
In Southern California, Harris will donate to Homeboy Industries. The Los Angeles group helps formerly ganginvolved and incarcerated people reenter society through job training and support. It also has a long history with Harris; it was a partner in her efforts to expand the Back on Track reentry program she pioneered as San Francisco district attorney.
She has known Homeboy’s founder, the Rev. Gregory Boyle, since her time as district attorney from 2004 to 2010. The group also has a high score on Charity Navigator.
Harris had roughly $ 200,000 left in her presidential campaign account at the end of September, records show. She intends to close the account once the complaint involving it is resolved. Harris’ staff did not specify how much of the $ 200,000 remains, nor where it will be donated.
The complaint alleges that a Nevada organization that supports undocumented immigrants brought to the U. S. as children provided “a thing of value” to her presidential candidacy because the founder, Astrid Silva, met with her during the campaign. The complaint is not expected to result in any federal penalties or findings of wrongdoing against Harris.