Candidate Money Update

In Which: We look at who pulled papers for Council. Councilmember Bonilla raises a small fortune. And there's more to donations than just money.

Who’s Actually Running For Council?

As they complete their candidacy paperwork, City Council candidates are starting to get into gear. Council candidates don’t have to file their paperwork with the County—it’s all on the City Clerk’s office to get things done. Unfortunately the City Clerk’s office can operate a bit slower than the County, perhaps due to staffing shortages as it’s a small department.

We finally got a peek at who’s running for Council:

The incumbents will almost definitely turn in their paperwork by this Friday’s deadline, but it’s possible others won’t.

Council Candidate Money Talk

There was also a financial deadline recently—also handled by the City Clerk’s office—and the paperwork is now available for review. HUSD Board races may rely more on ground game and endorsements, but City Council races rely heavily on money. Let’s see where it’s coming from.

Francisco Zermeño

Francisco Zermeño ended 2023 with almost $26,000 in the bank. Although he received a few big contributions—the Sheet Metal Union, Gabriel Real Estate, Laborer’s Local 304, United Western Wear, and Bill Quirk—contributions only amounted to around $11,000. He loaned his own campaign $20,000 in 2020 and has been carrying a further $6,000 loan since 2004.

For the first half of 2024, Zermeño brought in a little less than $7,000 with big donations coming from the Sprinkler Fitters Union, the Carpenter’s Union, and restauranteur Alejandro Gamarra. Combined with the smaller contributions, he’s has over $22,000 in his account.

Interestingly, Zermeño made a $10,000 payment to Crystal Arajo of Iconic Strategies for campaign consultation. According to her LinkedIn profile, she’s served on the Community Services Commission and been involved in policy and local political consultation for 6 or 7 years. Zermeño also showed off some flyers on his social media, so it’s possible that some the $22,600 his campaign has will go to mailing them to voters throughout the City.

Ray Bonilla Jr.

Ray Bonilla Jr. is a fundraising powerhouse among the incumbents. Starting with nothing in 2023, he raised almost $20,000 between October and December. Not only did he get Trade Union support—Construction and General Laborer’s Union, the Sheetmetal Worker’s Union, and the Sprinkler Fitter’s Union—he’s also got generous friends and family.

Bonilla’s time in the upper reaches of the tech and healthcare industries means he’s made friends with people who earn more than the average Haywardeño. If usual donations are in the neighborhood of $150, he received 8 donations in 2023 that were $500 or more from individuals. And there’s no indication that the donations are slowing down.

In the first half of 2024, Bonilla has pulled in another $20,000 in contributions. Some of it was Union-driven—Carpenter’s Union and the Heat and Frost Insulator’s Union—but once again the majority of it was generous individuals. Many donors are nearing their total contribution limit of $1,743. 11 people have donated over $1,000 total to Bonilla’s campaign, at least 3 of whom share his last name.

For expenditures, $325 have gone to photography and another $325 have gone to Eldridge Political Partners LLC who manages his campaign. Bonilla has also received a donated “rental fee” from Iconic Strategies Inc.—the same group Zermeño paid $10,000 to. But this fiscal responsibility leaves Bonilla’s campaign with over $38,000 in the bank, dwarfing the other incumbents.

Angela Andrews

Angela Andrews ended 2023 with $13,000 in the bank—mostly raised from a Halloween fundraiser she threw in October. In the first half of 2024, she’s pulled in a further $15,600—much of it during a campaign event at the end of June. She loaned her campaign $1,500 in 2020, but it looks like only $400 of that is left.

Although she had the backing of the Chamber of Commerce in 2020—always a powerful asset—she’s also gotten some solid union backing. This year alone, the Carpenters Union and Steamfitter’s Union have donated over $1,600 a piece. She also received a donation from PG&E, but she promptly returned it.

Of Andrews’s donors, most of them are pretty small—only 6 have donated near $1,000 or more. I’d guess the average is around $250 for the campaign season so far—some run a bit bigger and some smaller. Many of them are from a friend network outside of Hayward—similarly to Ray Bonilla Jr.—but there’s also donations from a lot of local political figures.

Andrews has taken an interesting approach to her campaign expenditures, focusing on events over political consultants. She donated $1,000 to the Juneteenth Event via the West Coast Blues Society and $500 to StackFest via La Familia. She’s also sponsoring a K-Pop event at Hayward Public Library and a pre-event at Soheila Bakery beforehand.

Angela Andrews appears to be making her campaign into an events brand that residents will recognize. It’s not an approach I’ve seen before, and hinges on whether people associate the events with Andrews directly. If successful, it could change how campaigns are run in Hayward.

Dan Goldstein

Dan Goldstein finished 2023 with a mere $3,000 in his account. And in the first half of 2024 he’s only raised an additional $5,000—and $1,500 of that was a donation from his 2022 campaign. Most of the rest came from Bill Quirk and Robin Wilma who both donated over $1,600.

With so few donors at this time, Goldstein has the smallest campaign of the incumbents. But if his $2,000 payment to Clifford Moss—a campaign consultancy group—pays off, it may be enough this election with the help of his incumbency.

Donation As Political Tie

Beyond the money, even a small campaign contribution from the right person can be a signal. If you look through enough reports, you’ll notice that elected officials often donate token amounts to each other as a way of showing alliance. Obviously Bill Quirk likes to put his thumb on the scales with large contributions, but current office holders like to shore up their friends in other races.

For example, there are donations from Sara Lamnin to Ray Bonilla Jr. and Angela Andrews, and Al Mendall donated to Francisco Zermeno and Ray Bonilla Jr. The same dozen or so names donate to all of the incumbent Councilmembers because they move in the same circles and benefit from keeping each other in power. They may have differing ideologies, but they have 1:1 access and influence in a way that regular people don’t have and the donations help to keep it.

There are also names from the Planning Commission. These are the next generation of Establishment Councilmembers—some may have their chance in 2026—so donating to existing Councilmembers helps to solidify alliances going forward.

Planning Commissioners past and present all donated to Ray Bonilla Jr.—likely at least in part because they knew each other while Bonilla was on the Commission—and several also donated to other incumbents. None of the donations are going to swing an election, but they demonstrate a financial connection to a person in power that could pay big dividends for their own political aspirations.