With just five weeks to go until the Nov. 3 election, Richmond’s mayoral run-off candidates have raised about the same amount of money when it comes to individual donations, according to campaign finance reports filed late last week.
But when it comes to independent committees, reports filed Thursday show those backing Ahmad Anderson are raking in far more money than Claudia Jimenez’s supporters. The two are competing in the first mayoral race to be decided under the city’s new primary election system.
Under Richmond’s campaign finance rules, donors giving directly to candidates are limited to $2,500, including the time period leading up to the June primary. Independent committees, which can’t coordinate with the candidates they support, are not subject to that limit.
Just before the June 2 primary, Anderson was the top individual mayoral fundraiser with about $64,000 raised to Jimenez’s $51,000, but Jimenez appears to have caught up, out-raising him slightly, with $109,000 in her coffers, according to the recent filing, compared to his estimated $108,000.
meet the mayoral candidates Thursday
In Thursday’s filing, Anderson’s campaign reported receiving two $2,500 contributions, one from the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and one a transfer from the committee of Vinay Pimple, a former Richmond City Council member. Both are listed as contributions Anderson’s committee made to itself but appear to be money the campaign received, entered incorrectly.
The campaign listed $5,000 in spending and a cash balance of -$5,000 to end the period.
A note from Anderson’s treasurer, Darryl Dunn, which was attached to the filing, states that the campaign raised just under $40,000 from July 1 to Sept. 19, bringing the total for the year to just over $108,000. Anderson’s campaign reported spending a little more than $27,500 during the period.
Dunn stated in the filing that complete details had been sent to the city because “previous (Form) 460 filings totals, did not reflect accurate amounts.” Dunn added that he couldn’t submit a paper copy because he was traveling outside of the country.
Anderson told Richmondside Monday morning that Dunn would be filing an amendment to the Form 460 with the city clerk’s office.
In Monday afternoon’s filing, the explanation for the discrepancies was attributed to having a “technical problem with original Netfile submission.”
Monday’s amendment showed that the labor consulting firm Davillier-Sloan gave $1,000 to Anderson’s campaign in late August. Anderson had previously received $1,100 from the company, which regularly contracts with cities, counties, and districts statewide on labor negotiation matters for construction projects. The owner of Davillier-Sloan, Jake Sloan, is from Richmond.
While not illegal, Anderson could have to recuse himself from votes involving Davillier-Sloan during the first few months of his tenure if he becomes mayor. The Levin Act bans candidates from voting on matters involving “license, permit or other entitlements” for companies from which they accepted contributions of more than $500 within a year of accepting it.
Former Richmond Mayor Tom Butt donated $1,000 to Anderson’s campaign on Sept. 2. Two other filings from August also listed $2,500 contributions by Michael Bush, an executive from Great Places to Work, and Eric Flett, a financial advisor at MAI Capital.
Anderson also received $990 from Hercules resident and Loyola Marymount University instructor Gloria Scoggins, $1,000 from Point Richmond Neighborhood Council president Philip Rosenthal and $1,000 from Matt Jacobson, managing partner at Jacobs & Co., LLC, a San Francisco registered investment advisor.
Jimenez’s campaign reported just under $46,000 in contributions during the period, bringing her total raised to a little more than $109,000. She spent just $1,000 during the summer, most of it on photography.
Jimenez’s largest donation during the current reporting period was a $2,500 contribution from the campaign of fellow council member Doria Robinson. Other contributions during the period included $2,300 from East Bay Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) campaign co-chair Richard Marcantonio, $2,200 from Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) member and Richmond resident Tarnel Abbott and $2,250 from retired environmental engineer Carrie Austin of Oakland.
Jimenez also received $1,000 from the National Union of Healthcare Workers committee and $1,000 each from Richmond residents William Schwimmer, Suzanne Gordon and Michelle Chan, APEN co-director.
Trades unions, police union have raised $310,000 in 2026 for Anderson
Campaign finance reports filed by Thursday’s deadline also show that Safe Richmond Neighborhoods, the independent committee backing Anderson, raised $150,000 between July 1 and Sept. 19, bringing the year-to-date total to $310,000.
Safe Richmond Neighborhoods is sponsored by the Richmond Police Officers Association (RPOA), but most of what it donated to Anderson over the summer came from the building-trades unions. The Boilermakers Local 549 and IBEW Local 302 gave $50,000 each, Steamfitters Local 342 gave $25,000 and the NorCal Carpenters gave $20,000.
The RPOA contributed $90,000. Several of the unions also gave to Anderson’s campaign directly.
The only significant spending since July by the group has been a little more than $18,000 for polling by a San Diego firm called Competitive Edge.
The main independent committee supporting Jimenez, East Bay Working Families, raised $20,000 during the summer bringing its total this year in support of Jimenez to $115,000.
East Bay Working Families, however, has spent and owes more to the campaign efforts than it has currently raised.
According to the filing, the group, which is composed of a number of public employees unions like SEIU 1021 and local organizations like APEN and ACCE Action, has spent just over $138,500 this year to support Jimenez, however, most of it was spent before the primary.
Since July, the $20,000 raised came from IFPTE Local 21 and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555. The group also reported spending just over $2,500 on literature for door canvassers.
East Bay Working Families ended the filing period with about $23,000 in the bank, though the committee has a little more than $36,700 in outstanding bills, $30,000 of which is owed to ACCE Action for canvassing.
Richmond’s next campaign finance filing deadline is Oct. 22, 11 days before the election.
Surprised this doesn’t mention the fact that Anderson still claims on his website, falsely, that he does not accept corporate donations.
Totally fine if his campaign wants to accept corporate donations, but he is blatantly lying about this on his campaign website.