Palo Alto elections: Yudy Deng leads council fundraising, Linda Henigin tops school board donations

Palo Alto City Council candidates are competing for three open seats, and Parks and Recreation Commission member Yudy Deng has emerged as the clear fundraising leader, having raised $83,000 through June 30—about four times the $22,000 raised by planning commission chair Bryna Chang. Major contributors to Deng’s campaign include the Asian American Civic Leadership Committee, California Lt. Gov. candidate Fiona Ma, and employees of local tech firms such as Google and Yahoo.

In the race for two seats on the Palo Alto Board of Education, substitute teacher and volunteer Linda Henigin leads with roughly $17,600 in contributions. She is followed by Apple researcher Avery Wang with about $15,200 and local tech executive John Craig with $9,900. Henigin’s donors include parents, community leaders and local nonprofit figures, and she has received endorsements from former board members and education officials.

Both races are part of the city’s November 2025 elections, with campaign finance filings due at the end of July and further filing deadlines in September.