Leila Darwiche, Sriharsha Devulapalli
Oct. 29, 2022 (SFChronicle.com)
San Francisco’s ballot measures and candidates for office have received over $13 million in funding this election cycle, according to a Chronicle analysis of data from the San Francisco Ethics Commission.
Nearly 80% of that money went to the 14 local propositions San Francisco residents will vote on come the Nov. 8 general election. The candidates raising the most money have been for the Board of Supervisor races for District 4 and District 6 based on filings submitted by Oct. 27.
The following charts show exactly where the money supporting each of the propositions and the candidates for District Attorney and the Board of Supervisors. Propositions are listed in order of how much money they have received thus far, with the exception propositions I and J, which we’ve chosen to highlight first. The analysis didn’t include any propositions where there was one donor or any uncontested races.
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Propositions I & J
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city closed portions of JFK Drive to allow for more outdoor spaces where residents could social distance. In April, the Board of Supervisors voted 7-4 to keep the street closed which would be codified through Prop. J. However, some groups are hoping for a reopening and petitioned for Prop. I to be put on the ballot, which would reverse the pandemic closure. If both measures pass with more than 50% of the vote, the measure that receives the most votes becomes law.
The biggest supporters of Prop. I are the Fine Arts Museums and Diane “Dede” Wilsey, who donated $400,000 and $200,000, respectively. That’s over 40% of all donations to the two measures. The biggest supporter of Prop. J is Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, who donated $300,000 to keep JFK Drive open.https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2022/props-donors/
Proposition D & E
There are two housing measures on the ballot, Prop. D and E, intended to address San Francisco’s housing affordability crisis. Prop. D, which is supported by Mayor London Breed, would speed up housing project approval for projects that are 100% affordable, are mostly market-rate but have 15% more units below-market-rate than required under affordability mandates, or are for teachers. Prop. E proposes a different set of measures for fast tracking housing projects. Between the two, the one with the most votes will go into effect.
Prop. D has had the most money donated out of any contest on the ballot, with donations of $2.4 million. That’s almost 20% of all donations. The biggest backer is Ripple Labs, a cryptocurrency tech company, who donated $250,000 to the ballot measure.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/3LQDc/9/
Prop. E has around a third of the monetary support of Prop. D. Many of the big supporters are local construction and electrical worker unions.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/B6jSu/7/
Proposition L
This measure would retain the 0.5% sales tax that funds transportation projects for the next 30 years. Additionally, the transportation authority would be permitted to issue $1.19 billion in bonds with repayment from the tax revenue. Unlike other measures, this measure needs a two-thirds majority to pass.
No one has donated in opposition to the measure. Its biggest backers are Salesforce, which donated $150,000, and worker unions and organizations. It was the third most donated to measure on the ballot this year.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/KTdXL/5/
Proposition O
This measure would add a parcel tax on landowners to help support the City College of San Francisco, who’s financial struggles led to 38 layoffs in May.
Since the campaign opposing Prop. O was bundled with the campaign opposing Prop. M, the money is shown in reference to both measures.
The biggest supporters were teachers unions and organizations. The top two donors, Service Employees International Union and American Federation of Teachers, donated 80% of the money in support.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/MkYC1/4/
Proposition M
This measure incentivizes landlords to fill vacant units by imposing a tax on vacant units. It’s another attempt at addressing San Francisco’s housing issues alongside Prop. D and Prop. E.
Many of those in opposition to the measure are apartment owner and realtor organizations. A campaign against this measure and Prop. O has raised over $750,000, which is more than the support for the two campaigns combined. Supporters include Supervisor Dean Preston who proposed the measure, as well as the Tenants and Owners Development Corporation (TODCO).https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/RqtuX/5/
Proposition C
The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing is the largest city department without an oversight committee, which this measure seeks to add.
Philanthropist Dede Wilsey and fuel servicer Double AA each donated $50,000 in support of the measure. A total of $580,000 has been donated to the measure, none of which has been in opposition.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/HZX27/3/
Proposition B
In 2020, San Franciscans voted to split up the Public Works department and create a specialized department for street cleaning. This year, they’ll vote on its reversal with this measure.
Many of the donors against the 2022 proposition are labor unions like Laborers Local 261. Former San Francisco Supervisor and now State Assembly Member Matt Haney, who championed the 2020 proposition, contributed $15,000 in opposition. The supporters of the proposition are developers like Boston Properties and Hudson Pacific.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/x6MOB/6/
Proposition A
This proposition would supplement benefits for those who retired prior to Nov. 6, 1996 and eliminate the requirement for the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System to be fully funded before providing supplemental benefits.
No one donated in opposition to the proposition, and its main contributors are local unions and worker organizations. Michael Hebel, a former police captain and member of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, was the largest individual donor, giving $7,000 in support.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/w0LrG/3/
Proposition H
In hopes of capitalizing on greater voter turnout for a presidential election, this measure would move the city’s mayoral race to presidential election years. If Prop. H passes, Mayor London Breed would serve an extra year this term.
The measure’s biggest donor is Supervisor Dean Preston, who donated $50,000 in support. Though 84% of the money to the measure was in its support, Chris Larsen of Ripple Labs was the one major opposition donor.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/k89R9/4/
Proposition G
Prop. G would direct $60 million in excess property tax revenue to San Francisco public schools every year. Schools would be able to gain access to the money through $1 million grants.
This contest has significantly less funding than other ballot measures with around $80,000 raised. The largest donor is Salesforce which donated $50,000 to support Prop. G. Salesforce’s CEO Marc Bennioff has donated over $110 million to Bay Area public schools over the last decade.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/EHlb3/3/
District Attorney
After San Franciscans recalled Chesa Boudin, Mayor Breed appointed Brooke Jenkins to replace him as District Attorney. Residents will now have the opportunity to elect a replacement themselves. As it stands, Jenkins has received $100,000 more than her opponents.
Jenkins has a larger share of San Franciscan donors than her two opponents, with 73% of her donors having San Francisco addresses. Hamasaki and Veronese have shares between 50% and 60%.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/t1PDu/3/
District Four: Board of Supervisors
This race in the Sunset District between incumbent Gordon Mar and Joel Engardio is the second most donated to candidate race. While both campaigns have similar levels of individual contributions, Mar has two times the amount of the political committee support. Historically, incumbents are favored to win in San Francisco Board of Supervisor races.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/LmIvW/7/
District Six: Board of Supervisors
Four candidates face off in District Six, which now covers the South of Market and Mission Bay neighborhoods. The two candidates with the most donations are Matt Dorsey, who was appointed by Mayor Breed, and Honey Mahogany, a top aide of Dorsey’s predecessor. Mahogany has received more individual donations, edging out Dorsey, and also received more PAC money.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/a1Gjr/6/
District Eight: Board of Supervisors
Rafael Mandelman, the District Eight incumbent, has received $284,000 to Kate Stoia’s $24,000. Mandelman also received money in support of his campaign from former Supervisor Matt Haney and Supervisor Connie Chan.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/hQ8vp/5/
District 10: Board of Supervisors
Shamann Walton, the current president of the Board of Supervisors has received $129,400 to $4,400 for Brian Adams. Supervisors Dean Preston, Matt Hanet, Connie Chan and Aaron Peskin gave money to Walton’s re-election campaign.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/C6AGv/5/
Leila Darwiche is a San Francisco Chronicle data intern and Harsha Devulapalli is a San Francisco Chronicle graphics reporter. Email: leila.darwiche@sfchronicle.com
