Big Tech's hyperlocal fights

Lee Drutman discussed Amazon’s political influence with Axios.

Tech giants are also putting money into local projects — often trying to address housing and transit crises fueled by their own growth.

Just this week, Facebook committed $1 billion for Bay Area housing. Google made the same pledge earlier this year.

Microsoft pledged $500 million for affordable housing in Seattle.

Amazon has given money to address homelessness in Seattle as well as Arlington, Virginia, the home of its second headquarters.

But, but, but: "Politics is not a vending machine," says Lee Drutman, a scholar at New America. And in some cases, spending too much can work against tech giants.

In Seattle, progressive candidates are latching onto Amazon's big political contribution as a talking point. Kshama Sawant, who is the most vocal anti-Amazon Seattle council member, tweeted, “EMERGENCY! Amazon just dropped a $1 million bomb on Seattle elections — we can’t let Jeff Bezos buy City Hall!”

And in San Francisco, Juul garnered widespread backlash after it spent millions to support a ballot measure overturning a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes. The company later pulled support for the measure.