Following The Money In Local Politics

The rise of money in politics is a well-known problem at the national level. The 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v Federal Elections Commission opened the floodgates on "independent spending" and re-affirming that political spending is protected as political speech. This has caused unprecedented political spending, even in typically cash-poor races.

Historically, even local House of Representatives races—especially those overlapping Hayward—have been fairly modest financially. But regional special interests are using their money to try to shape the political landscape of the Bay Area. With that in mind, today we're taking a look at campaign finance for some of our local, county, and statewide politicians.

Local Politics and Hayward Spending

City elections in smaller cities tend not to need much money. At its most expensive, $15,000 was enough to be competitive. You won't see TV ads for City Council candidates or the Mayor of Hayward. Most campaigns rely on mailers and door-knocking to drum up support.

Take Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas, as an example. He's running a citywide campaign and, according to campaign finance documents, he has just under $40,000 in the bank. That's more than enough to run a dominating campaign, even if he wasn't an incumbent. Since he doesn't need the money for campaigning—he has paid for lawn signs ($5,500) and print literature (~$5,500)—recent contributions mostly function as signals of support.

Mayor Salinas has raised $3,400 in contributions this year from other local political figures, ranging from HUSD School Board Trustees to Alameda County Supervisors to former and current Hayward politicians to members of the local NAACP. This can be a way to signal political alignment, even to those in a relatively safe seat.

However, Mayor Salinas also received $3,400 in contributions this year from business interests including real estate developers and realtors, but also refineries, investment groups, and a recycling company. The amounts are mostly in the $100-$200 range, but they do indicate a kind of political bond that is worth bearing in mind if/when he is Mayor for another four years.

All of this information can be found on the City of Hayward's NetFile website.

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County Politics Is Similar, But More Money

Elections for Alameda County Supervisor are, in my experience, sleepy affairs. Many times, the incumbent runs unopposed and is elected during the primary. This was the case with Alameda County Supervisor Elisa Marquez, who was appointed to fill the term of late-Supervisor Richard Valle. Mr. Valle had just been re-elected—also running unopposed—when he passed away from cancer he had been battling for some time.

With no opposition this year, Supervisor Marquez has still raised over $68,000 since April, with a median donation of $1,750. The majority of the money, $47,000, has come from labor unions like SEIU, Building and Construction Trades PAC, Carpenters, Teamsters, etc. While the contributions didn't have an impact on the election, they're signals of support from one of the most powerful sectors in the East Bay.

And though it was far smaller, contributions from current and former local elected officials were also present. Phong La's campaign and Sheriff Yesina Sanchez each contributed, along with retired educator and former Hayward City Council member Lawrence (Larry) Ratto. The final group appeared to be individual realtors and developers from around Alameda County, who have historically held a significant sway in local, regional, and state politics.

All of this information can be found on the Alameda County Registrar of Voters NetFile website.

Spending Big For State Senate

The bigger the race, the more money is needed to run a campaign. But our state legislature rarely gets the attention it deserves, especially this year. The State Senate District 10 Primary saw three different Democrats vying for a spot in the November election. An unprecedented amount of money was spent this year, and although the $5,000,000 spent by APIAC-aligned interests in support of Melissa Hernandez made national headlines, similar spending occurred in our State Senate race with much less coverage.

Scott Sakakihara will likely be succeeding Aisha Wahab in representing SD-10 in the state senate. But for context on the political spending, let's look at how much Wahab spent on her race in 2022. According to the spending summary, Wahab's campaign spent around $1,200,000. On top of that, around $1,300,000 was spent in support by Independent Expenditure Committees (IE's), most of which were labor unions like SEIU and AFSCME.

In contrast, Scott Sakakihara has, to date, loaned his campaign $1,250,000, most of which before the June primary, with an additional $25,000 donated by people who share his last name. Early in his campaign, most of his contributions came from individual supporters—some aligned politicians like Elisa Marquez and some who are likely close friends like a donor who also works at Palantir Technologies. The remainder came from labor unions and AAPI-aligned PACs like Japanese American Legacy PAC.

But he didn't need to spend his own money during that time, because tech-backed IEs spent almost $4,000,000 to support him. Uber Innovation PAC, Grow California, Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across (META) California, Keep California Golden, and Advance California (Sponsored by the California Apartment Association) spent enormous sums in support of his campaign. Grow California has ties to Garry's List, Timothy Draper, and Chris Larsen—tech billionaires and venture capitalists. META is, obviously, sponsored by Meta, parent company of Facebook. Keep California Golden is funded by real estate interests, Phillip-Morris, and Anheuser Busch. Business interests in tech and real estate wanted to see Sakakihara win.

But even after winning the primary, the fundraising continues. Like smaller races, the money isn't needed to win given the political makeup of the district. But since the June primary, Sakakihara's campaign has received around $35,000 from gambling interests including Kalshi, California Cardroom Alliance PAC, Player's Edge, and Casino M8rix.

At the same time, at least two health insurance companies, Tenent Healthcare Corporation and Centene and Its Affiliate Health Net, have donated to the candidate running on "universal healthcare." Sakakihara, however, has yet to support Medicare For All specifically, instead pledges to support existing structures, like the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Covered California, which funnel money to health insurers.

Worryingly, most large unions contributed to the Sakakihara campaign only after he won the primary. $107,000 has been contributed by the likes of SEIU, IBEW, Alameda Labor Council, PACE of California School Employees, and Building and Construction Trades Council. Given that Sakakihara has only spent around $1,200,000 this year, according to existing filings—all of which could have come from his own pocket—the money likely isn't needed for campaigning.

We reached out to the Scott Sakakihara For Senate 2022 campaign for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication. All of the information above is publicly available at the Cal-Access website for the California Secretary of State.

Money Isn't Just For Spending In Politics

Contributions aren't necessarily important in the way people may think. Money is necessary to run a campaign effectively and contributions are an important part of that. But, as we can see, even when it's not necessary for winning a campaign, people and organizations donate to campaigns as a way to forge a relationship. In our capitalist-heavy post-Citizens United world, political money is an important way which we, as the electorate, can see a network of connections between business interests and our representatives.

Scott Sakakihara's connections to gambling, healthcare, and technology interests are worth bearing in mind when he's voting on legislation that regulates these industries. Supervisor Elisa Marquez's financial connections to construction trades and political figures are important to consider when examining her policy stances. And Mayor Salinas's connections to industry groups, including real estate and an industrial recycling company, will be important if local legislation affecting those groups comes before the City Council.