SF Democrats reject billionaire tax, bucking statewide party – The San Francisco Standard
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In a contentious late-night vote Wednesday, the San Francisco Democratic Party voted to reject Proposition 40.
The San Francisco Democratic Party broke with the statewide party Wednesday, voting overwhelmingly to oppose a proposed tax on California billionaires — the latest sign of how the measure has divided Democrats across the state.
Of the 22 members present, 17 voted to oppose Proposition 40, a one-time tax of 5% on California’s billionaires. The vote came after the lengthiest debate of the night, with supporters of Prop. 40 questioning who the local Democratic Party represented: billionaires and the wealthy? Or the working class?
Unlike other contentious votes held Wednesday, it only took one round of voting for the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee to break with California’s statewide democratic party in rejecting the billionaire tax.
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“It should come as no surprise that this body is considering doing the bidding of the billionaires, given its cozy relationship with some of the loudest opponents of Prop. 40, including — and I will say names — Chris Larsen and Garry Tan,” said committee member Peter Gallotta.
Supervisor Matt Dorsey, along with a couple other committee members, spoke in opposition to Prop. 40, mostly speaking to how the proposal would force billionaires to leave the state.
“When we vote for things that encourage people to leave, that ends up being a problem, and that’s not speculative,” Dorsey said at the meeting Wednesday night, referencing a brief from California’s Legislative Analyst Office (opens in new tab).
As previously reported by The Standard, Dorsey received a $25,000 donation from billionaire tech executive Chris Larsen to his democratic party committee account in June.
While the debate had a back and forth to it, the ultimate vote was one-sided, unlike the narrow statewide party vote held earlier this month. Wednesday’s vote was also unprecedented — it’s unusual for a local democratic party to break rank with the statewide party over political endorsements.
But to even get to Wednesday, as reported by Mission Local (opens in new tab), the local democratic party changed its bylaws in June to allow for a vote that doesn’t align with the statewide party.
Additionally, the billionaire tax was the only statewide ballot proposition on the Wednesday meeting’s agenda for endorsements. San Francisco’s democratic party previously opposed the overpaid CEO tax leading up to the June 2026 election.
The campaign against Prop. 40 has amassed $150 million — more than two-thirds of it funded by Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
When asked for a statement after Wednesday’s vote, the “No on 40” coalition sent a statement from San Francisco Democratic Party Chair Nancy Tung.
“San Francisco Democrats care deeply about addressing inequality and making California more affordable, but Proposition 40 is the wrong approach,” Tung said in the statement. “A one-time tax does not solve the long-term challenges facing our state.”
Prop. 40 was put on the ballot by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West and is backed by the California Labor Federation and Teamsters California. But other major groups including the California Teachers Association and State Building and Construction Trades Council oppose it.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra are also against it, as are a number of prominent industry and business groups. So is Mayor Daniel Lurie.
The statewide party’s narrow endorsement of the billionaire tax took place earlier this month. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Reps. Ro Khanna and Maxine Waters have also thrown their weight behind it.
After Wednesday’s vote, the “Yes on 40” coalition released a statement from Suzanne Jimenez, the chief of staff at SEIU-UHW.
“The bureaucrats on this supposedly democratic committee have only themselves, and their billionaire backers who will do anything to avoid paying their fair share in taxes,” Jimenez said in the statement. “It’s shameful that they have put the interests of a few hundred billionaires ahead of the healthcare needs of their fellow Californians.”
If voters approve Prop. 40 this November, it would create a one-time 5% tax on California residents with a net worth of more than $1 billion. Those who meet the criteria would have the option of paying the tax over five years.
The authors of the billionaire tax estimate it would raise $100 billion. They’ve allocated 90% of those funds toward state-funded health care services in the wake of President Donald Trump’s cuts to Medicaid (opens in new tab), leaving a major funding gap for the golden state’s Medi-Cal.
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