Winners in political fund race emerging
S.F. candidates begin to report contributions
With less than a year to go before the June 2018 primary, some winners are emerging in San Francisco’s political fundraising race.
The big showdown next June is the contest to represent District Eight’s Castro and Noe Valley neighborhoods. Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, a moderate appointed by Mayor Ed Lee to fill the seat Scott Wiener vacated when he was elected to the state Senate, is trying to fend off a challenge from City College of San Francisco Trustee Rafael Mandelman, a progressive who would tip the balance of the board.
So far, Sheehy is in the lead, with $105,414 in contributions compared with Mandelman’s $88,790. Among Sheehy’s supporters are tech lobbyist Alex Tourk, pro-development housing activist Todd David and Lee’s former senior adviser, Tony Winnicker. Mandelman has backing from Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, former Supervisor David Campos and tenants rights advocate Dean Preston. Two other candidates, Meaghan Zore and Harold Brown, did not submit campaign statements.
The race to represent San Francisco’s downtown District Six — a checkerboard of rapidly
developing neighborhoods stretching from the Tenderloin to Mission Bay — has pitted “Yes In My Backyard” housing activist Sonja Trauss against Jason Lee Jones, a barista who lives in the Tenderloin.
Trauss, who got an early endorsement from Wiener, has set up a committee for her bid to succeed Supervisor Jane Kim, who will be termed out next year. But neither she nor Jones submitted financial statements Monday. Progressive legislative aide Sunny Angulo and social justice-oriented Board of Education member Matt Haney are also widely considered to be in the running, though neither has filed candidate’s papers.
Board of Education President Shamann Walton raised $30,210 for his bid to succeed District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen. He drew support from philanthropist Daniel Lurie and Public Utilities Commission General Manager Harlan Kelly. His challenger, south Potrero neighborhood activist Uzuri PeaseGreene, formed a committee but did not report any contributions.
Bayview resident Theo Ellington, who works in communications for the Golden State Warriors, said Tuesday that he is also considering a run for Cohen’s seat.
Incumbent Supervisor Katy Tang of the Sunset has raised $20,000 so far to keep her District Four seat, with donations from the Teamsters and other unions. Several real estate agents also chipped in money. Tang, a moderate, is best known as the architect of San Francisco’s new density law, which allows developers to build taller structures in exchange for making 30 percent of the units affordable.
Tang’s opponents Adam Kim and Daniel Kappler did not turn in statements.
Media startup founder Schuyler Hudak raised $39,020 for her bid to take the seat Supervisor Mark Farrell will leave open in District Two, which includes the Marina and Cow Hollow. Many of her contributions came from tech workers and venture capitalists. BART board Director Nick Josefowitz is a rumored contender for the seat, though he has not officially declared his candidacy.
There are six candidates for three seats on San Francisco’s Board of Education. Three of them — Josephine Zhao, Armand Domalewski, and Leah Pimentel — have formed committees but not reported any campaign contributions.
Mission Bay resident Angeles Roy did not report any donations to her campaign for a seat on the Community College Board, and the city’s assessor-recorder, Carmen Chu, did not submit any filings for her campaign to stay in office.
The 2019 mayor’s race also started early, when veteran politician Mark Leno grabbed headlines by filing papers in May. So far Leno has amassed $166,397, giving himself an edge over several rumored challengers: Supervisors Farrell and Breed, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, Lurie and state Assemblyman David Chiu are all expected to jockey for the open seat when Lee is termed out, though none of them is officially in the running.
Leno’s backers include Supervisor Aaron Peskin, Planning Commissioner Dennis Richards, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, former Assemblyman Fabian Núñez, BART board Director Bevan Dufty and Mandelman.
Eight other candidates have submitted papers to run, but none of them filed financial statements in time to meet Tuesday’s midnight deadline.