It’s not uncommon to hire political consultants in campaigns, but it is unusual when the political consultant becomes the center of campaign events before the election. 

Santa Clara mayoral candidate Kathy Watanabe has taken a new approach in this year’s campaign, allowing Edward Escobar, an East Bay political consultant, to step in front of the camera, speak at campaign events and even lead chants, “Our City, Our Share.” 

Watanabe’s Oct. 18 rally featured Escobar at the forefront. What it lacked were any Santa Clara leaders or any of the more than two dozen politicians who have endorsed Watanabe on her website. Several unelected candidates from other cities were present. 

Since then, two of Watanabe’s other campaign events have featured Escobar.

In an exclusive interview with The Weekly, Escobar explained the absences of her political allies as “availability of individuals and timing of everything.” 

When asked about specific politicians, Escobar responded, “I look at folks [as speakers] that have experienced the trouble in the trenches. Also, too. I don’t know other people so it’s a logistical thing and nothing else. If I see that [speakers] have a story they’ve experienced that and they could speak to that’s what it is … What better folks than the people that get victimized by the huge outside spending they’re outperformed.” 

Asked about the hundreds of thousands the Santa Clara POA PAC spent supporting Watanabe in 2016 and 2020, mostly on ads attacking her opponents, Escobar first defended the police: “They work in the community. They have a vested interest in its success.” 

Then he said, “I could only speak to what I’ve experienced with Kathy.” 

Ultimately, he said, his “desire would be to remove any excessive outside influence … and that would include all forms of organized labor as well.”

Veteran of East Bay Recalls

Escobar is an organizer best known for the 2024 recall of Oakland mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County district attorney Pamela Price. His other marquee campaign was AIW #DriversUnite an advocacy group for rideshare drivers. 

Watanabe has hired* him as a political advisor, but he has taken center stage at her Levi’s Stadium rallies as a community activist, founder of a “community group,” the Coalition for Community Engagement. The SF Chronicle reported it as a coalition endorsement, instead of a campaign rally. 

Escobar’s consulting company, Epic Strategies Group, doesn’t have a Santa Clara business license (required to do business in Santa Clara), and doesn’t show a list of clients or campaigns. Escobar claims extensive experience as a Ford spokesperson, work in Hollywood for SAG-AFTRA, time as a Palo Alto crime prevention officer, an image consultant and even modeling.

His LinkedIn page, however, doesn’t include anything before 2015; he says to list that would be “a little bit too much” and “distracting.” As far as his current work, the Coalition for Community Engagement doesn’t have a website, and isn’t registered with the FPPC as a political committee or the IRS as a nonprofit. Nor are his previous community groups: #GigWorkersUnite, ALLIANCE for Independent Workers, #CitizensUnite. 

“It’s a social movement … there’s no formal structure to it. When you see me, I’m at the forefront, but I’m an independent contractor,” he said. 

He describes his methods as “the tip of the spear,” and “the protest in a box from A to Z.”

Escobar describes his role in Watanabe’s campaign as consulting. 

“I helped to facilitate community grassroots involvement and make it authentic, organic,” he said. “It’s right up my alley. We stand against outside influence, especially at that level where they’re able to effectively buy the council and city administration.” 

Introduced to Watanabe by Dublin Mayor

Dublin Mayor Sherry Hu introduced Escobar to Watanabe at Carmen Montano’s State Senate campaign launch. 

“We were consultants on it,” he said. 

Escobar says he hasn’t worked on other South Bay races, although he did support Matt Mahan on Prop 36 as a volunteer. 

He is acquainted with one former Santa Clara consultant: Sam Singer, a PR consultant during the tenure of city manager Deanna Santana. 

“Sam loves the stuff that we’ve done,” he said. 

The prominence of the author of “When National Unions Hijack Local Politics” in the campaign of a pro-union Bay Area Democrat might be surprising to those who are familiar with his social media presence. While he embraces a Garry Tan “radical centrist” style of politics, it’s debatable whether what Escobar posts and reposts is “centrist.”

For example, he reposts regularly from right-wing political figures and Western-civilization-is-on-fire doomsayers. He’s the author of Facebook commentary, “Is First Afghan Congresswoman Lobbying for Taliban Terrorists?” and “The Illusion State: How Spectacle Replaced Leadership in California,” describing California as “a state collapsing under crime, addiction and corruption.” 

Although he “heard” the candidate forums, it’s unclear if he’s regularly following local news coverage of the city or city council meetings. He didn’t appear aware of SVVoice’s regular coverage of city council, or its extensive election and candidate coverage. 

Yet he voiced some strong opinions about one other mayoral candidate, Karen Hardy, saying she was “disruptive and dysfunctional” and, along with other Watanabe opponents, “uninformed” on data centers. 

“They’re talking about a significant revenue generator for the city and you … see these forums [these views] are being exposed publicly and that is a big turnoff for any potential business investor in the city,” he said.

Watanabe is … “One of the Best Candidates I’ve Ever Worked With”

“She gets me; I get her,” Escobar said when asked about Watanabe.

And he cannot say enough in favor of the mayoral candidate. Although he never mentions her eight years of experience as a city council member. 

“Her demeanor, her personality, her teamwork … She’s a great listener, and she applies things right away,” he said. “She’s a go-for-it person. I love that. I compliment her all the time, ‘You’re amazing. Great job.”

Escobar believes that Watanabe’s age won’t be a detriment to her ability to do the job.

“I’ve seen her grow so quickly, and I love that. I applaud that, because that shows at any age a person is capable of still learning and growing,” said Escobar. “She’s more petite. She’s a little bit older in age, female, so sometimes people prey upon that and look at it as a weakness … Be all that you can be, Kathy. Don’t walk on eggshells.” And he believes her determination will propel her forward.

“At her core she really wants to do the work for other people and leave a legacy behind,” said Escobar. “All the discussions that we’ve had have been extremely positive and about Kathy being a visionary and taking Santa Clara  to a better place.”

But when asked to elaborate about Watanabe’s vision for Santa Clara, he’s a little less certain.

“That would be a lot to kind of discuss at this point,” Escobar said. “I’m not really her spokesperson. It just has to come from her; you have to feel it from the person.”

Of course, wherever that vision takes Watanabe, Escobar would be happy to join her. 

“I’m really excited about the possibilities for Santa Clara moving forward, and I hope that we could be part of that,” he said. “If there’s something [in] press communications, who knows?  That’s TBD.”

*Watanabe reported a $4,000 payment to Escobar’s company, Epic Strategies Group, on her 10/17 financial filing.