A political action committee formed just two weeks ago to support District 10 supervisor candidate Theo Ellington has already received a $500,000 donation from Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, an amount described as among the largest single donations ever made to a group backing one candidate for San Francisco office. The money flows into a Bayview-Hunters Point race where the two other leading contenders, DJ Brookter and JR Eppler, have raised nowhere near that sum through their own campaign accounts.
The PAC, called From the Neighborhood, For the City, Supporting Theo Ellington for Supervisor 2026, was formed roughly two weeks before Larsen's contribution became public, according to The San Francisco Standard. Larsen, who serves as executive chairman of Ripple and is described in the outlet's reporting as a crypto billionaire, made the donation as one of Mayor Daniel Lurie's key financial supporters. Neither Ellington nor a spokesperson for Larsen was available for comment, the Standard reported.
Ellington, executive director of the Ruth Williams Bayview Opera House and a former city commissioner, is no stranger to District 10 politics. He previously ran for the seat in 2018, finishing third with 20% of the vote behind winner Shamann Walton, according to Mission Local. Walton is now term-limited, leaving open a seat representing Bayview-Hunters Point, Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, Visitacion Valley and Sunnydale — a district where candidates are actively sparring over development, corporate influence and environmental accountability at the Hunters Point Shipyard.
A Legal Loophole Six Figures Wide
Larsen's $500,000 contribution went through a third-party PAC supporting Ellington. Under San Francisco's Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code, individual donors are capped at $500 in direct contributions to a candidate per election cycle, while third-party groups can accept donations of any size. The Standard's reporting notes that large donations of this size are not typical in races for elected office, according to the commission. According to the San Francisco Ethics Commission, all other contributions to City candidates are limited to $500 per source under SF C&GC Code § 1.114(a). San Francisco Ethics Commission rules require committees to file if contributions or independent expenditures total $500 or more during the period covered by a pre-election statement.
Ellington's campaign committee had received public funds, according to the Ethics Commission. As of early September, Ellington had about $472,000 in his own campaign account, while Brookter had roughly $129,000 and Eppler had about $151,000, according to the Standard's review of campaign filings. The San Francisco Ethics Commission reported that in the 2024 election, 17 candidates (63%) received the maximum $525,758 in public financing, while the reported supervisorial totals were $4,726,173, $3,635,732 and $8,361,905.
Rivals Clash Over Shipyard and Development Ties
The financial gap has widened alongside sharpening rhetoric between candidates. During a candidate forum in September, opponent DJ Brookter accused Ellington of filing a lawsuit against Hunters Point Shipyard cleanup contractor Tetra Tech EC for personal gain, while Ellington countered that Brookter's former employer, Young Community Developers, had accepted more than $10 million from developer Lennar, according to Mission Local.
Former supervisor Aaron Peskin called the rising spending in Board of Supervisors races corrupting, and said the scale of the money now flowing into local races is beyond comprehension, per the Standard. His comments also underscore the distinction: the $500 cap applies to direct contributions, while third-party groups can accept unlimited donations.
Larsen's Growing Footprint in City Politics
This is not the first time Larsen's money has reshaped San Francisco political fights. He donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to independent groups backing the mayor's allies in the June election, and he and his wife, Lyna Lam, contributed $2 million to Clean Up City Hall, a ballot committee that had reported $9.4 million in California contributions to support Mayor Lurie's charter reform propositions D, E and F on the November ballot. That committee backs measures to modernize city contracting, consolidate power over city commissions in the mayor's office, and raise the signature threshold required for propositions to qualify for the ballot.
Larsen's civic spending has also touched public safety and City Hall ethics fights. In June 2025, he proposed a $9.4 million donation to the San Francisco Police Department to fund police technology, including an expanded drone fleet and a Real-Time Investigation Center. And in April, watchdog reporting revealed he had contributed roughly $40,000 to legal defense funds that covered former Mayor London Breed's $22,792 ethics fine.
A Frozen Cap Feeds the Super PAC Boom
The regulatory backdrop includes San Francisco's $500 direct-contribution limit, while super PACs and independent committees can receive unlimited donations.
The system also contains spending limits for publicly financed candidates. According to the San Francisco Ethics Commission, a candidate running for Supervisor must agree to an initial spending cap of $350,000 under the public-financing rules. Larsen's $500,000 donation adds to the outside financial activity heading toward the November election.
