Locally in SF, he has become a major benefactor of GrowSF and the Abundance Network, as well as Empower Oakland across the Bay. He made headlines last month when he contributed $500k to D10 candidate Theo Ellington - the highest donation in the history of SF supervisor elections.

Larsen has also become one of the biggest spenders on California-wide issues, contributing $15m Grow California, an organization he co-founded backing candidates across the state, along with giving $12.5m to oppose prop 40, the CA billionaire tax.

Recently, the School Board - led by Kim - voted to end San Francisco’s lottery admissions system. These reforms among others pushed by GrowSF & co. such as school closures, vouchers, and charter expansion are what may lay ahead if they’re able to get their candidates into office.

Kim is the charter-school candidate, having spent 11 years at KIPP before joining SFUSD in 2024. He and Garibay are also backed by SF Parents Action, whose donors include charter school-connected Michelle Boyers, Michael Moritz's foundation, and Mayor Lurie’s family foundation.

Neighbors was started by billionaire donor William Oberndorf. It spent nearly $500K on the 2022 recall of three progressive board members. Oberndorf champions "school choice", having co-founded the charter advocacy organization American Federation for Children with Betsy DeVos.

All three have received donations from chapters of Govern for California, a PAC created to take on organized labor-backed candidates. Govern for California routinely uses a variety of regional chapters that donate separately in order to get around local spending limits.

So far, $147K has been spent on the race. Garibay has nearly $37K in direct contributions plus $52K in GrowSF voter guide support. Kim has about $27K, and Tung nearly $17K, plus they all have GrowSF guide endorsements valued at $103K, with much more money expected to pour in.

Big money is flooding from Astroturf groups into San Francisco’s School Board race. Political pressure groups like GrowSF and Neighbors for a Better San Francisco have pledged six and seven figures to back candidates Phil Kim, Autumn Brown Garibay, and Tim Tung. 🧵

School board seats are a cheap way to build towards future City Council and Mayor races. Also, Empower may strategically be placing pro-charter school candidates to close public schools and redirect their resources, a strategy used by pro-charter groups statewide.

Empower’s funding web is tangled. Money moves through PACs tied to astroturf groups Revitalize East Bay, the Abundance Network, and billionaire donors like Dreyfuss. Besides Fleishcer, Empower is also helping back Kathryn Camp, Alexandra Williams, and LeAna Powell in D4 and D6.

Empower launched in 2024 with big checks from Pollak and Phillip Dreyfuss, along with money from Govern for California, a dark money group that’s use their chapters to dodge spending limits. Their 2024 results were mixed: Charlene Wang won, but Loren Taylor and Warren Logan lost.

That's small compared to their wealth, but a huge sum for Oakland school board races. Much of the money raised has gone to mailers supporting Empower’s candidates. This month, Empower spent $18k on mailers backing Arielle Fleischer, a Waymo exec and on Empower’s leadership team.

After losing the 2025 Oakland mayor's race, the Oakland’s Astroturf Network is shifting focus to the school board, where it sees a better shot at winning. Empower Oakland, seeded by Chris Larsen and Jesse Pollak, gave $45,423 to five school board candidates this November. 🧵