Despite opposition from three of his colleagues on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, David Canepa’s campaign for county assessor-clerk-recorder and elections chief appears to be thriving.
Canepa has raised an impressive amount of money and, in so doing, has demonstrated a broadening countywide base of supporters who appear undeterred by the so-far-only vocal opposition to his candidacy from supervisors Noelia Corzo, Ray Mueller and Jackie Speier.
Indeed, Canepa is enjoying support from a cross-section of the county’s political establishment that has been largely unavailable to him since he ran for Congress against Kevin Mullin in 2020.
Some of this reflects a conventional wisdom that Canepa is an odds-on favorite to win one of the few remaining countywide offices due to a distinct set of political assets. He is widely known from a career marked by hyperactivity: He has attended hundreds, if not thousands, of public gatherings and has shown an unabashed hunger for attention from the regional news media on issues ranging from silly to earnest.
As much as insiders (including this one) have viewed his long-standing habits as largely self-promoting, the political and campaign benefits are undeniable.
The latest campaign finance statements filed this week show Canepa raised $158,000 since the first of the year, spent $89,000 and had $69,000 in cash on hand at the start of the critical final weeks of the campaign.
Nearly 100 people and organizations donated $1,000 to the campaign; he raised $17,450 from labor unions; a week ago, he picked up the endorsement of the San Mateo County Democratic Party, which was among the $1,000 donors, and the county Asian American Pacific Islander Alliance; and he received donations from such prominent local officials as Burlingame Councilmember Donna Colson ($500) and San Mateo Councilmember Lisa Diaz Nash ($600). Not to mention high-powered attorney and political powerhouse Joe Cotchett ($1,000).
Canepa’s opponent, Jim Irizarry, who is the assistant assessor-clerk-recorder, had not filed his latest finance report as of the deadline for this column.
He said here two weeks ago that he had provided his campaign $125,000, and was “prepared to go to $200,000” as “seed money” for a race he said could cost as much as $350,000-$500,000. The latest finance documents show Irizarry has donated only $100,000.
The support from Corzo, Mueller and Speier has yet to manifest itself in donations either directly or by referral, raising questions about how much political capital they will expend to support Irizarry someone simply because they do not like Canepa.
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All three are on Irizarry’s website as endorsers. Historically, an endorsement from Speier, if prominently featured in campaign materials, can be quite influential, especially in races down the ballot. Also endorsing: former Rep. Anna Eshoo, Assemblymember Marc Berman, former state Sen. Jerry Hill and three other nonpartisan countywide officeholders, Treasurer-Tax Collector Sandie Arnott, Controller Juan Raigoza and the current incumbent, Mark Church.
The challenge lies in getting word out to voters of these endorsements, and building a public profile for Irizarry.
If the insider thinking is that Canepa has a massive political edge, Irizarry has a title that may prove an equally massive advantage. He will appear on the ballot as the assistant assessor-clerk-recorder.
Irizarry’s website includes quotes from Speier and Church describing Irizarry as “the only qualified candidate,” a reference to the fact that he has held the assistant title for 13 years, albeit amid some controversy within the office.
A countywide race could cost as much as $500,000, as Irizarry suggested, but it appears neither is going to hit that amount.
If the two candidates remain largely equal in fundraising — whatever the source — then Irizarry’s ballot designation could carry considerable weight with voters who are largely unaware of this nonpartisan office, its duties and the campaign being waged by the two candidates.
A RISK PAYS OFF: It could be said that Mueller took considerable risk putting himself at the forefront of the effort to oust controversial Sheriff Christina Corpus. But it is having a political payoff, even if that was not why Mueller went after Corpus.
Mueller is seeking reelection to District 3, which meanders from Menlo Park to Pacifica. He has raised nearly $30,000, and has $34,000 in cash on hand; $7,000 of his donations are from law enforcement organizations outside the county, including Oakland, and Contra Costa and Alameda counties.
In contrast, his opponent, former Half Moon Bay Councilmember Joaquin Jimenez, has yet to file a campaign finance report. He may not exceed the $2,000 threshold required for filing. Jimenez has some signs up on the coastside and his campaign website asks for donations ranging from $25-$100.
(5) comments
Thanks for your column today, Mr. Simon, and the latest update on campaign cash in the county assessor race. Fortunately, we know the amount of campaign cash doesn’t necessarily translate to victory. Sometimes a candidate’s lack of qualifications shine through and the public is smart enough to vote for the less funded but more qualified candidate. After all, just ask incompetent and unqualified candidates such as Hillary “Benghazi” Clinton and Kamala “Word-Salad” Harris.
I will vote for Irizarry because he knows the job. Canepa, on the other hand, has always come off as somewhat sleazy since he was on the Daly City city council, and it feels like he's just looking for another county job after he's term-limited out of his county supervisor's seat. That said, your bringing MAGA talking points into the discussion to try to help Irizarry doesn't help him in a very Democratic district. Irizarry is definitely not MAGA.
Hey CoastalBoy, just because you’re an independent who despises Trump and MAGA (your past words, not mine) doesn’t mean everything is MAGA or not. Contrary to your interpretation, my comment wasn’t meant to be related to MAGA. Can you quickly name a few candidates who blew loads of campaign cash only to lose?
Do you think blaming me for alleged MAGA talking points will bring out the vote? MAGA folks vote too, even in blue districts. Or would you rather MAGA folks stay home and not vote, handing the election to unqualified candidates? Personally, I’d rather folks, MAGA or not, go out and vote, even if their choice is to vote for the least of all evils in the hopes of making things greater again for our community, our state, and our country. Folks need to stop letting their hatred of Trump overcome their love for America. After all, hatred of Trump resulted in Trump being elected President, twice.
Having seen Irizzary’s staff plead for help at the SMBOS meeting and hearing revelations about his white supremacist associations gives me great pause. Canepa has shown a deep local dedication as well as a strong election system technology understanding . I am hopeful our leaders will now withdraw all support from Irrizari to avoid further damage to reputation
I am not sure what his political preferences have to do with his ability to steer this very complex department. After all, some major cities elected political favorites, LA and Chicago and even a president, Biden, who turned out to be overwhelmingly incompetent, yet all checked the DEI and Woke boxes. Irrizari should not have to worry about this in his function as he reports to the voters in our County. Look what happened with our last DEI sheriff, one disaster after another at great expense. Experience counts, political affiliation should not even come into the picture as it is immaterial in this position.
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