Google co-founder Sergey Brin, the third-richest person in the world ($255 billion) according to Forbes, is putting his money behind San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan to be California’s next governor, one of several billionaires and top tech leaders to contribute to Mahan’s fledgling run.
Mahan needs the cash infusion to introduce himself to voters. He entered the campaign in January, months after most of the field, and is not well known outside of San Jose. Mahan’s opposition to a proposed statewide tax on billionaires and his advocacy for increasing criminal penalties for low-level offenses and homelessness is apparently attractive to deep-pocketed tech donors.
“Folks in Silicon Valley have been clamoring for him to run,” Silicon Valley fundraiser and Democratic strategist Cooper Teboe, who is not affiliated with the campaign, said this month. “I’ve been getting calls asking if I could help push him to run for months.”
One of Mahan’s rivals in the race, Tom Steyer (who is himself a billionaire), accused him of going soft on the tech elite.
“Matt Mahan is saying that we don’t need to raise taxes on anybody – least of all the rich – indulging the Republican fantasy that we can generate all the revenue California needs simply by cutting out ‘fraud and waste,'” Steyer said in a statement Tuesday. “I’m sure that’s exactly what the tech CEOs paying for his campaign ads want to hear, but it’s not a real plan.”
Steyer wants to close two corporate tax loopholes and direct the revenue to health, housing and education funding, but has not specifically endorsed the proposed billionaire tax.
Brin was one of several Silicon Valley founders and investors to donate the maximum amount ($39,200) to Mahan’s campaign, according to campaign finance reports. Brin has also contributed $20 million to a political group set up to defeat a proposed statewide tax on billionaires, which has not yet qualified for the ballot.
Others tech industry donors to Mahan include former Y Combinator CEO Gary Tan; Sean Parker collaborator Joe Green, who co-founded the political-and-community-building sites NationBuilder and Causes (which Mahan later led) and the pro-immigration fwd.us with Mark Zuckerberg; Cruise Automation co-founder Kyle Vogt, venture capitalist Brian Singerman; Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso, who was also mulling a run for governor; GitHub co-founder Chris Wainsrath; Y Combinator partner Michael Siebel and venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale, who advocated for the public execution of violent criminals last year.
“If I’m in charge later, we won’t just have a three strikes law,” Lonsdale posted on X in December. “We will quickly try and hang men after three violent crimes. And yes, we will do it in public to deter others. Our society needs balance. It’s time to bring back masculine leadership to protect our most vulnerable.”
Brin’s donation to a California candidate was a bit odd since he and Google co-founder Larry Page have been vocal about moving many of their business interests out of California in response to the proposed billionaire tax.
Tan just launched a voter education fund this month to “common-sense policies and candidates that can deliver growth, jobs, and affordability for all Californians.”
The primary is June 2. The top two finishers, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election in November.
This article originally published at Billionaires are pouring money into San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s campaign for governor.