George Lu, Cari Templeton and Katie Causey have most cash on hand in Palo Alto City Council race
September 27, 2024
https://www.paloaltoonline.com/election/2024/09/27/housing-advocates-lead-race-for-cash
With the final month of the campaign season approaching, Palo Alto’s most pro-growth City Council candidates are enjoying a solid lead when it comes to cash raised, newly released disclosures show.
George Lu, one of four members of the Planning and Transportation Commission who is seeking a council seat, is in the pole position when it comes to cash raised, with $51,145 in total contributions, according to campaign finance documents. His list of donors includes some of Palo Alto’s leading housing advocates, including economist Steve Levy, who gave $2,000, Palo Alto Forward board member Scott O’Neill, who gave $300, and former City Council member Gail Price, who gave $100.
Nicole Chiu-Wang, a candidate in the race for the school board, contributed $1,100 to Lu’s campaign, while Bruce Arthur, a member of the Palo Alto Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, received $1,000.
Lu, who has been endorsed by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, also received $300 from Silicon Valley Young Democrats.
Katie Causey, who serves on the city’s Human Relations Commission, reported $37,515 in contributions. Her top donors include East Palo Alto City Council member and Mayor Antonio Lopez, who gave $2,266 to her campaign and Susan Kulawik, a scientist at the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, who contributed $3,000.
Causey also got support from housing advocates Owen Byrd, who serves on the board of Palo Alto Forward, former Redwood City Mayor Giselle Hale, who gave $361, and former council member Cory Wolbach, who gave $100. Lisa Forssell, a former member of the Utilities Advisory Commission who ran for council two years ago, contributed $500 to Causey’s campaign.
Cari Templeton, a Democratic activist and Palo Alto planning commissioner, reported $38,487 in contributions, which includes a $20,000 loan that she made to her own campaign. Her campaign has also been bolstered by housing advocates, with Alta Housing Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Klein and Palo Alto Forward board member Owen Byrd each contributing $500 and architect Elaine Uang, a co-founder of Palo Alto Forward, contributing $250.
Former council members Alison Cormack gave $500 to Templeton’s campaign, while former Mayors Larry Klein and Liz Kniss gave $500 and $100, respectively. Current council member Vicki Veenker supporter her with a $250 check.
Templeton also received an array of contributions from elected leaders in surrounding cities, including the majority of the Mountain View City Council. Mountain View Maor Pat Showalter gave $250, while council members Lucas Ramirez, Emily Ramos and Ellen Kamei gave $100 each. Templeton, who worked on Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian’s campaign for Congress, received $250 from Simitian and another $250 from Sally Lieber, a former Mountain View council member who now serves on the State Board of Equalization.
East Palo Alto Mayor Lisa Gauthier and San Mateo Mayor Lisa Nash each contributed $100 to Templeton, according to campaign finance records.
Anne Cribbs, a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission who advocates for new recreational facilities such as a new city gym and a redeveloped Cubberley Community Center, reported $25,234 in total contributions received, which includes a $1,000 loan that she made to her own campaign.
Cribbs, a former Olympic swimmer, received $5,000 from retired bank executive and community volunteer Roger Smith, $1,000 from former Mayor Larry Klein and $1,000 from Steve Levy, an economist and housing advocate. She also received $1,000 contributions from Ryan McCauley, division chief at the California Energy Commission and her former colleague on the Parks and Recreation Commission, Jonathan Goldman, managing partner at Premier Properties, former Palo Alto Police Chief Dennis Burns, and Beverly Brockway, a realtor.
Of the candidates leaning toward the slow-growth, or “residentialist,” side of the political spectrum, Doria Summa led the way with $27,544 in cash raised, which includes a $5,000 loan to her own campaign. Summa, a longtime land-use watchdog who now serves on the Planning and Transportation Commission, received contributions from many residentialists stalwarts.
These include a $1,000 payment from Joe Hirsch and $400 from teacher Terry Holzemer, both of whom serve on the leadership team of the group Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning. Summa also received $999 from former Mayor Eric Filseth and $100 from former planning commissioner Arthur Keller. Her fellow planning commissioners Allen Akin and Chair Bryna Chang contributed $998 and $500, respectively.
Council member Pat Burt, who is seeking his fourth full term, reported $19,552 in contributions from a list of donors that includes former mayors, community activists and neighborhood leaders. Retired bank executive and philanthropist Roger Smith contributed $1,000 to Burt’s campaign. Former Mayor Peter Drekmeier and Santa Clara council member Sudhanshu Jain each contributed $500. Burt’s council colleague Vicki Veenker gave $250.
Burt, a political moderate who serves on the boards of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and Caltrain, also received contributions from numerous bike advocates, including Menlo Park resident Ken Kershner ($250), and Palo Alto residents Penny Ellson ($250), Kathy Durham ($100) and Cedric Pitot de la Beaujardiere ($100).
Keith Reckdahl, vice chair of the Planning and Transportation Commission, reported $19,363 in total contributions, which includes a $5,000 loan that he gave to his campaign. His contributors include Todd Collins, who serves on the Palo Alto Unified School Board and who gave $250, and Allen Akin, one of just three members of the planning commission who are not running for council this year. Akin gave $999 to Reckdahl’s campaign, while Bryna Chang, chair of the planning commission, gave $396.
The lion’s share of Reckdahl’s support came from local residents, including neighborhood activists and community volunteers. Rebecca Sanders, moderator of the Ventura Residents Association, gave $250, while architect David Hirsch contributed $200. Pat Burt and his wife Sally Bemus each gave $250. He also received support from donors who generally support residentialist candidates, including downtown resident Gabrielle Layton, who contributed $900, teacher Terry Holzemer, who gave $200, and College Terrace residents Fred and Ann Balin, who each gave $250.
Mayor Greer Stone, meanwhile, reported $14,979 in contributions, which included $1,000 from resident Darlene Yaplee, $900 from frequent campaign donor Gabrielle Layton, $500 from Joe Hirsch of Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning, and $500 from Allen Akin, member of the planning commission.
Stone also received contributions from various past mayors, including Greg Scharff, who gave $500, Karen Holman, who gave $350, Peter Drekmeier, who gave $200, and Eric Filseth, who gave $100.
Henry Etzkowitz, an innovation scholar, has not filed a campaign disclosures as of Thursday evening.
The nine candidates are vying for four seats. Two of them are currently filled by Burt and Stone. The other two will be vacated at the end of the year when Lydia Kou and Greg Tanaka term out.
Gennady SheynerStaff Writer, Palo Alto Weekly / PaloAltoOnline.com
Gennady Sheyner covers local and regional politics, housing, transportation and other topics for the Palo Alto Weekly, Palo Alto Online and their sister publications. He has won awards for his coverage
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11 Comments
- Online Name says:
September 27, 2024 10:45 am at 10:45 am
“Housing advocates lead race for cash” — Color me shocked that the developers, lobbyists and outside interests can contribute more money than Palo Alto residents.
All the parades and bike lanes won’t fix what ails PA, won’t save our businesses by eliminating their parking, won’t lower utility rates but sure will fuel the gray train for “retail consultants” with no local knowledge.
We’ve seen this movie before.
- Becky Sanders says:
September 27, 2024 11:04 am at 11:04 am
I would like to correct the record. Both Reckdahl and Summa are housing advocates – but for whom and at what cost? They both supported densifying the NVCAP area, by driving out OFFICE use and adding more housing at or below market rate. But they were overruled by the “luxuriests” – those housing advocates for people who can afford to pay above market, like the Palo Alto Forward People who are backed primarily by developers and tech money. But I digress. Back to topic: vis a vis Summa and Reckdahl, they persistently raise the question: Who is the housing for? When we relax our standards, who are we relaxing our standards for? Building more housing for rich people who don’t need our help finding a place to live isn’t cutting the mustard for those of us who have watched housing for our most vulnerable erode. No protections for our service workers and those in the trades. Consistently Palo Alto has met it’s housing goals for at market rate and above. We have never met our housing goals for below market rate. Housing advocates Reckdahl and Summa will press for relaxing standards to create below market rate housing for the people that need housing. NOT FOR THE RICH PEOPLE. Okay, do I make myself clear? Can you hear me out there? When you say someone is a housing advocate, you have to dig deeper and get those critical thinking skills going.
- Interested Reader says:
September 27, 2024 12:31 pm at 12:31 pm
George, Katie, and Cari are all playing the same game: fueling up on special interest money so they can use City Council as a stepping stone for their next political position. Their biggest “housing advocate” backers are Palo Alto Forward – who refused to support Measure K which actually raised money for affordable housing. The Weekly is being sucked into their game – recently saying the “housing advocates” have “panned impact fees” – Why would housing advocates
not support impact fees that go to pay for affordable housing? Because what they want is housing for the tech bros – not teachers, seniors, and families. Pat Burt, Keith Reckdahl, and Doria Summa have all fought for affordable housing and renter protections that help our most vulnerable and they have committed to not run for higher office. Wondering what happens if Palo Alto Forward candidates win? They run for Congress and knock out folks like Joe Simitian. Time for folks to open up their wallets and ensure we keep the special interests out of Palo Alto.
- Bob says:
September 27, 2024 12:40 pm at 12:40 pm
Wait a minute. I am dumbfounded about how the label of housing advocate is applied here. It’s not based on endorsements or track record – Pat Burt is endorsed by Sheryl Klein of Alta Housing, and he greenlighted (along with candidate Mayor Greer Stone) every BMR housing project (8 or 9) currently.
Cari Templeton acutally is next to last in fundraising, having loaned herself $20K of her total, only raising $18,497. Self-financing isn’t fundraising. So this so-called “housing advocate” lacks strong support if money is the standard.
Big Development Katie Causey (endorsed by all the yimby orgs) accepted $2,266 in a blizzard of donations from EPA Mayor Antonio Lopez (and candidate for SMCO Board of Supes). Lopez was just blasted by all his colleagues on EPA’s city council for his irresponsible election showboating. His big move – wanting to cleanse the homeless out of EPA. Causey accepting Lopez’s donations is hypocritical given her supposed care about homeless people and housing.
Return his donations Katie, if you want to retain any credibility.
Yimby endorsed George Lu is not all what he seems – he’s for big development (many developer donations) he cynically tries to bury his actual support for the Builders Remedy in Palo Alto. Perhaps this is due to his having so little real experience.
The candidates with relevent long experience with our City, it’s process, staff, residents and priority issues are Burt, Stone, Summa and Reckdahl. They have what is needed to set our policies on city council, not greenhorns.
- Online Name says:
September 27, 2024 1:17 pm at 1:17 pm
Anyone else remember the President Hotel fiasco and who was out there backing the 85 long-term middle/low income tenants when they were being evicted to make room for another pricey hotel that stayed empty during the latest economic crash?
Doria was out there fighting along with other “residentialists” — as if that’s a dirty word. Among the missing were the last batch of inexperienced politicians backed by PAF and all the YIMBY / Peninsula For Everyone clones because their main interest is providing “market rate” housing for short-term tech bros making $270K a year who can easily pay $4K and up in rent — not truly affordable housing for livelong RESIDENTS who see PA as a COMMUNITY, not a COMMODITY to be sold to the highest bidders.
Why are they against parking? So the developers can shove in more pricey aka more profitable units. Biking is just another smokescreen that lets them destroy thousands of local businesses on El Camino.
Who raised the most $$$$ in the last election? Julie, who ran for Eshoo’s seat without even finishing her first CC term knowing she wouldn’t win but siphoned away votes from Simitian and depriving us of experienced leadership for her own ego.
Speaking of Julie, did Lu ever reject JHL’s endorsement and return her campaign contribution like Causey did?
Pay attention and vote for the smart candidates who support AFFORDABLE housing and a vibrant community not the DODO (Developer Owned Developer Operated) candidates.
- George Lu says:
September 27, 2024 1:27 pm at 1:27 pm
Hi everyone,
To level set, all of our fundraising totals are public, including lists of anyone who donated >$100. Records available here: efile.cityofpaloalto.org/public/search/campaign
From public records, you’ll see I’m supported by 70+ Palo Altans. I also have many donations from former co-workers, which is a strong signal of confidence in my leadership and experience.
Note that as a Planning and Transportation Commissioner, I’m bound by the Levine Act, which would essentially force me to recuse from projects involving any developer donations. I’m happy to discuss any concerns, but I’m unsure which donations people are referring to here.
- Online Name says:
September 27, 2024 1:42 pm at 1:42 pm
PS: Bob’s comment above is well worth reading (or rereading).
- Scott says:
September 27, 2024 1:53 pm at 1:53 pm
I am very glad to see the umbrage in the comments about the slow-growth candidates being correctly identified as slow-growth candidates, and the pro-housing candidates correctly identified as pro-housing candidates.
It goes to show how much the politics of the issue have changed that all the leopards want everyone to think they’ve changed their spots.
Did Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning even endorse this year? I don’t see anyone touting PASZ endorsements on their campaign pages. For the record, Stone was endorsed by them in 2020. [1] They endorsed Summa in 2022. [2] I’ve seen enough of Burt and Reckdahl in meetings to know they are more aligned with them than they are with the pro-housing candidates. And certainly when you drive around town, you see lot of houses where all four of these lawn signs appear one right after another.
If anyone knows if PASZ endorsed and all the candidates are just quietly not pretending they didn’t –please let us know.
[1] https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2020/11/03/burt-and-kou-lead-crowded-race-for-palo-alto-city-council-seats/
[2] https://sensiblezoning.org/pasz-endorses-summa-and-lauing/
- Anonymous says:
September 27, 2024 4:27 pm at 4:27 pm
Look at candidates’ track records to understand where they are at on housing or other issues. That’s where the truth is.
Oh – I forgot – there’s not much of a relevant track record for Lu and Causey since they have very little experience with city policy.
- Online Name says:
September 27, 2024 6:48 pm at 6:48 pm
How did this discussion become about PASZ rather than the candidates and their records?
It reminds me of when JHL laughably called PASZ the “loudest voice in the room” as if its funding matches the Chamber of Commerce, YIMBY.
- ALB says:
September 27, 2024 9:13 pm at 9:13 pm
Why is Scott concerned about PASZ endorsements? What could he and PAForward be afraid of?
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