San Francisco tech moguls are pouring money into the election campaigns of moderate lawmakers in an effort to make the city safer and more welcoming.
Silicon Valley’s investors, executives and CEOs are trying to use their influence and money to sway public opinion by organizing fundraisers for local candidates and financing urban ballot initiatives.
They successfully worked to oust San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin and three school board members in 2022.
The technology leaders are now calling on residents to support the moderate Democrats who are running for office in this year’s local elections. It’s part of an effort to make the city safer and a better place to raise families and run businesses.
Silicon Valley largely blames San Francisco’s crime, drug, and homelessness problems on the current progressives in charge of the city for being too soft.
San Francisco tech moguls commit to pouring money into the election campaigns of moderate lawmakers in an effort to make the city safer and more welcoming
The technology leaders, including Garry Tan (pictured), are now calling on residents to support the moderate Democrats who are running for local elections this year.
Silicon Valley investors successfully worked to oust San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin in 2022 (pictured)
The tech industry’s goal is to elect less liberal candidates to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors as more than half are up for re-election in November.
It is responsible for the city’s budget and can block the policies of Mayor London Breed, who largely has the support of Silicon Valley.
Garry Tan, the CEO of startup incubator Y Combinator, told the Wall Street Journal: ‘San Francisco has, to some extent, put out its own eyes.’
About 100 startup founders gathered at his home to learn about local politics in the area.
PowerPoint presentations were presented by tech-enabled nonprofits with plans to solve problems like crime, homelessness and public education.
But re-elected San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Dean Preston believes the tech movement is one of self-interest.
“I just see a cynical attempt to control the city,” he said. He believes the effort to support new leaders and new policies is an obvious attempt to “buy political power and reform the rules for their own economic benefit.”
Preston believes he is being targeted because he supported higher taxes on the sale of expensive properties during the pandemic.
Elon Musk previously accused Preston of ruining the city after Preston claimed capitalism was responsible for San Francisco’s homelessness crisis and criticized measures to arrest people for using drugs in public.
Former San Francisco District Attorney Boudin was recalled by voters in June 2022 after being accused of not doing enough to protect citizens and introducing policies that allowed repeat offenders to commit crimes without fear of incarceration.
“The right-wing billionaires have outspent us three to one,” Boudin said in a speech to supporters after news of the recall results, with more than 60 percent of San Franciscans fed up with the city’s crime-ridden state vote to to call him back. .
He further alleged that citizens had been “exploited” by these groups, saying they had “taken advantage of an environment where people were rightly upset.”
Silicon Valley largely blames San Francisco’s crime, drug, and homelessness problems on the current progressives in charge of the city for being too soft
In February 2022, tech investors, executives and CEOs worked to oust three San Francisco school board members, including Alison Collins (pictured), in an election that saw 70 percent of parents in the liberal city vote.
Re-elected San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Dean Preston believes the tech movement to oust him is one of self-interest.
In February 2022, they tried to oust three San Francisco school board members in an election that saw 70 percent of parents in the liberal city vote.
School board President Gabriela López, Vice President Faauuga Moliga and Commissioner Alison Collins were ousted.
The effort was well funded by some billionaires and millionaires in Silicon Valley, led by early Apple investor Arthur Rock, who poured more than $500,000 of his billion-dollar fortune into the recall effort. PayPal CEO David Sacks — who has three children and opposes mask mandates and school closures — donated $75,000, and venture capitalist Garry Tan donated $26,000.
One of parents’ biggest frustrations was the school board’s failure to address school reopening during the pandemic, instead focusing their efforts on renaming 44 schools because they claimed they were named after “problematic ‘Americans.
Collins was further criticized for labeling Asian parents who wanted their children to do well as “white supremacists.”
Tech workers left in droves after the pandemic and crime, including theft, hate crimes and burglaries, rose rapidly.
Companies like Whole Foods, Banana Republic and Nordstrom decided to close their flagship stores and relocate.
Silicon Valley investors have been here for 10 to 15 years, said Tony Winnicker, who worked for two former San Francisco mayors.
“They’ve settled here and they’re saying, ‘What the hell happened to my town?’ They’re angry.’
Tan first became involved in local politics in 2022 due to frustrations with the school curriculum.
“Being able to study algebra in high school allowed me to become a computer engineer,” he said.
“Tech has given me everything I have and I really want people from all backgrounds to have access to that.”
Last month, he expressed his frustration with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors at X.
Drug overdose deaths have reached an all-time high in Golden Gate City, with 752 deaths in 2023
He called Preston and the other progressives on the board a “motherly team.”
“Those slow motherf***ers,” he added before deleting the post and apologizing.
Preston and three other board members said they received hate mail after the outburst and two supervisors filed a police complaint against Tan.
San Francisco investors and CEOs formed nonprofits during the pandemic in an effort to clean up the city.
TogetherSF Action is backed by former Sequoia Capital chairman Michael Moritz, Abundant SF was founded by Pantheon CEO Zack Rosen and Grow SF is backed by Tan.
They focus on various issues in the city, from the opioid crisis to the homelessness problem.
TogetherSF representatives distributed pamphlets about the ballot measures next month.
The document urged people to vote yes on a modernized police force and bringing back high school algebra, and no on making police personnel dependent on a new tax.
TogetherSF has used Instagram ads and TikTok videos to appeal to younger voters.
It encouraged thousands of residents to petition the city to take action on the opioid crisis, and City Hall later adopted some of the suggestions.