A high-profile software executive is putting his deep pockets behind mayoral contender and City Hall outsider Daniel Lurie, one of a handful of tech-linked donations that the nonprofit founder has recently secured.
Salesforce co-founder Parker Harris donated $100,000 to the candidate’s independent expenditure committee, “Believe in SF Lurie for Mayor 2024,” according to recently filed campaign disclosures. The committee can take in unlimited money, as opposed to Lurie’s candidate-controlled committee, which has a cap of $500 donations.
Harris serves as the chief technology officer of the messaging application Slack, which was acquired by Salesforce in 2021, and has been with the tech behemoth since 1999, according to his company biography. A recent CNBC article pegged Harris’ net worth at about $600 million.
Harris and the committee supporting Lurie did not immediately respond to interview requests.
Salesforce is one of San Francisco’s preeminent technology companies, boasting the city’s tallest skyscraper and an annual conference that brings in a stream of revenue for local bars and restaurants. Salesforce chief Marc Benioff has also been a major player in local politics, supporting a 2018 homelessness ballot initiative that placed an extra tax on large businesses.
Harris isn’t the only techie throwing his support behind the Levi Strauss heir. Campaign finance documents show the committee also received $100,000 from venture capitalist Michael Schwab, $50,000 from Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora and $15,000 from investor Herald Chen.
Lurie, who is competing against a slew of elected officials with decades of City Hall experience—including incumbent Mayor London Breed, Board President Aaron Peskin, Supervisor Ahsha Safaí and former Supervisor Mark Farrell—has been able to flex his wealthy connections in his bid for the city’s top seat. Lurie’s committee got a cool $1 million this year from his mother, Mimi Haas.
Documents obtained by The Standard in April show that Lurie has a large share of investments worth up to $33 million as of 2019, according to his wife’s financial disclosure forms filed with the state.