Santa Clara Councilmember Suds Jain has filed a complaint requesting the city attorney review campaign donations made to mayoral candidate Kathy Watanabe. The complaint, filed on October 5, alleges violations of the city’s established donor limits.
According to Jain’s complaint, Watanabe’s July campaign filings reported $500 contributions each from Paul Larson and Michael McWalter. The city's current contribution limit per person for candidates who do not accept voluntary expenditure limits is $380. Jain’s complaint notes that Watanabe had not accepted these limits. The filing indicated a $220 refund was issued to Larson for exceeding the limit, but Jain stated he could not find evidence of a corresponding refund to McWalter in the July filing or any subsequent reports.
Watanabe, a former councilmember, addressed the allegations, explaining that Larson and McWalter initially donated $1,000 through an online fundraising platform, Zeffy, when she decided to run for mayor. She stated that her campaign issued a single refund check of $200 to the couple, as they are married. Upon realizing an initial calculation error, which resulted in the refund being $20 short, the campaign later sent a second $20 check specifically to Paul Larson. Watanabe added that her campaign subsequently shut down its Zeffy account after discovering the issue and later filed an amendment to correct errors in its campaign finance reports. She noted that this is the first time her treasurer has handled disclosure forms and expressed her willingness to speak with the city attorney about the complaint, emphasizing she is not attempting to bypass campaign finance rules.
The City Council previously set campaign contribution limits based on whether candidates agreed to voluntary expenditure limits. For those who accepted the voluntary expenditure limit, the individual contribution cap was $760. For candidates, like Watanabe, who did not agree to these limits, the cap is $380 per person. The council set voluntary expenditure limits at $55,890 for citywide contests and $29,590 for district-based contests.
Jain’s complaint specifically asks City Attorney Glen Googins to investigate whether Watanabe’s campaign violated the city’s campaign finance regulations and to check for other irregularities in her filings. Jain stated he began examining Watanabe’s campaign finances while reviewing disclosures for mayoral and city council candidates. He further alleges there are additional errors concerning cash payments and expenditures in Watanabe’s forms, stating that both she and her treasurer are accountable for this information. Jain remarked on the situation, stating, “For somebody who wants to be mayor and for somebody who talks about ethics all the time, for somebody who’s run for office many times, it’s just shocking to me how careless she has been in filling out these financial forms.”
The complaint comes as Watanabe competes against other candidates in the upcoming November 3 mayoral election. Watanabe previously served on the city council and was among the councilmembers who voted in 2024 to establish the city’s voluntary campaign expenditure and contribution limits.