Tech, Business, & Landlords In SD10

According to recent campaign finance filings, technology companies are hoping to influence the next election for Senate District 10. SD 10, which covers Hayward in the north down to Santa Clara and Sunnyvale in the south, will be vacated by Aisha Wahab as she runs for the House of Representatives. At the same time, the district boundaries were adjusted slightly in 2024 and encompasses more area in Silicon Valley.

Tech Company Support

The new district lines, combined with other factors, appears to have encouraged technology companies to spend big money to thumb the scale in the SD 10 race. The spending has been huge, over $2,000,000 has been spent in support of Scott Sakakihara, with much of the money coming from Uber and Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

Meta has created the Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across (Meta) California PAC, seeding it with $20,000,000, according to TransparencyUSA. Of that, over $600,000 has been spent on digital ads and mailers support Scott Sakakihara for SD 10.

Uber and Meta alone have spent over $1,600,000 in support of Sakakihara. Since they are Independent Expenditures, which means they are not coordinating with the campaign directly, it is unclear why they are supporting Sakakihara. However, Sakakihara has deep ties to Silicon Valley tech, having spent much of his career at Palantir, owned by tech billionaire Peter Thiel.

Palantir is a technology surveillance firm which, among other things, is connected to the Israeli government, ICE, and a number of government surveillance contracts. Sakakihara has attempted to distance himself from his time at Palantir, but it's possible that Silicon Valley tech firms are backing him because they think he will be a sympathetic legislator in Sacramento.

Business Owners Against Kepner

Further support for Sakakihara and against Kepner comes from a multitude of pro-business and pro-landlord PACs. "Californians for Consumer Protection Against Anne Kepner for SD10" is an Independent Expenditure Committee that is primarily funded by Californians for Jobs and a Strong Economy and California Alliance of Family Owned Businesses--together dropping around $500,000 on the effort.

Californians for Jobs and a Strong Economy, according to TransparencyUSA, appears to be a collection of business interests, including Prologis (a real estate and logistics company), energy companies like PG&E, Edison, Sempra Energy, and Chevron, pharmaceutical companies (through Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association of America PAC), and law enforcement PACs like Peace Officers Research Association of California PAC, California Correctional Peace Officers Association PAC, and California Association of Highway Patrolmen PAC.

This group appears to spend a lot of money opposing what appear to be progressive candidates across the state. This includes Fatima Iqbal-Zubair in AD65, Ana Palacio in AD35, and Anne Kepner in SD 10.

Meanwhile, the California Alliance of Family Owned Businesses appears to be funded by a PAC that is primarily supported by owners of large franchises of McDonalds restaurants in Southern California. RLMK, Desert Gate Management (which appears to have connections to the McDonalds Operators Association of Southern California), and Nicwil-Alondra which appears to own at least one McDonalds Restaurant. The group has opposed the minimum wage increase for fast food workers and the News section appears to only highlight McDonalds franchisees.

These groups have, in total, spent over $400,000 against Kepner in this primary season alone.

Land Owners Against Kepner

Kepner is also opposed by the California Apartment Association, which is one of the largest organizations supporting landlords throughout California. They have opposed rent control in multiple cities, including Redwood City and Oakland, as well as eviction moratoriums in places like Alameda.

The Californians for Consumer Protection Against Anne Kepner PAC also spent money on research from a group called Keep California Golden. This group says it advocates for pro-business policies and job growth, but it is funded by the California Association of REALTORS, the Alliance of California Farmers and Ranchers, and the California Building Industry Association.

It's likely that these pro-business groups are against Kepner due to her history as a personal injury and consumer protection lawyer.

Why Are They Spending So Much?

Local elections, especially Hayward, have largely been free of huge outside spending like this. But this State Senate race has proven to be much more expensive than prior elections. It's especially strange considering it's only a primary race. But that may be part of the point.

With how elections happen in California, if a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the primary then they win outright and there is no election in November. This is frequently how seats with large districts in Alameda County, like the Board of Supervisors or the County Board of Education, remain in incumbent hands for years on end. Incumbents either run unopposed or use their influence to dominate their competition which has only had a few months to really get a campaign started.

This may be the strategy with the SD 10 race. If Sakakihara can receive more than 50% of the votes in a low-turnout primary during a low-turnout election year, then there will be no need to spend in November. But with six candidates in the race, that makes it more difficult for any one candidate to cross that threshold.

The results of this race will undoubtedly determine how many more mailers, TV, and digital ads we'll be seeing in November and whether tech will have another friendly face in Sacramento.

New Zine Comin' Atcha!

The newest issue of the Hayward herald Zine is at the printer and we wanted to give you a little sneak-peek at the cover. The cover art is from Louis "Big Lou" Jiminez and the zine itself will feature stories from the last few months, edited for the format, as well as art from local artists, photographs from around the city, and more!

We'll be selling zines at some local retailers, which we'll reveal when the time comes. We'll also be selling the zines in an online store, as well. But, for those who are members, you can get a free zine if you subscribe. Support our work and get a free piece of physical Hayward news for free!