Money talks in District 13

Perhaps most striking is the involvement by independent committees, which, by law, must act entirely outside the knowledge or authority of the candidates they are supporting. These committees have committed more than $1.2 million so far to this race.

Seven candidates — five Democrats, one Republican and one Libertarian — are running for the state Senate seat being vacated by Jerry Hill due to term limits: Former assemblywoman Sally Lieber, Burlingame Councilman Mike Brownrigg, Redwood City Vice Mayor Shelly Masur, nonprofit director Josh Becker, Millbrae Councilwoman Annie Oliva, and Republican Alex Glew, an engineer who owns his own firm. Libertarian John Webster is also running.

Much already has been made of the $460,000 independent expenditure on behalf of Brownrigg by his mother, Linda. Her money is going to TV ads and some associated research and polling. Little more than a week ago, renowned investor/entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, reported a $500,000 independent expenditure on behalf of Becker.

Meanwhile, the California Association of Realtors is spending more than $313,000 on Oliva, a Realtor.

BECKER: The other big slug of money is from the candidates, of course, led by Becker, who has raised more than $911,000 as of Jan. 18, the date of the latest finance reports. He has raised a large percentage — perhaps half — of his money from individuals with extensive ties to the tech industry, including top executives, venture capitalists and business founders and owners.

Becker says the donations are from in-district individuals — not corporations — many of whom, understandably, would be in the tech industry. Many of them are colleagues from 20 years of running the Full Circle Fund, a nonprofit that rallies corporations and their leaders behind community nonprofits. “Other candidates might have a higher percentage from special interests. I don’t,” he said. He also said he’s been the toughest in the race on tech, including calling on companies with 1,000 employees to pay for housing for every additional employee they hire. “The tech community needs to give back.”

BROWNRIGG: More than 40% of the $798,000 raised by Brownrigg is his own money — a $250,000 donation and another $100,000 in loans. It’s rare for a candidate to self-fund at such a level, and it was a conscious choice, Brownrigg said. “I decided early on that my efforts would be focused on talking to voters,” Brownrigg said. He has held no-cost events he calls “friend-raisers” rather than fundraisers. “I’ve met a thousand voters face to face because I haven’t been locked away in a room for hours raising money. … I think it’s best, given the issues at stake and the interests involved, if you can look the voters in the eye and say I am beholden to no special interest and I can say that.”

MASUR: Masur reported raising more than $400,000, and she said she has more than 730 individual donors. She said she has raised more than 70% of her funds from within the 13th District, a claim that appears borne out by a review of her finance reports. She also appears to be getting particularly strong support from women donors. Sacramento-based independent committee Fund Her recently spent $2,928 on lawn signs that have been popping up around the district. “Certainly, there are people who are interested in seeing a woman representing their seat and I appreciate their support,” Masur said. She noted that there are no women serving in the state Legislature from the Oregon border to Santa Barbara.

OLIVA: In addition to the independent expenditure noted up above, Oliva has raised more than $390,000, the majority of which comes from the real estate industry. Given the number of housing and rent-control bills likely to be on the agenda in the next legislative session, it’s no surprise the real estate industry is behind Oliva. But on the Peninsula, while the same industry has been good at beating back some rent control measures, they have yet to prove they can push a candidate into office. The industry did spend thousands backing Eric Rodriguez in his election to the San Mateo City Council in 2017. It certainly didn’t hurt, but more than a few people would argue that he would have won anyway.

LIEBER: Lieber has raised more than $268,000, but $200,000 is in loans she made to the campaign. She has raised money from some local notables — former Mountain View councilman Lenny Siegel, Redwood City Councilwoman Diana Reddy and veteran entrepreneur Steve Kirsch.

Mark Simon is a veteran journalist, whose career included 15 years as an executive at SamTrans and Caltrain. He can be reached at marksimon@smdailyjournal.com.