When GFC launched in 2011, our principal goal was to liberate state legislators from public employee union influence. As we have previously reported, so far we have failed in that endeavor. While we have had some success against less powerful special interest groups, public employee union influence is on another level — see eg, this union “Scorecard” of how state legislators voted on union issues in 2024 — and in our view not surmountable without a critical mass of well-financed allies working alongside us in Sacramento. That’s why our priorities now include boosting the fortunes of local and other political philanthropies that could provide examples of what a critical mass of such organizations could accomplish in Sacramento; see eg, San Francisco.
That doesn’t mean we have abandoned the legislature. To the contrary, in 2024 we raised money for a GOP slate of candidates, donated to a significant number of legislators, promoted other political philanthropies active in the legislature, and weighed in on major budget matters. The difference is that we also raised money for local candidates and the political philanthropies supporting those candidates and for Proposition 36, took steps into the 2026 governor’s race, and as always kept a sharp eye out for ballot measure tax increases such as the two we stopped in 2022. Let us know of any questions or comments.
