2024 Berkeley Mayoral race: Here’s how much money candidates have received

Angela Bi | File

Three candidates are running for mayor in Berkeley: Berkeley City Councilmember Sophie Hahn, former City Councilmember Kate Harrison and former League of Women Voters President Adena Ishii. As the election approaches, we took a deep dive into how much money each candidate has received and who is financing their campaigns.

Harrison and Ishii chose to opt into Berkeley’s public financing program, in which the city matches contributions up to $60 by 6-to-1. If a candidate participates in the program, they are not allowed to receive contributions from political action committees, corporations, nonprofits and labor unions, and can only receive donations up to $60. Hahn is not participating in public financing.

Harrison criticized Hahn’s choice to opt out of the public financing program in a Facebook post in early August, stating that it is important for candidates to participate in public financing because it “prevents the influence of outside big money interests, especially in aggregate,” the post read.

Kate Harrison

Harrison has raised the most money out of all three candidates, around $68,000 in individual donations, along with nearly an additional $233,000 from the city.

Around 93% of contributions she has received have been $60, the limit for an individual contribution when a candidate is opting in to public financing. Harrison has donated $500 to her own campaign. Multiple professors and faculty from UC Berkeley have contributed to Harrison’s campaign, including the director of the Environmental Center at the Goldman School of Public Policy David Wooley and Chair of Gender and Women’s Studies Leslie Salzinger.

If elected, Harrison plans on investing in new bike lane networks and shuttling. She also has supported a commercial vacancy tax, a measure that aims to discourage property owners from leaving storefronts empty for long periods. She said she hopes to push for police transparency and climate action.

Sophie Hahn

Hahn has raised approximately $224,000 in total from individual contributions alone.

As Hahn is not participating in public financing, her contributions are not capped at $60 per person. Out of all individual contributions to Hahn’s campaign, nearly 40% are $270.

Berkeley District 2 City Councilmember Terry Taplin, who is currently running for reelection, contributed $240 to Hanh. District 6 Berkeley City Councilmember Susan Wengraf also contributed $100 to the campaign.

If elected mayor, one of Hahn’s priorities is to invest in the downtown community and commerce of Berkeley.

Adena Ishii

Ishii has raised approximately $53,000 and received approximately $101,000 from the city public financing program.

Ishii made a $330 contribution to her own campaign.Notable contributions include Berkeley City Councilmember Cecilia Lunaparra of District 7, a recent Berkeley alumni, who has contributed $60 to both Ishii’s and Harrison’s campaign.

If elected mayor, Ishii hopes to support affordable housing and expand mental health services and mobile crisis teams without police intervention, according to her campaign website. She also supports Vision Zero 2050, an initiative by Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín that aims to invest in climate-smart infrastructure.

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