The race is on for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors as two seek to represent District 5

Two Mountain View politicians are vying to represent District 5 on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and both have picked up steam fundraising well ahead of the primary election in March next year, according to recent campaign financial statements.

Sally Lieber, a former state assembly member currently serving on the state Board of Equalization, raised $141,721 from Jan. 1 through June 30, followed closely behind by Mountain View City Council member Margaret Abe-Koga, who raised $127,562

But while the amounts are similar, the sources of financial support are noticeably different. Lieber’s has largely self-financed her efforts to date, loaning $135,000 – the bulk of her campaign funding to date – to her campaign committee. The loans are the seed of her campaign, Lieber said, adding that she plans to raise up to the $250,000 limit while remaining a corporate-free campaign that will not accept contributions from developers or large-scale landlords.

Abe-Koga’s campaign funding comes from 282 donations with the overwhelming majority, 267, listed as individual contributors, according to the filings. Abe-Koga attributed the broad coalition of support to her 17 years of public service that includes her work on the county board of education and city council, as well as her service on regional boards.

“I personally can’t afford to loan myself $130,000. I’ve had to go out and raise the money,” Abe-Koga said.

“It’s a big race,” she said, “And as a down ballot candidate, it’s challenging to get the attention of voters. So that’s why we have to fundraise to get the message of my work, my list of accomplishments and my vision for Santa Clara County out to the voters. And we’re doing that already with walking precincts,” she added.

Some of Abe-Koga’s most prominent backers include State Sen. Josh Becker (D-San Mateo) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Santa Clara), who each contributed $1,000 to the campaign. State Assembly members Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) and Evan Low (D-Campbell), contributed $1,500 and $2,000, respectively. Abe-Koga previously served as a congressional aide to Eshoo and as a district director for Low.

Other supporters of Abe-Koga’s campaign include Mountain View City Council member Lisa Matichak ($750), the Mountain View Firefighters Political Action Committee ($1,000), the Mountain View Police Officers’ Association ($750), Valley Physician Group ($1,000), API Empowerment PAC ($1,000) and real estate companies. She also received $1,000 from the California Apartment Association PAC.

The 33 individual backers of Lieber’s campaign include those in the professional sector ranging from environmental consultants, a medical hygienist, teachers and software engineers. She picked up support from Maria Marroquin, executive director of the Day Worker Center in Mountain View ($100), South San Francisco City Council member James Coleman ($100), and her largest donation comes from Mountain View resident Jan Rivers ($1,000).

Many of these individuals have donated to her political campaigns before, Lieber said, adding that her previous work in the district gives her a little bit of an advantage in terms of financing the campaign.

“I’ve run in the entire supervisorial district multiple times before, so people are familiar with who I am and what my values are. And I think that’ll help with keeping the costs a bit lower,” Lieber said.

Because it is still early in the race, the campaign expenditures are low, with Lieber spending $6,948 and Abe-Koga spending $15,907, according to the filings. The bulk of their expenditures have gone towards political consulting firms, with Abe-Koga spending more on campaign promotional materials.

Both candidates are looking to replace county Supervisor Joe Simitian, who will be termed out next year after a second lengthy tenure representing District 5 in Santa Clara County, which encompasses the North County cities of Palo Alto, Mountain View and Los Altos as well as West Valley cities. If no candidates receives more than 50% of the vote in the March primary election, the top two vote-getters will compete for the seat in the November 2024 election.