Realtors and Labor Unions Pour Nearly $100K Into Mountain View Race

Outside independent expenditures have surged past $100,000 in the Mountain View City Council race, even though every candidate agreed to the city’s voluntary $32,352 campaign spending cap, according to campaign finance disclosures reported by Mountain View Voice.

Under the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, independent expenditure committees may spend unlimited sums on political mailers, online ads, and canvassing provided they do not coordinate directly with candidates.

$77,844 From National Association of Realtors for Cox and Donahue

Campaign filings show the National Association of Realtors spent $38,922.08 apiece—nearly $78,000 combined—on campaign mailers and online advertisements supporting candidates Robert Cox and Paul Donahue. Both Cox and Donahue oppose Senate Bill 79, which requires cities to permit higher residential density near major transit stops such as Mountain View’s downtown Caltrain station, and were the only candidates on a Mountain View Voice questionnaire to oppose increased housing density in single-family neighborhoods.

Cox told Mountain View Voice he had been unaware of the Realtors association’s nearly $40,000 expenditure on his behalf, saying, “Great neighborhoods sell.” Donahue stated in an email that he wants “more home ownership opportunities and make sure growth comes with the parks, schools, and infrastructure our neighborhoods need.”

South Bay Labor Council and Firefighters PAC Spending

Meanwhile, the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council—representing more than 100 unions in Santa Clara and San Benito counties—spent $15,174.48 on mailers alone, alongside phone banking and canvassing handouts, to support Santa Clara County Library Community Outreach Specialist and SEIU Local 521 member Erik Poicon. South Bay Labor Council Executive Officer Jean Cohen wrote that working families are being priced out of Silicon Valley.

Separately, the Mountain View Professional Firefighters Political Action Committee spent roughly $3,800 per campaign on mailers and door hangers backing IdaRose Sylvester, Cox, and Donahue.