Campos supporters protest attack ads

A group of women supporting Supervisor David Campos’s bid for State Assembly gathered Thursday outside Twitter Headquarters to speak out against the recent attack ads funded by tech moguls targeting Campos.

The group of 70 women rallied against recent ads targeting Campos’ stance on domestic violence stemming from his 2012 vote to retain Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi who plead guilty to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.

One speaker at Thursday’s rally, Alisa Messer, City College professor and president of the faculty union told SFBay the campaign money could be better spent on anti-domestic violence programs instead of politics:

“Domestic violence is a serious issue, it is not a political game. It is real in the lives of far too many San Franciscans, and it’s too real to be tossed around to voters in misleading ploys … stop trying to buy San Francisco.”

Earlier this month, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman donated $200,000 to the independent expenditure group, the “Committee to Hold David Campos Accountable.” The only other named member of the group is Gail Conway, wife of tech investor Ron Conway.

Campos is running against Supervisor David Chiu in a bid for State Assembly.

The ads sponsored by the group claim Campos is a bad choice for San Franciscan voters because of his vote to keep sheriff Mirkarimi in office despite a guilty plea for a misdemeanor domestic violence crime.

Mirkarimi pleaded guilty to misdemeanor false imprisonment after he grabbed his wife’s arm on New Year’s Eve in 2011.

Campos, along with three other City Supervisors, voted to keep Mirkarimi on the job. Chiu sided against the sheriff during a politically-intense ethics investigation.

The group’s ads, including a mailer earlier this month, equate Campos’ vote for Mirkarimi with domestic violence and murder.

Meanwhile, Campos supporters contend the attack ads funded by Hoffman and Conway have nothing to do with domestic violence, but rather are an effort to support a more pro-tech company candidate.

While Campos voted against the mayor’s tax break for Twitter and other Mid-Market tech companies, Chiu voted to support it. Estimates show that the corporate tax break has cost the city $55 million in taxes, according to statistics from Campos’ office.

With next week’s primary election on approaching on Tuesday, time is running short for opposing candidates Campos and Chiu.

During Thursday’s rally, Campos supporters chanted slogans and carried signs saying, “our city can not be bought” and “people power is greater than corporate cash.”

Nate Allbee, Campos’ campaign manager, told SFBay his candidate supported the common San Franciscan over the new tech companies flooding The City:

“These attacks have nothing to do with domestic violence and everything to do with billionaires investing in a candidate that will do their bidding. They need to show respect for the seriousness of this issue and stop playing politics with domestic violence.”