Developer’s hard lesson on using care with cash

Developer Related California wants to make one thing clear: It had no intention of financially backing ousted Supervisor Julie Christensen in her failed campaign against Aaron Peskin in last month’s nasty race for District 3 supervisor.

At his first board meeting Tuesday, Peskin led the charge against the city’s proposed sale of 30 Van Ness to Related, arguing the developer’s $ 80 million offer didn’t meet the $ 87 million minimum bid the supervisors had set.

A majority ended up agreeing with Peskin — the 30 Van Ness sale failed 7- 4. But it also left some observers questioning whether the criticisms were at least a teensy- weensy bit motivated by a $ 50,000 contribution Related made on Oct. 28. That money went to the San Francisco Alliance for Jobs and Sustainable Growth, a third- party PAC the company believed to be dedicated to the defeat of Proposition I, the proposed moratorium on market- rate housing in the Mission that San Francisco voters shot down.

Little did it know the PAC spent $ 155,000 trying to make sure Peskin didn’t return to City Hall — he previously served from 2001 to 2009.

On Wednesday, Related spokeswoman Evette

Davis went on the offensive, saying the $ 50,000 contribution to the PAC was aimed solely at Prop. I. Related also gave $ 100,000 to Proposition A, the $ 310 million affordable housing bond that breezed to victory.

In fact, the day after the $ 50,000 contribution, the Alliance for Jobs contributed $ 45,000 to the No on I group, San Franciscans for Real Housing Solutions.

Housing Action Coalition Executive Director

Tim Colen said he takes full responsibility for Related pumping money into the Prop. I. With late October polls showing a close vote on Prop. I, he was worried the campaign would run out of money.

“To be honest, we were running scared,” he said. “I hammered on Related to give, and they stepped up. It’s not accurate to say their contribution has anything to do with Peskin and Christensen. We stayed away from that. I would have been upset if any of that money had been used for a partisan district campaign.”

For his part Peskin insists the contribution had nothing to do with his vote on 30 Van Ness.

“I have a long history of making sure the city gets a fair price when it sells off its real estate,” he said. “The bottom line is that when the city says $ 87 million and the bid comes in at $ 80 million, that’s $ 7 million that could be used for the city’s needs.”