FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sunny Angulo, sunny@aaron2024.com
RESPONSE FROM AARON PESKIN:
When It Comes to Michael Moritz, Consider the Source
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (October 16th 2024) --
I recently sat down for coffee with billionaire Michael Moritz – at his suggestion. The first thing he did was pull out his phone to show me photos from his extravagant 70th birthday party, complete with a private performance by singer Jon Batiste. This probably tells you something you already know: Moritz is exceedingly wealthy and takes every opportunity to flaunt it.
It quickly became clear that his motive for our little chat was an opportunity for him to express his displeasure at my attacking his dangerous ballot measure, called Prop D, which, by weakening government accountability and limiting citizen participation, threatens to do more harm to San Francisco's democracy than any individual action in memory. This morning, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote an editorial opposing Prop D, calling it “rushed,” “sloppy,” and “arbitrary.” The nonpartisan League of Women Voters called it “cynical, manipulative, and poorly conceived.”
I have authored a competing measure, Prop E, in partnership with good government experts like our former City Controller, which will fix city government without undermining the rights of San Franciscans. While I’ve raised $25,000 for grassroots-based Prop E, Moritz has poured a staggering $3 million into Prop D, some of which has been used in legally dubious ways to advance the candidacy of his preferred candidate for Mayor.
Now, Moritz continues the attacks with a defamatory and denigrating op-ed in the New York Times. (Not to be confused with his 2023 New York Times op-ed trashing San Francisco where he blamed the city’s societal ills on everything from ranked-choice-voting to voter-initiated tax measures to the School Board to Republicans not having enough power in a Democratic Party town – today’s attacks are reserved for me, though.) Before taking his claims at face value, I urge readers to consider the source.
Moritz is the chief financial backer of TogetherSF, a dark money SuperPAC into which he has funneled millions. And if you think the aims of this group are altruistic, just look at recently-leaked internal documents, which describe its purpose to “grow and sustain [a] movement of community dissatisfaction.” Moritz’s history of political spending reveals a troubling pattern: over the years, he has invested a staggering $336 million into this city. For someone worth nearly $6 billion, this is a mere trifle, but it represents a significant influence over San Francisco’s political landscape.
Moritz recently teamed up with other wealthy investors to secretly acquire thousands of acres in Solano County for a proposed gated community called "California Forever." Vanity Fair writer Jon Skolnik aptly characterized this project as a reflection of the "god complex" that afflicts many in the tech elite, focusing on their peculiar vision for the future rather than the needs of existing diverse communities.
As he admits in his op-ed, Moritz has also invested heavily in commercial real estate in San Francisco, including plans to raze a historic building on the northern waterfront to construct a towering new luxury structure that would irreparably alter the landscape of one of our most iconic neighborhoods. In other words, Mortiz’s views on real estate development – and his views about me – are driven, in substantial part, by self-interest. It is therefore no surprise that he supports removing all restrictions on new building construction, which would overwhelm San Francisco's already strained infrastructure, offer no affordability guarantees and displace longtime residents from their rent-controlled homes.
Moritz's political actions consistently put his financial interests ahead of the well-being of San Francisco residents. He supported measures like Proposition B in 2010, which would have doubled healthcare costs for city workers. It is no surprise, then, that he bemoans in his op-ed “rising pay” for city employees. (Perhaps only billionaires, not city workers, should ever get a pay raise.) He also opposed Proposition C in 2018, which raised taxes on large corporations to generate funding for desperately needed drug treatment, mental health care, shelter beds and housing while more enlightened tech leaders like Salesforce’s Mark Benioff supported it.
Moritz’s political record also includes opposing Proposition 89, which sought to ban contributions from lobbyists to politicians in California, undermining efforts to reduce corruption in our political system. He stood against Proposition 82, which aimed to tax those making over $400,000 to provide free preschool for all four-year-olds in California. Moritz opposed Proposition 30, which proposed taxing millionaires to fund electric vehicles, a critical initiative for environmental sustainability.
It's clear that Michael Moritz does not share the values that define San Francisco. And the lesson to take from Moritz's op-ed is clear: if he finds fault with my candidacy, it’s likely a testament to the fact that I am standing up for what’s just and right. Throughout my two decades of public service, I have fought for increased housing affordability, to expand tenant protections, and to ensure that local government serves the many communities of San Francisco, not just the wealthy few.
As he notes himself, in my career I have voted to approve over 100,000 new homes in San Francisco. I authored the legalization of in-law apartments (ADUs) across the city, and worked closely with neighbors and communities to bring more housing capacity to broad areas of the city. I did this not, like Moritz, for profit – but because it is good public policy.
Mr. Moritz is content to use his millions to fight for changes in this city that benefit himself as a real estate investor. I am committed to championing the San Franciscans who don’t have a billionaire in their corner. It’s a fight I’m proud to wage.
– Aaron Peskin is the President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and a candidate for Mayor of San Francisco.
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