San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee made himself several friends when he offered technology companies and startups a payroll and and stock options tax break -- and now the industry is one of his biggest supporters for the mayoral race.
Investor Ron Conway gave $151,000, former Facebook president Sean Parker gave $100,000, while Zynga's Mark Pincus gave $25,000, according to the Wall Street Journal. Salesforce.com's Marc Benioff gave $75,000 and Twitter's Evan Williams gave $10,000. We previously reported that Google's Marissa Mayer also donated $2,000 to Lee's campaign (see Mayer and others doing cameos for Ed Lee's campaign video below.) The checks were cut to an independent-expenditure committee called San Franciscans for Jobs and Good Government.
Tech companies in San Francisco have risen to almost tech bubble rates, with more than 1,500 high-tech companies now making their home there -- a 29 percent rise from 2005.
"I think support for my campaign from folks in the Valley and the technology industry is really more a reflection of the job-creation strategies and policies we're already pursuing," Lee said. "I do think we need to keep pursuing tech-friendly policies because those companies bring the good jobs of the future for our kids and grandkids."
In essence, as long as Lee keeps making San Francisco profitable and business-friendly to tech companies (re: plenty of tax breaks,) then tech companies are likely to give back.