S.J. mayor candidates raking in donations
June primary battle likely to be city’s most expensive race ever
With historic levels of donations pouring into San Jose’s mayoral race, newly released campaign reports reveal political newcomer Matt Mahan has raked in the most — much of it from development and real estate interests — while Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez came close behind after expanding her labor base to also tap big business dollars.
In what’s expected to be the most expensive race in San Jose history, the first campaign finance reports filed in the 2022 may- oral race show Mahan amassed $504,169 as of Dec. 31, Chavez $479,346, Councilmember Raul Peralez $267,548 and Councilmember Dev Davis $169,971.
While several prominent South Bay developers and real estate moguls, such as Gary Dillabough and Mark Tersini, each donated to three or more of the campaigns, candidates also tapped into their own individual bases.
Some of Mahan’s largest donors included real estate executives with Brandenburg Properties and developers like Jay Paul and John Sobrato. Mayor Sam Liccardo’s sister and father also each donated the maximum $1,400 to Mahan’s campaign, signaling who the mayor and his political action committee likely will endorse and financially back, though they have not yet made any official announcements.
Chavez, a longtime labor leader, appears to be getting a large boost thanks to the help of longtime Silicon Valley power couple Carl and Leslee Guardino. Some of Chavez’s biggest donors include Leslee Guardino’s public relations firm Canyon Snow Consulting and the company’s current or former clients such as the San Francisco 49ers, Glydways and Core Companies.
Mayoral candidates in San Jose’s June primary election were allowed to begin fundraising on Dec. 9. Contributions to their campaigns are limited to a total of $1,400 per person, corporation or nonprofit organization.
Mahan, a former tech entrepreneur, credits his fundraising lead to many grueling hours spent researching past campaign finance reports and cold-calling and emailing previous bigmoney donors for their support. In some cases, he acknowledged the mayor helped introduce him to several of those donors.
“I don’t think we had any huge advantage other than just being better organized and building a really big list,” he said. “I’m the only candidate in the race with extensive private sector experience and I have a credible plan for holding government accountable for producing results and I think that’s what people want right now.”
When asked about Guardino’s role in her fundraising efforts, Chavez said her campaign team had “a lot of help from a lot of people.”
In addition to some big-name corporations and developers, Chavez received support from labor groups like Working Partnerships USA and nonprofit organizations such as the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, the Asian Law Alliance and Asian Pacific American Leadership Foundation.
“I want to run a campaign the way I would lead a city — with everyone participating, So that’s why you see the business community and you see leaders from nonprofits, the labor movement and neighborhood leaders,” Chavez said. “There’s a seat for everyone at the table.”
Chavez’s contributions included $2,800 from members of the Bumb family, which owns Casino 101. City rules prohibit campaign donations from cardroom owners, executives and their spouses. When asked by this news organization about the Dec. 28 donations on Feb. 2, Chavez said she was unaware of the regulations, then later texted to say she was returning the money.
Peralez — who represents San Jose’s downtown core on the council and will be battling Chavez for support from the region’s labor organizations — hopes to close his fundraising gap over the coming months and garner endorsements from key organizations like the South Bay Labor Council and other South Bay Democrat groups. He says his position as the only candidate who supports laws that allow more than one home on single-family lots (SB 9) and grants noncitizens the right to vote will make him stand out from the rest of the field.
“I’m not as concerned about where that puts me in placing of fundraising of any given filing period,” Peralez said. “It’s really about ‘Do I have the ambition and resources to run a successful race?’ and the answer is yes.”
Davis, the fourth major candidate in the race, trails all three of her competitors in fundraising. Davis, who represents Willow Glen and the Rose Garden area on the council, has raised about a third of the funds Mahan has and would be competing against him for support from the city’s business faction.
“At this point, she has less money to spend, but also because it makes it harder to raise money when you’re falling behind,” said Terry Christensen, a professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State University.
But Davis says she remains confident and is “not basing” her campaign on fundraising.
“I didn’t have the help of any big interests in fundraising, so I wasn’t surprised at the top two,” she said. “I’m very clear on who I am and where I stand and I know that people are with me.”
Davis said she has seen a surge in support for her campaign following several stances in recent city council matters, including her opposition to granting city residents who are not citizens the right to vote and her opposition to the city’s historic gun insurance and fee mandate.
The most influential groups in South Bay politics have yet to announce which candidates they’re endorsing, but that hasn’t stopped them from raking in large sums of money in preparation.
Liccardo’s new political fundraising committee — called Common Good Silicon Valley — has raised $245,600 as of Dec. 31, according to its filing. The mayor’s chief of staff, Jim Reed, said the total amount has grown to about $400,000 after additional donations were collected last month. Some of the PAC’s biggest donors include development companies like Acquity Realty and SummerHill Homes.
The Silicon Valley Biz PAC, which is the only PAC at this point to announce its endorsements, has brought in $122,245. The business PAC has endorsed both Davis and Mahan for mayor.