Saikat vs. Sergey: S.F. congressional candidate puts $500K toward 'Overpaid CEO tax'

Saikat Chakrabarti donated $500,000 to support Proposition D, a June ballot measure that would raise taxes on large companies with wide pay gaps between executives and typical workers. His total giving to support Proposition D reached $600,000, while total support for the measure reached $2.5 million. Opponents of Proposition D raised about $6.3 million, including major contributions from tech and crypto billionaires such as Sergey Brin, Michael Moritz, and Chris Larsen. Brin donated $500,000 to oppose the measure, and Chakrabarti said that news prompted his decision. He texted Kim Tavaglione of the San Francisco Labor Council to ask whether he could match Brin’s donation and received approval. Labor supporters welcomed the contribution but said they would continue backing Supervisor Connie Chan without any deal tied to the donation.

"Congressional candidate Saikat Chakrabarti today donated $500,000 to support Proposition D, the June ballot measure that would raise taxes on large companies with wide pay gaps between executives and typical workers. This brings Chakrabarti's total giving to support Prop. D to $600,000, and the total supporting the measure to $2.5 million. No on D, which is backed by tech billionaires including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, venture capitalist Michael Moritz and crypto billionaire Chris Larsen, has amassed some $6.3 million."

"Brin just this week put in $500,000 to fight the tax. That donation and others convinced Chakrabarti to give, he said. "I'm only doing this because I believe Prop. D needs to pass," he said. "I think it's ridiculous that Sergey [Brin] and Chris [Larsen] are spending millions of dollars to try to stop it." "It was a quick decision" on the eve of the election, Chakrabarti said."

"He said he saw the news of Brin's donation and texted Kim Tavaglione, executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council, who's a big supporter of Prop. D as well as his opponent, Supervisor Connie Chan. He asked whether it would be okay to match Brin's donation on the other side. Clearly, he got the green light. Unions, meanwhile, are thankful for Chakrabarti's contribution, but said they would be unwavering in their sole support for Chan."

"Chakrabarti said "no there's no deal" with labor unions in exchange for his donation. "I'm really glad he's contributing, it's the right thing," said Tavaglione. "It doesn't change the fact that he hasn't been around for 12 years." The tech centimillionaire and former Capitol Hill staffer is so far the only individual who has contributed money to Yes on D. The rest comes mostly from labor unions, like SEIU Local 1021, SEIU 2015 and IFPTE Local 21."

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