BY STEPHANIE LAM
Daily Post Correspondent
Vamsi Velapudi, a Menlo Park finance and audit commissioner, is leading incumbent Drew Combs in fundraising for Menlo Park City Council.
Velagapudiraised $9,550 from 70 donors through June 30, according to campaign finance forms. Combs follows with $7,445 from 20 donors. The two are competing to represent District 2 which includes the Willows and Suburban Park neighborhoods.
Velagapudi is relying more out-of-state donors than Combs, as only 29 of his donors come from Menlo Park. Of the $9,550 Velagapudi raised, Menlo Park residents gave $3,190. Combs has 16 Menlo Park donors who raised $5,025, campaign finance forms show.
Velagapudi poured $1,000 into his campaign. His largest donor comes from Michael Levinson ($1,000) a Vice President of Product at Meta.
Other notable donors include Menlo Park City School Board member Francesca Segre, who works for U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo ($50); and Matthew Rascoff, Vice Provost for Digital Education at Stanford ($50).
Meanwhile, Combs’s biggest donors include Menlo Park resident John Hanley ($1,000) and Peter Joshua ($2,000) a resident who sued the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority in 2022 alleging that the environmental review to replace the bridge that connects Pope Street in Menlo Park to Chaucer Street in Palo Alto was insufficient.
In the race to represent District 4 and replace Betsy Nash, Grammy-nominated musician Charlotte Reed has a wide lead over newcomer Laura Melahn. District 4 includes Allied Arts and Downtown Menlo Park.
Reed has raised more than $14,000, while Melahn has donated $2,050, to her campaign according to campaign finance forms.
Melahn is a managing partner at Meadow Valley Partners, an investment and advisory firm.
Reed’s report lists 45 donors, but only 14 of them live in Menlo Park. Of the $14,270 Reed raised, Menlo Park residents gave $10,402.
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