Big money players are giving six-figure sums to a committee promoting District Attorney Brooke Jenkins ahead of the November election, deftly bypassing San Francisco campaign finance limits in an apparent effort to plaster the DA’s face and name on flyers and mailers across the city.
Donors to Jenkins’ committee, which is directly controlled by the DA and must legally feature her name, are not bound by any contribution ceilings, and corporations can donate, too. State-level committees are “oftentimes soft money vehicles where elected officials not only try to pass the ballot measure, but they get their name out there,” said Jim Sutton, a campaign finance lawyer with decades of experience in San Francisco. The DA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two others, Brian and Courtney Giraudo, a pharmaceutical executive and nurse, respectively, gave another $5,000 each.