Rhea Mahbubani

Hillary Clinton Hobnobs With Bay Area's Tech Glitterati

It’s back to the Bay Area for Hillary Clinton.

The Democratic presidential candidate started her packed Wednesday at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood City with a 1 p.m. luncheon organized by Amy Rao, the chief executive officer of Integrated Archive Systems. Hosts were expected to contribute $27,000, co-hosts $10,000, champions, as they are called, $2,700 and fighters, $1,000.

A young fan said she was "shaking" after having seen Clinton from roughly 100 feet away.

Attendee Katie Roper was similarly enthused.

"I'm thrilled to be here and support her," she said. "I'm taking my daughter, who is 18 and voting in her first presidential election."

Next, Clinton took her campaign slightly south to Los Altos for a reception around 4:30 p.m. The event, although at the home of Lisa and Patrice Gautier, was hosted by Apple CEO Tim Cook and former EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, who is now Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. 

Similar to the Peninsula fundraiser, co-hosts paid $10,000 to attend and champions, $2,700. Meanwhile, hosts contributed $50,000. 

"I wanted to show my support because my parents are immigrants and my brother is in the military," said Neal Chatterjee.

Clinton told the Los Altos gathering she wants a national infrastructure bank for ongoing road projects, and she addressed the recent conspiracy theories that her supporters say they continue to ignore.

"She wants to hear from everybody and wants to know what's on everybody's minds," Clinton supporter Sarah Sands said.

Clinton's lucrative Silicon Valley fundraising swing was further evidenced by a motorcade of sorts, featuring cars manufactured by Tesla, BMW, Mercedez Benz and other high-end companies, lining up outside the venue. 

Carl Guardino, the president and chief executive officer of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, said he believes Clinton has widespread support in the tech community because "she's a known commodity with a known, long-standing voting record in office."

On Tuesday, Clinton also attended an event, titled “Dinner and Conversation with Hillary,” in the Piedmont home of Quinn Delaney and Wayne Jordan. Guests shelled out a cool $33,400 per ticket, which also afforded them photos with Clinton, while co-hosts paid $100,000 per couple.

For more information, visit www.hillaryclinton.com.

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