“Socialism for thee, but not for me”: Socialist Candidate Discovered to Be a Capitalist With Stock in Some of America’s Biggest Companies

A socialist candidate for mayor in Southern California is campaigning against “corporate profits,” but his own financial disclosure shows that he owns stock in Amazon and Tesla. Alexander Kraft, who is running for mayor of El Cajon, reported thousands of dollars invested in the two corporate giants. The filing surfaced as Kraft promotes a campaign built around working-class socialism and opposition to corporate power. Commenters quickly seized on the contrast as a case of “socialism for thee, but not for me.”

Kraft is challenging incumbent El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells in the November 3rd election. The mayoral office is officially nonpartisan, though Kraft is a member of the Peace and Freedom Party and has been embraced by the Democratic Socialists of America’s San Diego chapter. His campaign describes him as a former educator and labor organizer who has fought employers “from the shop floor to the bargaining room.” He is running on housing, wage, immigration, infrastructure, and public-safety proposals tied to a broader socialist platform.

Kraft filed his California Form 700 statement on August 6th. Schedule A-1 identifies his Amazon.com Inc. holding as stock worth between $10,001 and $100,000, while his Tesla Inc. stock is valued between $2,000 and $10,000. The form places both holdings under the category for ownership interests of less than 10%.

Former Republican candidate Amy Reichert drew attention to the disclosure in an August 17th X post. “Socialism for thee, but not for me. DSA candidate for mayor owns stock in Amazon & Tesla,” Reichert wrote. Her post included a photograph of Kraft at a demonstration holding a sign for the “Party for Socialism and Liberation”.

Kraft’s campaign website carries the slogan, “El Cajon for the people over corporate profits,” and promises to “end the corporate property takeover of El Cajon housing.” The site also says Kraft has “never accepted money from corporations or superPACs,” while describing his operation as funded by working-class donors.

The San Diego chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is actively organizing canvasses to elect Kraft. Its event page calls him a socialist and urges supporters to help “vote our candidate into office.” His stock disclosures appear to show private financial decisions in direct opposition to that endorsement and Kraft’s larger public identity.

The race presents El Cajon voters with a stark ideological choice. East County Magazine reported that Kraft and Wells were the only two candidates to qualify for the ballot, with the socialist challenger facing a conservative Republican incumbent. Wells is emphasizing a balanced city budget, public safety, and business development. Kraft wants a city minimum wage, union-wage requirements for city projects, social-housing investments, limits on police cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and an audit of the police budget.

Kraft so far has offered no statement explaining how he reconciles his investments with his socialist campaign message. His platform remains explicit about the political project he wants voters to join, describing the Peace and Freedom Party as an organization fighting for “socialism, democracy, ecology, feminism, and racial equality.” The campaign says it seeks to build “a mass socialist movement” while continuing to present Kraft under the slogan, “El Cajon for the people over corporate profits.”