A big red sign that says "Mayor Recall" and another sign that says "Recall Mayor Thao" taped to a folding table in front of a grocery store.
A recall petition table outside of a Safeway store in Oakland on Feb. 29, 2024. Credit: Darwin BondGraham

The campaign seeking to recall Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has raised almost $275,000 in contributions in three months—and spent most of it.

The political committee Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao, or “OUST,” disclosed to Oakland election officials this week that it raised $61,646 in cash contributions from individuals between January and March. Almost half of this came from San Francisco tech billionaire Ron Conway and his two sons, Chris and Ronny.

However, the lion’s share of the money the campaign has spent came in the form of what’s called a “non-monetary contribution” from another campaign committee that hasn’t yet disclosed who its funders are. Foundational Oakland Unites gave the main recall committee, OUST, $210,000 in assistance to pay for signature gathering. OUST also still owes $25,000 to a signature-gathering firm, according to the report. 

The attempt to recall Thao was launched in January by a group of activists who blame the mayor for failing to address public safety issues, business closures, losing the Oakland A’s, and firing the former police chief LeRonne Armstrong.

Shootings and homicides started rising two years before Thao took office in January 2023. High rates of homicides and shootings continued in 2023 but have fallen this year: homicides are down by 17% and shootings are down by 21% while burglaries have fallen by 50% and auto thefts have dropped by 12%. The only major crime category that has increased is robbery, which is up 11% over last year. 

The recall campaign, which is led by retired judge and former police commissioner Brenda Harbin-Forte, is attempting to collect over 25,000 signatures by July to give voters the choice of keeping or removing Thao as part of the November general election.

Seneca Scott, spokesperson for the recall campaign, did not respond to a request for comment. The campaign emailed supporters on Tuesday urging them to participate in a “blitz” to gather more signatures. 

According to OUST’s disclosure form, the committee has paid Scott $8,000.

Foundational Oakland Unites has paid $210,000 to a Newport Beach-based company called On the Ground for gathering petition signatures. The company’s website says it was founded in 2019 and includes services ranging from “voter registration, grassroots advocacy, signature gathering, validation & data management, fraud surveillance, and field opposition & research.”

The campaign also paid $6,276 to a political consultant named Andrew Hock. Hock previously worked for Scott when he unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2022 and now works for Foundational Oakland Unites. 

A representative for Mayor Sheng Thao declined to comment on the recall. Thao has not been actively raising money to counter the attempted recall, according to election disclosure records. 

Who’s paying for the recall campaign?

Foundational Oakland Unites: $212,519

Foundational Oakland Unites is a nonprofit political advocacy group established in February. The organization is led by Tanya Boyce, a planning manager in Fort Worth, Texas who used to live in Oakland. Boyce has also served as executive director of the Oakland-based Environmental Democracy Project. According to committee filings, Foundational Oakland Unites’ purpose is “to counter the Radical Activist Class’ grip on Oakland,” repeal ranked choice voting, and endorse candidates for city offices. 

Foundational Oakland Unites has supported the recall campaign mainly by paying its bills for signature gathering. This is similar to the campaign seeking to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, where a group called Supporters of Recall Pamela Price (formerly Reviving the Bay Area) has given the lion’s share of money to fund the activities of a separate committee called SAFE, which is the public face of the recall

The financial relationship between the two groups backing the recall campaign against Thao has caused confusion, including among pro-recall activists. Earlier this month, the main recall campaign committee, OUST, emailed its supporters, telling them, “We have options for donors to remain private if you prefer.” The note told prospective donors to contact Andrew Hock with Foundational Oakland Unites. Five days later, the campaign sent a “correction” email that said, “For clarity’s sake, we want to emphasize that our recall campaign is operating under an umbrella organization called Foundational Oakland Unites which will be supporting a slate of candidates offering sensible policy and accountable leadership to the City. For those who do not wish to donate to the recall but want to support the broader mission of a safe, livable Oakland, donations can be made to Foundational Oakland Unites anonymously.”

It’s illegal for anyone to give contributions to a political campaign like a recall anonymously. According to election laws, anyone who gives more than $100 to a political candidate, a committee backing a ballot measure like a recall, or a general-purpose political committee, must disclose their identity by giving their legal name to the recipient of the funds. The recipient committee must then include the person’s full name, occupation, and city of residence when they file campaign finance disclosure forms with election officials. 

Andrew Hock told The Oaklandside that the emails in question had been “poorly worded” by a volunteer.

“Foundational Oakland Unites is a Multi-Purpose Organization that is registered with the Secretary of State,” Hock wrote in an email to The Oaklandside after we asked about the email soliciting anonymous contributions. “FOU has not taken any anonymous donations. All contributions to FOU used for political purposes itemized at $100 will be publicly disclosed per FPPC regulations.” 

“The organizations have treasurers whose compliance officers ensure that all financial activities are reported appropriately and all donors are made aware of the public nature of their donations,” Hock said about Foundational Oakland Unites and the recall committee. 

The Conway family: $30,000

Earlier this year, the recall campaign disclosed a list of major funders on its website, which included tech billionaire Ron Conway and his son, Christopher Conway. The website didn’t disclose how much money the Conways had given, however. The new campaign finance report shows that Ron, Christopher, and a second son, Ronny, each contributed $10,000 in February.

Ron Conway is the founder of the venture capital firm SV Angel, which has owned stakes in Google, Meta, Twitter, and other companies. Christopher Conway, who normally goes by the name Topher, is a managing partner at SV Angel. Both he and his father were major financial supporters of Proposition E in San Francisco, a voter-approved initiative that weakens the city’s police commission and gives SFPD more leeway to engage in vehicle pursuits, among other changes. Ron Conway helped raise money for the recall campaign against SF District Attorney Chesa Boudin, while his son Christopher contributed almost $190,000 worth of stock to the recall. 

Ronny Conway did not appear on the recall campaign’s website in March. According to the campaign report, Ronny Conway is the founder of A. Capital Ventures, a big investor in crypto currency companies.

Brenda Harbin-Forte: $5,000

Harbin-Forte is a former Alameda County Superior Court judge and a former member of the Oakland Police Commission. Harbin-Forte became increasingly critical of Thao after the mayor removed her from the police commission last June. Harbin-Forte’s term had expired in October 2022 but she stayed on for over half a year because the mayor hadn’t picked a replacement or moved to reappoint her. Thao said at the time that Harbin-Forte was a holdover from the previous administration and she wanted to place her own person on the commission.

Harbin-Forte, who has refused to speak with our publication about the recall, said in recent interviews with other media that she wasn’t motivated to start the recall because of Thao’s decision to replace her. In an interview several weeks ago with a local pastor who has a YouTube channel, Harbin-Forte accused Thao of having “blood on her hands” because of Oakland’s crime problems.

Oral Lee Brown: $5,000

Brown, an Oakland resident, is the executive director of the Oral Lee Brown Foundation, a nonprofit that provides educational assistance and scholarships for Oakland residents pursuing post-high school education.

Eric Standifer: $5,000

Standifer is the CEO of Blaylock Van, LLC, a minority-owned investment bank and financial firm. He lives in Oakland.

Marty Glick: $3,500

Glick, a Piedmont resident, is a special advisor to the Golden State Warriors. He has also donated money to the recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.

 Ruslan Spektor: $2,000

Spektor is a retired Oakland resident. He appears to be married to Mollie Westphal, the president of the property management and development firm Monarq. Westphal is a supporter of Neighbors Together Oakland, a nonprofit organization founded by Seneca Scott, who serves as the media liaison for the Thao recall campaign.

Eli Wolfe reports on City Hall for The Oaklandside. He was previously a senior reporter for San José Spotlight, where he had a beat covering Santa Clara County’s government and transportation. He also worked as an investigative reporter for the Pasadena-based newsroom FairWarning, where he covered labor, consumer protection and transportation issues. He started his journalism career as a freelancer based out of Berkeley. Eli’s stories have appeared in The Atlantic, NBCNews.com, Salon, the San Francisco Chronicle, and elsewhere. Eli graduated from UC Santa Cruz and grew up in San Francisco.