In Los Angeles, candidates with socialist leanings are accepting significant funding from billionaires, despite openly criticizing capitalism.
For instance, Marissa Roy, a city attorney candidate, has secured an impressive $1.4 million from a super PAC linked to wealthy donors. Roy’s campaign aims to reshape the prosecutor’s office into a major “public interest law firm,” with priorities including civil rights and mental health programs instead of traditional incarceration.
Similarly, Eunice Hernandez, a city council member known for her anti-police stance and intentions to hike business taxes, has garnered $310,000 from the same source. West Side candidate Faiza Malik, who advocated for a mansion tax affecting homes over $5 million, has raised $200,000.
Even Nitya Raman, a mayoral hopeful who claims to reject corporate funding, has seen $20,000 spent on her behalf by a billionaire-backed organization.
The influx of donations to political groups, especially the Smart Justice California Action Fund, allows for significant contributions to influence local elections without strict limits.
This method cleverly bypasses direct donation caps, leading critics to point out the irony as these self-proclaimed champions of the working class benefit from substantial sums linked to some of the nation’s wealthiest individuals.
At the heart of this funding scheme are four affluent benefactors connected to technology and financial sectors, all with a penchant for progressive causes.
Among them is Patti Quillin, wife to Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, and other major donors like Elizabeth Simmons, daughter of a hedge fund mogul. They, along with Caitlin Krieger, who is married into a tech fortune, and Quinn Delaney, heir to the Clif Bar empire, have contributed sizable amounts, often without even residing in Los Angeles.
Quillin has personally donated $1.8 million to the Smart Justice California Action Fund this election cycle, while Simmons and Krieger have also made notable contributions. The fund has already spent $1.4 million supporting Roy, plus additional amounts toward Hernandez’s campaign.
Direct donations also flow in from these billionaires, showing how intertwined their support is with local political candidates.
Los Angeles has a public financing system that magnifies contributions, matching qualified donations 6-1, meaning a $1,000 donation effectively becomes $6,000.
Only one candidate, Sotomartinez, has publicly defended a clean funding approach, insisting on not accepting donations from corporate sources.
Opponents, like Lou Calanche, slam candidates like Hernandez for hypocrisy, highlighting the stark contradiction of accepting funding from affluent sources while claiming to advocate for workers.
Political consultant Rick Taylor believes that billionaires are influencing city policies without bearing the everyday consequences of those choices.
Others, like Nico Ruderman, express concern over how these financial backers’ policies affect everyday Angelenos, especially those dealing with public safety and homelessness.
An earlier instance of this influence was observed in 2020 when the Smart Justice California Action Fund invested heavily in support of District Attorney George Gascon, whose reforms were criticized for allegedly escalating crime rates.
Crime statistics, including shoplifting and violent incidents, surged during his tenure, leading to his removal in 2024—a move seen by many as a necessary correction.
