Obama to fundraise in Palo Alto today

Oct. 21, 2010, 2:02 a.m.

Update: Thursday, 12:30 p.m.

The White House has released President Obama’s official schedule for his time in Northern California:

3 p.m.: Obama will arrive at San Francisco International Airport.

5:40 p.m.: Obama will attend an event in Atherton for Kamala Harris, San Francisco district attorney and Democratic candidate for attorney general of California. This event is believed to be at the home of Steve Westly, former state controller of California.

7 p.m.: Obama will deliver remarks at a DNC dinner in Palo Alto. This event is believed to be at the home of Marissa Mayer, a vice president at Google.

__________

President Obama’s motorcade is scheduled to skim past the Stanford campus this evening as Obama returns to the Bay Area today for two Democratic fundraisers.

Obama will land in San Francisco at 3 p.m., according to the White House, after which he will head to the Atherton home of Steve Westly ’78 MBA ’83, the former state controller of California, according to media reports. There, he will attend an event for San Francisco district attorney Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for attorney general of California.

Obama later will visit the Palo Alto home of Marissa Mayer ’97 M.S. ’99, a vice president at Google, where he will attend a $30,000-a-head fundraiser for 50 Democrats, according to reports.

The fundraiser was originally to take place at Mayer’s apartment in the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco, but it was moved earlier this week for unknown reasons. One reason floated by media outlets is the Major League Baseball’s National League Championship Series, which is expected bring 40,000 San Francisco Giants fans to the city for Game 5 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The official purpose of the president’s visit to Northern California, according to a White House press release, is two-fold: to headline events for the DNC and to campaign for Harris, who is running to be the state’s first woman and first African-American attorney general. Harris was an early and strong supporter of Obama’s bid for the presidency.

Obama will spend the night in the Bay Area before leaving early Friday for Los Angeles. There, he will campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Gavin Newsom and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) at various events, including at a rally at the University of Southern California.

— Devin Banerjee



Login or create an account