Moderates in supervisor races cash in
Independent groups are spending heavily on behalf of the moderate candidates in three close San Francisco supervisorial races.
Five of the 11 seats are up for election in November, and various groups want to shift the power on the Board of Supervisors, which is currently split six to five in favor of the more left-leaning supervisors.
Candidates have a $500 limit on contributions they can accept from any one source. But independent expenditure committees can take in unlimited contributions they can use to support or oppose candidates for office. That means those groups, which legally can’t coordinate their efforts with a candidate, often spend huge amounts of outside money on ads, mailers and other materials.
In District One, the Richmond District, independent groups have spent $160,737 on behalf of Marjan Philhour, who is running against Sandra Fewer. That’s as much money as Philhour’s own campaign has spent: $160,735.
That outside money comes from a range of donors. One of the biggest is Progress San Francisco, whose major backers include Facebook, Google and Airbnb. Building trade unions have also spent heavily on Philhour’s behalf.
But Fewer has raised
more campaign cash than Philhour and has more left in the bank. Fewer has spent $171,718 this calendar year and has $122,060 on hand. Philhour has $36,086 cash on hand.
Fewer and Philhour are the two leading candidates in that race, but other contenders are also spending heavily. David Lee has spent $88,952 and has $54,995 on hand. Jonathan Lyens has spent $47,521 and has $20,857 in the bank.
In District Nine, which includes the Mission District and Bernal Heights, moderate Josh Arce is also getting a big boost from outside groups — almost all of it from construction unions. They have provided $66,785 in independent expenditures on his behalf.
Out of his own campaign funds, Arce has spent $140,86 and has $82,112 on hand. Opponent Hillary Ronen has spent $227,784 and has $89,409 on hand.
By far, interest groups are pouring the most money into the Excelsior’s District 11 race between moderate Ahsha Safai and Kimberly Alvarenga.
The San Francisco firefighters union is behind most of the $161,265 in independent expenditures on behalf of Safai. The Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which represents city workers, has put $31,632 in independent expenditures on Alvarenga’s side.
Safai also has the monetary advantage in his own campaign account — but only by a little. Safai has spent $110,462 and has $113,318 cash on hand. Alvarenga has spent $89,142 and has $100,025.
Outside groups so far have stayed out of the supervisors’ races in Districts Five and Seven.
Board of Supervisors President London Breed is running for re-election in District Five, which includes the Fillmore, Western Addition, Haight-Ashbury, North of the Panhandle and Parnassus Heights. She has spent $210,382 this calendar year and has $83,960in the bank. Challenger Dean Preston has spent $172,335 and has $50,437 cash on hand.
Incumbent Norman Yee is running to keep his seat in District Seven, which includes West of Twin Peaks neighborhoods such as Forest Hill, West Portal and St. Francis Wood. He has spent $115,837 and has $38,811 left. Challenger Ben Matranga has spent $52,663 and has $82,747. Another challenger, Joel Engardio, has spent $21,759 and has $73,514 left.