The money grab that will make it even harder to defeat countywide incumbents
County supes want to significantly increase caps on individual campaign contributions; Tam calls for outside audit of county registrar's office; Wahab introduces senate resolution to end war in Gaza
☕️MORNING BUZZ
—Alameda County’s political establishment is moving to make it even harder to unseat entrenched incumbents.
A proposal headed to the Board of Supervisors today would jack up campaign contribution limits for countywide offices, giving sitting officials and their allies an even bigger leg up.
The plan, authored by Supervisors David Haubert and Nate Miley, would raise the maximum individual donation for countywide offices like district attorney, assessor, auditor, and treasurer-tax collector from $40,000 to $60,000 per election.
For supervisorial races, the cap would double—from $20,000 to $40,000 per donor.
—There’s little justification offered beyond the claim that current limits somehow hold back candidates.
Back in 2010, supervisors passed campaign finance rules specifically to prevent deep-pocketed candidates from steamrolling elections.
That ordinance, written by then-Supervisor Scott Haggerty, came in direct response to Nadia Lockyer’s $2 million bid for a supervisorial seat, bankrolled almost entirely by her husband, then-state treasurer Bill Lockyer.
Fast forward to now: supervisors are not only looking to weaken that safeguard, but they already quietly extended the terms of low-profile offices—assessor, treasurer, and auditor—from four to six years, syncing them with DA and sheriff contests in 2028.
These are elected offices that almost never face competitive races, let alone fundraising struggles.
—For decades, Alameda County has perfected the “golden handoff,” where incumbents announce retirements just before filing deadlines and handpick their successors, who are then appointed and glide into office.
Read my East Bay Express article on the subject: “March of the Incumbents.”
But cracks have shown—voters ousted the sheriff and superintendent of schools in 2022, and Pamela Price toppled the political establishment to become DA that same year.
Still, supervisors themselves remain untouchable. None face serious threats, and most aren’t especially big fundraisers.
The exception is Haubert, who already boasts the largest campaign war chest of any local officeholder. If his proposal passes, that advantage balloons even further—cementing incumbency and raising the price of admission for anyone daring to challenge the status quo.
—411 ON THE 510—Become an East Bay Insiders subscriber today and get FULL ACCESS to the inside scoop every weekday morning at 6 a.m. It’s what the insiders read.
📺EAST BAY INSIDERS TV
—ETHICS & INVESTING—Last year, Alameda County Treasurer-Tax Collector Henry Levy moved to divest $32 million in county bonds in a business that has financial interests in Israel and its war in Gaza.
—A proposed Ethical Investment Policy for the county has been debated for much a past year and is expected to come before the Alameda County Board of Supervisors sometime in the fall.
—Members of the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America are expected to urge county supervisors today to lock down a date for discussion of the policy.
—But before then, Tim Drew, a co-chair of the East Bay DSA’s Divest from Apartheid Campaign joins East Bay Insiders TV.
—More inside:
COUNTY NEWS: Supervisor Tam calls for audit of registrar after civil grand jury flags transparency and other concerns.
EBC Classic: The last time the Board of Supervisors made changes to its election contribution caps it was to limit the power of money in politics.
CITY NEWS: Hayward drops the B-Word: City leaders warn of insolvency, whereas Oakland leaders were admonished for the same language.
Despite being a city on the ascendancy, not much legislative action is going on in Fremont.
STATE NEWS: Wahab, Wiener lead resolution calling for end to Israel-Hamas War and humanitarian action in Gaza.
