Mayoral contender Mark Farrell, who is a managing director at the multimillion-dollar venture-capital firm Thayer Ventures, has requested that the November ballot identify him as a “small business owner,” according to nomination filings submitted to the Department of Elections on Monday.
In the ballot designation worksheet, Farrell listed his current job as managing director at Thayer Ventures, which he co-founded. But he left blank the field that asks candidates to explain why their requested designation — in his case, “small business owner” — is accurate.
Farrell used the same “’small business owner’ designation when running for District 2 supervisor in 2010, a voter pamphlet showed. His firm was only in its first year at that time.
More recently, Thayer Ventures had $100 million in capital, according to a company press release from 2022.
Other candidates’ ballot designations were more straightforward. Daniel Lurie used “nonprofit executive” as his preferred designation, explaining on the form that “working at Tipping Point was my principal vocation … I did not have another paying job during that time.” He is also the heir of the Levi Strauss fortune.
Mayor London Breed and both supervisors running for mayor, Aaron Peskin and Ahsha Safaí, used their current city titles.
Farrell’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Department of Election’s guide for candidates lists basic tests of acceptable ballot designation: The job title should be factually accurate, generic, neutral, and the primary way a candidate makes a living. It also should not be misleading.
Peskin said the rationale behind the designation is simple: Farrell is seeking to appear more sympathetic to voters.
“Better than ‘venture capitalist!’” Peskin said in a text message.
Farrell was the District 2 supervisor between 2011 and 2018, and interim mayor for six months in 2018, a history that he mentions repeatedly on his campaign trail and political ads.
Farrell has also worked as a lawyer and an investment banker. In 2009, he co-founded Thayer Ventures and is listed as the managing director. The venture capital firm invests in travel and transportation technology.
He receives more than $100,000 in income from that position, the highest range category on the Form 700, a financial disclosure statement. In the same disclosures, Farrell reported multi-million investments in business entities associated with Thayer Ventures, including 10 investments of more than $1 million.
His finance background, Farrell said in a conversation with Mission Local in March, would be “super relevant” to the fate of San Francisco, a city that has a projected budget deficit of some $800 million in fiscal year 2024 and 2025, and a 36 percent office-vacancy rate.
The U.S. Small Business Administration says non-manufacturing businesses with average annual receipts under $7.5 million would qualify as small businesses. Grants and programs at San Francisco’s Office of Small Business require businesses to have gross revenue anywhere between $2.5 million to $8 million.
Peskin, for his part, said the “small business owner” designation will remain “unless someone challenges it or the Department of Elections calls BS on him.”
