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Buoyed by contributions from tech companies and venture capitalists, entrepreneur Peter Dixon ended 2023 with more than $1.2 million on hand, trailing only former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo in the crowded race to succeed U.S. Rep Anna Eshoo.
Dixon, a Marine veteran and former CEO of a cybersecurity company, also contributed more than $135,456 into his own campaign, according to his filings with the Federal Election Committee. The filings show that Liccardo continues to lead the pack, having raised $1.65 million in the last reporting period, which stretched from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. But Dixon’s fundraising spree in December has netted him $1.43 million in contributions, vaulting him over both Santa Clara Supervisor Joe Simitian and state Assembly member Evan Low when it comes to cash on hand.
Simitian and Low were third and fourth by that measure, finishing the year with $996,835 and $837,519 on hand.
More than a third of Dixon’s contributions came immediately after he announced his candidacy on Dec. 7, according to his campaign. He said in a Dec. 8 statement that he had received $350,000 in contributions the day after his announcement. A Marine veteran who worked as an advisor in the Obama administration, he announced at the time that he was “humbled and grateful for the overwhelming messages of support and generous contributions to our campaign in just the first 24 hours.”
The campaign filings, which all candidates were required to submit by Jan. 31, show Liccardo still comfortably in the lead, with $1.64 million raised through the end of 2023. He had $1.5 million in cash on hand at the close of the reporting period.
Simitian, a veteran legislator whom Eshoo has endorsed as her successor, reported receiving $581,767 in the last reporting period, which ran from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. His campaign, however, began raising money well before Eshoo announced in November her decision to retire when her term expires at the end of 2024. His filings show that he had also received $622,036 in contributions before October.
Because of the earlier fundraising, Simitian remains slightly ahead of Low when it comes to cash on hand, notwithstanding Low’s strong fundraising numbers in the last three months of 2023. Low reported $889,893 in total receipts as of Dec. 31, according to his filings.
Liccardo’s lead isn’t particularly surprising, given his name recognition, his record as a mayor of one of California’s largest cities and his strong connection to the technology sector. Most of the contributions came in the first two weeks of Liccardo’s entry into the District 16 race. Liccardo’s campaign announced in December that it had received more than $1.1 million in contributions in the first 11 days after Liccardo formally joined the race.
His campaign filings show his campaign receiving a surge of cash from Silicon Valley business owners, tech executives, real estate professionals and attorneys from firms like Cooley LLP and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati.
The list of Liccardo’s donors includes Michael Bloomberg, former New York City mayor and founder of Bloomberg Inc., developer and philanthropist John Sobrato, and Susana Pau, co-founder of Sand Hill Property Company. Senior employees of technology companies such as Synopsis, Rivian, Supermicro and Centrillion Tech have each bolstered Liccardo’s campaign with $5,000 or more. The political action committee for Hewlett Packard Enterprise pitched in another $5,000.
The latest filings show, however, that Liccardo isn’t the only candidate who is attracting investment from local technologists and venture capitalists. Many, in fact, are leaning toward Dixon. Brook Byers, a venture capitalist with Kleiner Perkins, contributed $6,600 to Dixon’s campaign, as had each of his two sons, Blake and Chad (both venture capitalists).
Reid Hoffman, an investor and donor who co-founded LinkedIn, hosted a fundraising event for Liccardo that reportedly brought in “six figures” for the campaign, according to Politico. Yet campaign records also show that Hoffman contributed $6,600 of his own money to Dixon. Palo Alto philanthropist Wendy Schmidt, wife of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, gave Dixon another $6,600. As did Atherton residents Nichole Pechet, CEO of Homebound, and Tamin Pechet, CEO of Upwell.
Simitian and Low both received contributions from investors, attorneys and business professionals, many of whom have backgrounds in public policy. Carl Guardino, former CEO of Silicon Valley Leadership Group who currently works for Bloom Energy, gave $5,000 to Simitian and $1,000 to Low.
Simitian also received $6,600 contributions from computer scientist Richard Karp; former Palo Alto Mayor Leland Levy; David Hoyt, assistant director of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University; Annette Fazzino, widow of former Palo Alto mayor and Simitian’s close friend Gary Fazzino; and Teresa Thygesen, a former Menlo Park school board member and community volunteer.
Low’s list of supporters in the public sector includes Rich Callender, CEO of Santa Clara Valley Water District; Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg; and state Treasurer Fiona Ma, each of whom contributed $1,000. His other donors include Daniel and Maryann Fong, managers of the furniture company Million Dollar Baby; investor Baha Hariri; and AT&T Director Jason Chan. Each contributed $6,600 to Low.
Palo Alto City Council member Julie Lythcott-Haims reported raising $374,896 and ended the year with $331,079 on hand, according to the FEC. Erinn Andrews, philanthropic consultant at GiveTeam, donated $6,600 to the campaign, while Amie Ashton, executive director of Palo Alto Forward, contributed another $1,500. Lythcott-Haims, an author and former dean of students at Stanford University, also received $6,600 contributions from fundraiser Fran Codispoti, Stanford University Professor Fred Heath and economist Stephen Levy.
Lythcott-Haims publicly announced her contributions in a Feb. 1 statement and said she was “honored to have earned the support of so many people across this district.”
“I haven’t been preparing to run for this seat for decades. I’m not a career politician. It’s clear to me that voters in this district don’t want the politics of the past; they want a candidate for the future,” Lythcott-Haims said.
The only other two candidates who reported raising more than $100,000 are Ahmed Mostafa, a women’s rights attorney, and Joby Bernstein, a Stanford University graduate student and investor in climate-change initiatives. Mostafa reported raising $125,755 and had $108,850 on hand as of the end of the year. Bernstein raised $111,307 and had $102,722 on hand by the end of the reporting period.
Rishi Kumar, a former Saratoga council member who had twice challenged Eshoo for the Congressional seat, reported $35,193 in contributions and $20,921 on hand as of Dec. 31. Peter Ohtaki, former Menlo Park mayor and one of two Republicans in the race, received $16,570 and had $2,812 on hand, according to the filings.
Karl Ryan, the other Republican, reported that he had received no contributions in the last period. The campaign statements for Palo Alto council member Greg Tanaka, the only other candidate in the race, were not available as of Feb. 5.
The closely watched race creates a rare opportunity for a new representative in a district that includes large portions of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and a small portion of San Jose. The top two vote-getters in the March 5 primary will move on to the general election in November.
Do we want the best candidate who gets things done or the best candidate money can buy?
I’ll always be grateful to Joe Simitian who — unlike so many others — gets things done. During the beginning of the pandemic when the County phone and online sign-up modules to sign up for vaccines didn’t work for days and people were frustrated and panicking — he and his office were on top of the issue and actually provided tech support to those who should have known enough to test their systems to make sure they actually worked before wasting hours / days of people’s time.
I watched the debate and was amazed that so many candidates touted their ability to listen as their main qualification rather than any actual accomplishments. This led me to snark to friends about Q-Tip politicians.
Totally agree with above poster. Joe Simitian represents his constituents. He is the best in what you want as an elected official. Unlike the big money raisers he doesn’t spend his time with rich techies at country club events, he is out there working to get clinics in communities, fixing roads and trying to keep people safe. He has spent his life honing the skills of how to make our slow, stodgy government work and he is the one I want in Washington trying to get something done. Not some rich dude who hangs with the wealthy so he can send out bigger campaign fliers.
Thanks for this article. One only needs to follow the money to see who will be pulling the strings on these candidates. Don’t have anything against Liccardo but he sure is getting a lot of money from the very wealthy. Julie Lythcott-Haims was quoted as saying she was running because there were no women in the race. Hardly a qualification for the office. I’m leery about Dixon because of his ties to Hillary Clinton and the Obama State Department. That being said, I appreciate his military service background and problem solving experience, something we don’t have enough of in Washington DC. I also like the fact that he’s never run for office. Outsiders are desperately needed in government. Simitian has been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time. He’s an accomplished legislator who’s in his early 70’s and would probably continue to serve us well. Peter Ohtaki would be a good option for those looking for someone who can manage a budget and is to the right of center on most issues. California could use a more conservative voice in this election but sadly, Republicans don’t do very well here. It’ll be interesting.
Management of the City of San Jose and of the County of Santa Clara, especially fiscal management, were a running joke for decades as a race to the bottom, with repeated very expensive mistakes. County government works better now, in no small part because of Joe Simitian’s thoughtful leadership while he was on the Board of Supervisors. Sam Liccardo’s experience as mayor of San Jose isn’t much of a recommendation unless he can point to comparable accomplishments.
Anna Eshoo has endorsed just the right person to succeed her. Joe Simitian cares about his constituents. For one thing, as County Supervisor, he goes to farmers’ markets to be accessible to people – people like me, of no special importance. I have learned (from Senator Josh Becker’s newsletter) that while Joe Simitian was State Senator, he started the tradition in Senate District 13 of inviting constituents to suggest a bill. I hope very much he will get elected.
Joe Simitian is the person for the job. He has the hard work and dedication in and for our community to back up his candidacy. The rest don’t have decades of on the ground work in our community and state that gets results. He understands how to get things done effectively to achieve results in a sometimes tedious governmental system. From PALY student body president, to School Board, to local and county and state government, Joe has done it all and he’s done it effectively. He’s prevented Stanford from sprawling all over the foothills. He’s authored important environmental legislation. He did the “there ought to be a law” program to get more citizen engagement. He fights the tough fights because he has morals and principals- he doesn’t just kiss up to rich and powerful. He has the endorsement of the outgoing Anna Eshoo. Others might do an ok job, but Joe will do an effective phenomenal job with real concrete practical results. Importantly, he can get going from day one. And he has a track record of working across the aisle. Critical these days in Washington DC.
Go Joe!!