What do Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, tobacco giant Phillip Morris and thousands of University of California System workers have in common?
berkeley election 2024
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Their money is helping fuel an expensive East Bay state Senate primary this spring.
Politicos across California are keeping an eye on the race for the seat representing Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond and other bayshore communities. That’s because several influential labor groups have lined up behind different candidates vying to replace termed-out state Sen. Nancy Skinner.
Berkeley Mayor Jesse ArreguÃn, AC Transit board Director Jovanka Beckles, Oakland Councilmember Dan Kalb, California Labor Federation President Kathryn Lybarger and former state Assemblyman Sandré Swanson make up the Democratic field. Jeanne Solnordal, the only Republican candidate, has not reported any campaign activity.
The top two finishers in the March 5 primary, regardless of party, will advance to November’s general election.
The biggest spender in the race to date has been the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, representing more than 30,000 UC workers. Lybarger is the Oakland-based union’s president, and it has poured over $1.7 million into two independent expenditure committees supporting her run.
The California Labor Federation has also given each committee $100,000, while the United Nurses Association and the California Faculty Association, which represents faculty in the California State University System, have each pitched in $50,000.
In all, the committees have raised nearly $2.1 million to support Lybarger, which has drawn criticism from some of her opponents.
“I don’t have $2 million,” said ArreguÃn, who leads the fundraising race in terms of contributions directly to candidates and has also benefited from outside spending in the race. “I think it’s really important that whatever special interest doesn’t buy this seat, [and] that the people of Senate District 7 … decide who is their next state senator.”
Lybarger countered that the funding spent supporting her run comes from union members, which she said makes it “very different from corporate spending.”
“I think it is sick how much gets spent in elections, no matter what,” Lybarger said. “What it takes to actually win an election is mind-blowing, and it’s disgusting — but it is our reality.”
While campaign finance records so far don’t show any other independent expenditure committees in the race, other outside spending took off this week.
Uber, the ride-hailing app company that has battled labor legislation in Sacramento, reported Wednesday that it had spent more than $800,000 on ads and other efforts to oppose Lybarger, and over $250,000 to support ArreguÃn. A group calling itself Housing Providers for Responsible Solutions — which San José Spotlight reported receives funding from the California Apartment Association and California Association of Realtors — also reported spending about $160,000 this week on online ads and other work backing ArreguÃn. And a political action committee funded by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and the state’s largest correctional officers’ union has spent about $90,000 on mailers in support of the Berkeley mayor.
Plenty of others have also been cutting substantial checks directly to candidates. And with almost nine months to go until Election Day in November, the cash race in this already multi-million-dollar contest seems only to be getting started.
ArreguÃn’s campaign raised $637,387 in direct contributions as of Jan. 20, the most recent campaign finance filing deadline.
Much of that backing has come from unions in the building trades: ArreguÃn has raised well over $200,000 from more than two dozen groups representing electrical workers, plumbers, carpenters, sheet metal workers, operating engineers and other construction workers.
The development and real estate industries have been another major source of support. The political action committee of the California Association of Realtors has given ArreguÃn a maximum contribution of $10,900, while PACs associated with the Building Industry Association have chipped in $7,500 and the California Apartment Association gave $5,500. Major names in Berkeley development are also on ArreguÃn’s donor list, including Wareham Development founder Richard Robbins, who is in for $5,500, while Denny Abrams, who created the Fourth Street retail district, gave $4,000.
Lybarger recorded the second-largest direct fundraising haul, taking in $484,304 through Jan. 20, drawing on support from other sides of the labor movement. In addition to their contributions to the independent committees, the California Labor Federation, California Faculty Association and United Nurses Association have all given Lybarger’s campaign at least $10,000. Groups representing teachers, food and commercial workers, warehouse workers, domestic workers and several other AFSCME locals are among those who have contributed at least $5,000.
Kalb raised $321,356 as of the filing deadline, drawing on support from several people in the solar industry. Howard Wenger, president of the solar hardware company Nextracker, cut Kalb a $4,500 check last November to go along with a $1,000 contribution earlier in the year; home solar company Sun Run Inc. gave $4,000, and the California Solar Storage Association chipped in $2,500. Kalb has picked up some union support, with $5,000 from the Dublin-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 595’s political action committee. Kalb also gave himself $8,000.
Swanson raised $186,850, with several law enforcement unions lining up behind his run — the state’s largest police union, the Peace Officers Research Association of California, made a $10,900 contribution, while the California Association of Highway Patrolmen gave $5,500 and the Oakland Police Officers Association gave $5,000. Other donations to Swanson’s campaign include $5,500 from the cigarette maker Phillip Morris, $5,500 from a 2022 campaign account for state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, $11,000 from a campaign account for state Treasurer Fiona Ma’s 2026 run for lieutenant governor, and $13,500 from Swanson himself.
Beckles raised $115,013 through the filing deadline, including a $15,000 loan she gave her campaign last November. Several prominent local progressives have given to Beckles’ run, including Price, the district attorney who has endorsed her and chipped in $500, and San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston, who gave $1,000. The political action committee for San Bruno-based Teamsters Local 856 contributed $1,500.
