{"id":21156,"date":"2022-01-20T12:37:58","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T20:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=21156"},"modified":"2022-01-20T12:40:50","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T20:40:50","slug":"who-is-funding-the-school-board-recall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/01\/20\/who-is-funding-the-school-board-recall\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is funding the school board recall?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pro-recall committees have raised 46 times more money than the anti-recall campaign, according to Ethics Commission data<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(First published June 19, 2021, 6 a.m.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In only a few short weeks, San Francisco voters will go to the polls to decide whether three elected members of the city\u2019s school board will keep their jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Board President Gabriela L\u00f3pez<\/a>, Commissioner Alison Collins<\/a>, and Commissioner Faauuga Moliga<\/a> will all be on the ballot on Feb. 15. Out of the seven members of the school board<\/a>, only those three were eligible to be recalled, as the other four had not served long enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaders of the recall insist that, had they been eligible, at least a few of the other commissioners would have been on the recall ballot as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Debate over the recall has been intense and, at times, polarizing. Supporters of the recall point toward the city\u2019s long school closures during the pandemic, the elimination of selective admission at Lowell High School and the attempt to rename 44 high schools during the pandemic<\/a> as evidence that the school board is unfit to serve. On the flip side, opponents say that the election is part of a wider pattern in which recalls of progressives are being funded by big money and right-wing activists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buckets of ink have been spilled by savvier commentators than me on the pros and cons of the school board in particular and recalls in general. Instead of wading into fraught ideological territory, let\u2019s take a look at one concrete indicator of how the election is shaping up: funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But first \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A note about the data<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As of this week, the San Francisco Ethics Commission data<\/a> shows donations up to Jan. 12, but it does not show all<\/em> donations. Thanks to baroque filing rules<\/a>, donations from mid-September to mid-November have not yet been declared. And, from November onward, donations of less than $1,000 are also left out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These gaps should be filled early next month, as all committees will be required to disclose donors from the past six months on Jan. 31. Until then, our data is incomplete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This all means that our analysis should be taken with a cautious asterisk. Nonetheless, the data currently available can still give us lots of insight into the recall campaign and can show us some of its biggest players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that caveat acknowledged, let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is funding the recall effort?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are two committees raising money in favor of the recall. The first is called Recall School Board Members Lopez, Collins, & Moliga, and was set up in February, 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The committee is run jointly by Siva Raj<\/a> and Autumn Looijen<\/a>. Raj has two children in public San Francisco schools, while Looijen\u2019s three children are in Los Altos. The pair, who moved to the city in December, 2020, came under some criticism for appearing on conservative commentator Glenn Beck\u2019s show<\/a> to promote the recall last March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second committee is called Concerned Parents Supporting The Recall Of Collins, Lopez, And Moliga, and was set up more recently. They began taking donations in late November, 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This committee is run by Todd David<\/a>, a public school parent and executive director of the advocacy group Housing Action Coalition<\/a>. David has been involved in several political causes in San Francisco: He was political director of the Scott Wiener\u2019s 2016 State Senate campaign, campaign manager for the 2016 campaign to secure Recreation and Parks funding, and a founding member of the San Francisco Parents PAC<\/a> in 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at the chart below to see who has been donating to each committee. The size of the circle indicates the size of the donation and the color indicates donors\u2019 occupations. Hover over each point for more information and use the search bar to find specific donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two committees in favor of the recall have raised almost $1.3 million between them<\/h2>\n\n\n\n