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As Election Day draws near, Mountain View City Council member Margaret Abe-Koga continues to outraise and outspend California State Board of Equalization member Sally Lieber in the race for the District 5 seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.
Abe-Koga has raised about $305,000 and spent about $345,000 this year, according to campaign finance documents submitted on Sept. 26. This brings her total campaign fundraising to about $530,000. Part of Abe-Koga’s campaign is self-funded with a $85,000 loan.
Lieber has raised about $169,000 and spent about $73,000 this year, according to a filing on Sept. 27. This brings her total campaign fundraising to about $193,000. Lieber seeded her campaign with a $135,000 loan.
The latest round of filings marks a slowdown in campaign activity compared to earlier in the year. Since July, Abe-Koga has raised about $60,000 and spent about $62,000. She picked up numerous individual donations as well as additional support from political committees and trade unions.
Over the same period, Lieber raised about $5,000 and spent about $31,000, an increase in expenditures from the previous filing. Since the start of the race, Lieber has said that she is running on a corporate-free campaign and will not accept donations from big developers or landlords.
Campaign contributions
Prominent backers for Abe-Koga in the latest filings include the California Real Estate PAC ($1,000), International Union of Painters and Allied Trades PAC ($1,000), Santa Clara County League of Conservation Voters ($1,000), San Jose Water Company ($750), and Teamsters Local Union 350 PAC.
Abe-Koga also received contributions from state Assembly member Diane Papan ($1,000) and Santa Clara Valley Water District board member Richard Santos ($500). Local support comes from Mountain View Whisman School District trustees Laura Blakely ($250) and Devon Conley ($250) and Los Altos School District trustee Shali Sirkay ($75).
Other noteworthy supporters include Palo Alto City Council member Vicki Veenker ($100), El Camino Healthcare District member Julia Miller ($100) and Mountain View Environmental Planning Commissioner Hank Dempsey ($500).
Lieber’s fundraising for this period has fewer individual contributions than her competitor. Notable support comes from the California Women’s List ($500) as well as Mountain View Rental Housing Committee member Edie Keating ($500) and Mountain View Human Relations Commissioner IdaRose Sylvester ($250).
Campaign expenditures
Along with amassing more campaign funds, Abe-Koga continues to outspend Lieber. Her total expenditures since the start of the campaign is about $420,000. Since July, the bulk of Abe-Koga’s expenditures has gone towards polling and survey research, to the tune of about $29,000. She also spent about $21,000 on consulting services and about $10,000 on campaign literature and social media.
Earlier in the year, the California Apartment Association threw its weight behind Abe-Koga and spent more than $150,000 in independent expenditures in support of her bid for the board of supervisors.
Lieber’s total expenditures are about one-quarter of Abe-Koga’s, coming in at around $100,000 since the start of the campaign. Lieber has ramped up her spending from July, shelling out more than $20,000 on print ads and about $4,000 on campaign literature. She also spent about $6,000 for legal and accounting services.
