Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, started in 2020 and led partly by Republican donors, is now San Francisco's top political spender.
"Welcome to the Neighbors' hood!" The public pressure group Neighbors for a Better San Francisco has in short order become the dominant player in San Francisco campaign finance. Illustration by Neil Ballard., excoriating progressives for urban ills from drug-infested streets to sclerotic housing production, one stands head and shoulders above the rest.
While the group was initially focused on supervisorial races, it quickly coalesced and successfully funneled millions to recall the district attorney, reverse criminal justice reforms, fight alternatives to incarceration, and bolster the police department. Louise Muhlfeld Patterson is also a co-director of the group. Going back to 2007, she has spent tens of thousands to back federal candidates, though she has given largely to Democrats; she has donated at least $830,346 to Neighbors. Her husband, Arthur Patterson, is a longtime venture capitalist and the director of Neighbors’ associated charity. He has spent at least $250,000 on federal elections, largely benefitting Republicans.
Neighbors has dozens of other donors, most of them hailing from tech, real estate, and banking. Jaye, for his part, saw the group simply: An alliance of the nouveau riche from Silicon Valley with traditional downtown real estate interests, spending far, far more money than before. Neighbors does the bulk of its giving through this social welfare nonprofit, which, per California law, is treated as a PAC and discloses its political contributions in state and local campaign filings; the group also has an associatedNeighbors is not the biggest political spender in San Francisco history. Vast sums have been poured into the city’s races by groups like the American Beverage Association or Juul .
the police measure opposed by Mayor London Breed for tying staffing increases to future revenue; the mayor wanted increased staffing from general funds. The proposition lost 72 to 28 percent. “Whatever organizational influence and heft they have, they are going to be supporting efforts that blatantly support Mark Farrell or indirectly support Mark Farrell,” predicted one longtime political consultant. “They are not going to be lifting a finger for London Breed.”“Aaron Peskin is a huge lightning rod,” said another political consultant, who also wished to remain anonymous. Neighbors’ donors, he said, are “really fractured” over who to support, but “Peskin may be the unifying force.
Neighbors did not spend exclusively in San Francisco: Regionally, it funded progressive campaigns, like an effort to boost Caltrain’s funding by $100 million a year , and sometimes did the same at the state level, seeking to restore affirmative action in California . But it also fought a reform of Proposition 13 that would have increased taxes on land-holding businesses .
before-and-after photos implying Preston seeded the district with homeless encampments after handing out tents to the unhoused “They had a bunch of money left over, and that money was just sitting there waiting for someone to do something with it,” said a political consultant who has kept a close eye on the group. “And Mary Jung was in control of it.”second, separate recall petition
“They all kind of jumped on the bandwagon once things were already in motion,” said a political consultant close to the school board recalls. “Did they get in and help? Absolutely, but they haven’t created their own opportunities for success yet.”This year’s election will test Neighbors’ ability to defeat progressive candidates and consolidate power.
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