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The elections department ruled Friday that Mark Farrell can use the “small business owner” designation on the November ballot, rejecting two formal challenges filed earlier this month.
The department required candidates to submit documentation justifying their use of the designation, and Farrell responded by submitting a declaration under penalty of perjury that his business met the definition of a small business.
“Thayer Partners Management Company, the small business where I spend most of my professional time, had revenues of less than $2 million in the past 12 months. [calendar year end] 2023,” Farrell wrote.
The department considers this “sufficient documentation” to support the challenge, according to the department’s Matthew Selby.
The challenges filed in the past two weeks in response to Mission Local’s reporting include a letter from 14 San Francisco small business owners, as well as letters from individuals.
The letter said the designation was “purposefully crafted to mislead voters” and that Farrell’s Thayer Ventures criticized it as “out of touch with the realities of San Francisco’s small businesses,” from negotiating rent to struggling to make payroll.
Mr. Farrell, who is managing director of Thayer Ventures Management Services, made more than $100,000 from the role last year, according to financial disclosures.
He reported a series of investments involving 10% or more stakes related to Thayer Ventures, totaling at least $10 million, according to disclosures.
Farrell’s campaign said they had “nothing else to add.”
“We are disappointed that the Board of Elections did not do its job of providing accurate and truthful information,” said Justin Dolezal, co-owner of Bar Part Time at 14th Street and Guerrero Street. “This is a huge disservice to voters who should be informed of the real character of the candidates.”
These misleading designations are fairly common in California, the only state in the union that uses ballot designations.
When Farrell spoke publicly about his professional experience — on his campaign website, in his contribution filings, in interviews with the media and with college students — he described himself as a lawyer, an investment banker and a co-founder of Thayer Ventures, but never as a small business owner.
Farrell also touted his background in finance as “highly relevant” to San Francisco’s looming budget deficit.
But the financial skills he says will help turn the city around may now be in question: Revenues of less than $2 million a year are a relatively small return in the venture capital world.
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