The Richmond District is Not For Sale
By Sandra Lee Fewer
On April 9th, I officially kicked off my campaign for District 1 Supervisor at Sutro Elementary, the school I went to as a girl. My headquarters was my garage, and campaign contributions came from friends and neighbors. Mine would be a grassroots campaign focused on the issues most important to ordinary Richmond District residents.
Since then, my campaign has grown and remains true to my values as a grassroots candidate. But my candidacy is threatening to big money interests, and it is distressing to see that corporate tech money is being poured into this 10-person race. One candidate alone has received more than $400,000 in backing. Clearly, these big money interests want to buy this neighborhood election and the big prize that goes to the winner, a seat at City Hall.
Sometimes called “Dark Money”, these third-party contributions can be unlimited, and corporations and political operatives know how to use them to their advantage. This money is hard to trace, particularly for the average voter. Large sums of money, far beyond the standard $500 campaign contribution limit for individuals, often pass through several political action committees before being used to support a candidate.
As an example: This election Airbnb contributed $900,000 to the Committee to Expand the Middle Class, which in turn contributed to a committee called Progress San Francisco. To date, Progress SF has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from companies like Salesforce and Airbnb. That money was then given to San Franciscans for a City that Works, another independent committee, and the Robert F. Kennedy Democratic Club, created last February in time for the November election. The final destination of hundreds of thousands of these funds: support for a candidate for District 1 Supervisor. (Click on the links to follow the money.)
In the interest of complete transparency, Marjan Philhour and I are the only two candidates for whom there is outside spending. Voters should know that these campaign committees, also called independent expenditures, are prohibited from any type of coordination or communication with the actual candidates’ campaigns.
Of the $439,000 in outside spending for Marjan Philhour, 90 percent has come from two of the committees listed above. In contrast, a total of $28,000 has been spent on my behalf by: the labor union SEIU 1021; the SF Democratic Party; and a community/labor coalition called SF Tenants and Families for Affordable Housing.
These big money interests have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on television commercials and digital advertising. They have spent money on polls smearing my name. I’ve been forced to prove my Chinese heritage and to defend my School Board record. Recently, I was accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions from School District employees, a charge found baseless by the City Attorney and the Ethics Commission. Unfortunately with this big corporate spending, Richmond District voters have witnessed a sharp increase in negative campaigning.
Corporate money is lining up on my opponent’s side. It’s clear that they will spend and do whatever it takes to smear my name, and buy your vote and this neighborhood election. But for me, serving children and families has been my life’s work. For three decades I have worked hard for my community as an active public school parent, a 12-term PTA President, a community organizer running workshops on parent rights, and currently as a member of the San Francisco Board of Education. My whole life I have spoken truth to power, and now it is time for you to do the same by voting on November 8th.
Join our team and tell these corporate special interests that the Richmond District is not for sale! Sign up here to get involved.
