Redwood City Mayor Hale has so far outpaced her opponents in the race to succeed Kevin Mullin in the state assembly, raising $216,488, according to recently released campaign finance reports. San Mateo Deputy Mayor Diane Papan, daughter of the late Assemblymember Lou Papan, raised $127,071, and James Coleman, a South San Francisco city councilmember, raised $50,464.
Donations pour in as the 2022 Peninsula campaigns heat up. In one of the most exciting election cycles in recent memory, voters will cast their ballot for open seats for Congress, the Assembly, and the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. A contested race for County Sheriff is also underway.
In her 2018 campaign for Redwood City Council, Hale raised the most of any candidate in the history of Redwood City and she continues to lean on this strength in the assembly race. Of Hale’s $216,488, more than $205,000 come from 47 individuals. Of those, $119,050 were from donors with ties to the technology sector.
Notable donors include Assemblymember Marc Berman ($4,900) and San Mateo Mayor Rick Bonilla ($500). Hale’s campaign website cites endorsements from the California Teachers Association, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, and Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg. She also recently announced the endorsement of the California Democratic Legislative Women’s Caucus, a group representing all women serving in the state assembly, state senate, and statewide constitutional offices.
Papan has collected donations from a variety of sources. A large portion of her donations comes from prominent members of the Greek-American community, including Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos. Of her current total, $15,299 were transferred from her 2020 San Mateo council reelection campaign.
Endorsements for Papan include various state and local officials and stakeholders. Congressman Mike Thompson, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President Don Horsley, Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, and Belmont Mayor Julia Mates are among the endorsements listed on Papan’s campaign site.
Councilmember Coleman has pledged to refuse campaign contributions from corporations, private developers, big tobacco, and fossil fuel companies. Coleman has aimed to rely on a network of progressives and to run a grassroots campaign.
Currently, the top donors for Coleman’s campaign are his mother, Sheena Coleman, and himself. Other significant donations came from Councilmember Mark Nagales and Assemblymember Alex Lee. Seven other individuals contributed in the range of $1,000 to $3,000.
Coleman is endorsed by the Reach Coalition, vice president of BART Board Janice Li, former Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim, and President of Jefferson Elementary School Board, Clayton Koo.
The race heads for a primary election on June 7, 2022, after which the top two candidates, regardless of party, will advance to the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
