Staff Reports
Recent campaign‑finance filings make a tidy little joke: Los Angeles socialists are being bankrolled by billionaires. The story isn’t a guess or a conspiracy theory — it’s what shows up in TransparencyUSA and campaign ledgers. Big-money progressives have poured millions into a committee called Smart Justice California Action Fund, and that cash is now routing into independent‑expenditure machines and tenant‑advocacy groups backing Democratic Socialists of America‑aligned candidates in key Los Angeles races.
Who is putting up the money, and where did it go?
The filings are blunt. Patty Quillin — the spouse of Netflix co‑founder and chairman Reed Hastings — appears as the top individual contributor at roughly $1.8 million. Elizabeth Simons, daughter of hedge‑fund billionaire Jim Simons, shows nearly $1 million. Kaitlyn Krieger is listed for six figures as well. Those checks landed in Smart Justice California Action Fund, which then paid large sums to intermediary committees and independent‑expenditure groups. Line items in the committee ledger show transfers like $500,000 to a “Communities United for Change” effort tied to Marissa Roy, six‑figure support routed to Working Families committees backing Eunisses Hernandez, and other sizable entries pushing candidates in the Westside council fight.
Which races are getting the boost?
This is not abstract. The money is funneled into specific Los Angeles contests: Marissa Roy’s run for Los Angeles City Attorney; Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez’s re‑election efforts; and the District 11 battle where Faizah Malik is running against Councilwoman Traci Park. Independent‑expenditure committees and tenant‑advocacy nonprofits that benefit from Smart Justice funding are active on the ground — running mailers, digital ads and organizing that clearly help DSA‑backed slates and so‑called criminal‑justice reform campaigns.
Why this matters: influence, contracts, and political theater
Why should voters care? Because this isn’t just campaign drama. The same ecosystem of activist groups and tenant‑defense organizations has been swept into city contracting decisions — most notably a large package of tenant‑defense and eviction‑prevention contracts that critics say were approved with little public scrutiny. When wealthy donors funnel millions to political groups that, in turn, back organizations getting city contracts or pushing policy changes, the lines between philanthropy, politics and influence blur. It’s hard to escape the irony: public rhetoric attacking “billionaires” while the ballot fights are being underwritten by a tiny group of very rich donors.
The takeaway: demand transparency and stop pretending money doesn’t matter
Voters should demand clarity. TransparencyUSA and public campaign ledgers give citizens the tools to follow the money — and what they show should make people skeptical of high‑minded moralizing from any side that’s also taking seven‑figure checks. If the left wants to run on taking on wealth and corporate power, it can do so without private billionaires writing the checks that buy its megaphone. Until then, Los Angeles will keep looking like a political stage where the actors denounce their benefactors while taking their money — and taxpayers will be left holding the bill.
