Deng says she’s returning check for $2,500

BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer

Palo Alto City Council candidate Yudy Deng said she will stand by her pledge to stop taking donations after collecting $182,131 — by far the most a hopeful for council has raised.

Deng’s campaign reported a $2,500 donation from the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee on Wednesday, a month after Deng said she stopped fundraising.

Deng said Friday (Oct. 30) she is returning the check.

She said the committee sponsored an event she had in September for $2,500, and she took a picture with a giant check for that amount. Deng said she’s not sure why the committee sent another $2,500 check to her treasurer in Sacramento. The Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee is a political group that supports LGBTQ candidates in San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

Criticized for out of town donors

Deng has been criticized by her opponent Bryna Chang for taking 102 of 157 donations from outside of Palo Alto.

“If outsıde money can simply buy a local election, it changes the future of how Palo Alto is governed. Council members should answer to the residents they represent, not the interests who finance them,” Chang said in a campaign email.

Racist to criticize

At a campaign event for Deng, Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga said it’s racist to criticize Deng for raising money outside of Palo Alto.

Abe-Koga said she experienced similar criticism when she ran for Mountain View City Council.

“It just really bothers me when I hear things like that because I feel — and I felt it myself personally when I ran — there’s a little tinge of racism, discrimination there, and that’s not acceptable,” Abe-Koga said in a video posted on Deng’s social media.