Y Combinator—CEO Garry Tan spent over $450,000 on anti-progressive San Francisco political campaigns
Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan has spent over $450,000 on local San Francisco political campaigns since 2015, including $100,000 to recall progressive DA Chesa Boudin in 2022, $54,500 to GrowSF (a pro-growth political group where he served as board member), $20,000 to recall school board members, and donations opposing progressive supervisors like Dean Preston. In late 2024, Tan shifted focus to Washington DC, aligning with Trump administration tech advisory efforts and engaging with Heritage Foundation representatives.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Governance | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.322 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.64)
Evidence (2 signals)
SF Standard reported Tan's shift from SF politics to Washington DC and Trump administration alignment
The SF Standard reported that after the November 2024 election, Garry Tan stepped back from local SF politics and GrowSF to spend more time in Washington DC, aligning with tech leaders advising President-elect Trump. Tan stated 'There is bipartisan hope, actually, that the new administration can bring in technology, and serve the American people in a much more fundamental way.' The report noted meetings with Heritage Foundation representatives.
48 Hills reported Garry Tan gave nearly $200K to local political campaigns opposing progressive candidates
48 Hills reported that Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan gave $190,000 to local San Francisco campaigns as of February 2024, including $100,000 to recall progressive DA Chesa Boudin, $54,500 to GrowSF, $20,000 to recall school board members, and $5,000 to Dean Preston's opponent. The Harvey Milk Democratic Club called for the donations to be returned.