In what was by early June already the most expensive District 11 State Senate Race ever of all time, political action committee money apparently flowed freely on both sides. Until now, Scott Wiener took most of the heat on the subject from opponent Jane Kim and her camp. Progressives pointed to Wiener's perceived reliance on, for example, a Chevron-supported PAC. "While the money gets passed from committee to committee, the source remains the same - oil giant Chevron," reads the "Follow the Money" attack page of Kim's election website. However, Matier and Ross, the Chronicle's mustachioed investigative team, are flipping the script, pointing out that Kim, who eventually won the primary race, did so following an expensive PAC push on her behalf funded mostly by PG&E.

As election results trickled in this month, progressives like those at the website 48 Hills thrilled to news that Kim was hot behind Wiener, emphasizing her relative funding deficit in relation to his. Kim would go on to surpass Wiener days later, and when her victory was officially announced yesterday — a win by just 370 votes —many found the development meaningful. That's debatable: The primary, which adheres to California'sTop Two Candidate Open Primary system for statewide offices, might more accurately be see as symbolic, a drill or a poll ahead of November.

Nevertheless, whatever significance Kim's upset victory might hold is likely complicated by the Chronicle's reporting. Specifically, that PG&E, a longtime progressive target, funded the largest portion of an 11th hour, $40,000 ad campaign on Kim's behalf. Specifically, PG&E made two donations totaling $39,675 to the Golden State Leadership PAC which added up to be 80 percent of the PAC's June spending budget.

Kim’s chief political consultant, Storefront Political Media founder Eric Jaye, is also a paid PG&E adviser. He denies discussing or coordinating with PG&E in an effort to back Kim, his client. "Any suggestion to the contrary is simply not true,” he told Matier and Ross. “We simply did not, and cannot, coordinate or direct any contribution,” a PG&E spokesperson echoed Jaye.

Previously: Day Around The Bay: Kim Actually Beat Wiener In Primary By 370 Votes
Tight District 11 State Senate Race Gets Tighter, As Kim Surpasses Wiener In SF
Wiener Leads Kim In (Merely Symbolic) State Senate Primary As Both Advance To November Election