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With just a week until Election Day, the District 5 Board of Supervisors candidates have ramped up spending on their campaigns in the last leg of the race to get their message out to voters.
Five candidates are vying for a seat to represent the North County to replace incumbent Supervisor Joe Simitian. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote on Tuesday, March 5 then the top two contenders will compete in the November general election.
The candidates have largely kept to their original playbooks in terms of campaign finance strategies. Mountain View City Council member Margaret Abe-Koga took an early lead in the race with monetary contributions. She canvassed the district and acquired hundreds of individual donations and contributions from political action committees.
Since the start of the campaign, Abe-Koga has amassed about $297,195 and spent approximately $244,120, according to recent financial statements. This is just shy of the $250,00 voluntary expenditure limit for the Board of Supervisors race.
When questioned about this strategy, Abe-Koga said she wanted to raise over $250,000 because it was a large district. “I wanted to ensure enough funds to make sure we could get voter information to every part of the District. Furthermore, donors who support me want to ensure we make it to the general election and have funds to continue our efforts through November,” she added.
Abe-Koga also received the backing of the California Apartment Association, which recently submitted an independent expenditure report that disclosed it had spent $158,485 on her campaign.
Sally Lieber, a former State Assembly member who currently serves on the California State Board of Equalization, has raised about $163,740 and spent approximately $53,630. Early on in the race, Lieber said she was pursuing a corporate-free campaign and would not accept donations from big landlords. Her campaign is seeded with a $135,000 loan.
Lieber, who has served in elected office for decades, has kept her expenditures relatively low in comparison to Abe-Koga. In a previous interview with this publication, Lieber said she had a lot of name recognition in the district and planned to be money savvy.
Peter Fung, a retired neurologist who serves on the El Camino Health District Board of Directors, has raised about $221,295 and spent approximately $182,550. His campaign is predominantly self-financed with loans totaling $210,000.
Sandy Sans, a business owner, has picked up about $32,600 for his campaign and spent approximately $29,040. His campaign also is largely self-financed by a $30,000 loan.
Barry Chang, a former Cupertino City Council member and mayor, reported no financial contributions or expenditures for his campaign.
Abe-Koga continued to draw support from individual contributors, with 64 donations between the period of Jan. 21 and Feb. 17. As before, Abe-Koga received the backing of numerous trade unions and political action committees.
These included the San Jose Police Officers Association ($1,500), Northern California Carpenters Regional Council ($1,000), Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3 District 90 PAC ($1,000), Registered Nurses Professional Association PAC ($1,000), Santa Clara and San Benito Counties Building and Construction Trades Council PAC ($1,000), Sprinkler Fitters and Apprentices Local 483 PAC ($1,000) and Cement Masons Local 400 PAC ($250).
California State Treasurer Fiona Ma donated $1,000 to Abe-Koga’s campaign and Director of Valley Water District Richard Santos donated $300.
Lieber, Fung and Sans had a small number of contributors this reporting period, with the donations mostly coming in from working professionals and retired individuals.
The candidates’ expenditures meanwhile have picked up just ahead of Election Day. Fung and Abe-Koga mostly focused their spending on campaign literature and mailings. Fung spent approximately $120,470 and Abe-Koga followed closely behind at about $107,680. Lieber and Sans spent far less, approximately $13,550 and $1,355, respectively.
Web, social media and video production also were a big source of candidates’ expenditures. Fung spent about $47,500, Abe-Koga $16,300 and Sans $4,160.
Consultants continued to have a presence in the campaign too, with Sans shelling out approximately $21,295, Abe-Koga $8,500 and Fung $5,000.