SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE -- The question: How much do voters care? And do they care more about the influence that money might be buying than they care to hear candidates talk about dirty streets, car break-ins, soaring rents and other issues?
“Some voters will care about it a lot, but for others, it’s a distraction, or an attempt to change the narrative of an election away from issues and policies and make it more about, ‘Who do you trust?’” said Jason McDaniel, an associate Political Science professor at San Francisco State University.
McDaniel, the San Francisco State professor, said focusing on spending by special interest groups could help drive votes to Leno and Kim by uniting the city’s progressive factions around a common cause.
“No one disagrees that money in politics is a problem,” McDaniel said. “The message unites the different groups that Leno and Kim are trying to appeal to. Whether it will work or not is a whole other matter.”