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Suzanne Hess

Notable Donations:

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: $32,400
Working Families Party: $10,000
California Democratic Party: $10,000
Vote Tripling PAC: $10,000
Progressive Change Campaign Committee: $ 5,000
San Diego County Democratic Party (Fed. Acct.): $ 5,000

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Suzanne Hess is a graduate of UCLA and a retired former supervising librarian at the San Diego County Library. She is a major donor to primarily left-of-center Democratic Party candidates and causes.1

She is a board member of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group that most notably favors stricter regulations on foods and beverages.2

Background

Suzanne Hess is a former librarian and nutritionist who is married to Lawrence Hess, a real estate businessman and philanthropist with left-of-center leanings. She and her husband moved to San Diego in 1975. Suzanne earned her master’s degree in library science from UCLA and dedicated two decades of her career to working for San Diego County as a supervising librarian. 2

She is a major donor to primarily left-of-center Democratic Party candidates and causes.1 In 2010, according to Politico, Suzanne and her husband attended a donor conference organized by the Democracy Alliance (DA), a collective of left-of-center donors that has been active in orchestrating “the activities of a permanent ‘left infrastructure’ since 2004.3 In 2016, she and her husband Lawrence Hess gave more than $350,000 to mostly Democratic Party candidates. 4 In 2010, the couple was credited with having given $130,000 to the super PACs Progressive Kick and America’s Families First Action Fund, in addition to $294,000 to Democratic Party candidates. 5

Suzanne Hess was a trustee for the San Diego Repertory Theatre, which produces world premieres and contemporary plays. San Diego Repertory Theatre, in a letter following the 2020 George Floyd protests, advocated in support of left-of-center organizations including Black Lives Matter, Activist San Diego, Racial Justice Coalition of San Diego (which helps organize protests and supports efforts to defund police), Anti Police-Terror Project (a Black-led group that documents police abuse and connects impacted community members with legal and other left-wing resources that began as a project of the ONYX Organizing committee), Black Visions Collective (a Minneapolis-based group seeking to defund the police and invest in community safety), and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, in a letter signed by all trustees and management. 6 7 8

San Diego Repertory Theatre closed in June 2022 due to financial challenges and filed for bankruptcy, citing a $2 million debt. 9

National Food Museum

Suzanne Hess is a member of the board of directors for the National Food Museum. The National Food Museum is founded by Michael F. Jacobson, who is the co-founder and former executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a group for which Hess was sitting on the board of as of 2025.  The National Food Museum website states that Hess’s goal is to “have the federal government require front-of-package nutrition labels to help consumers make healthier choices, as they are doing in several other countries.” The National Food Museum, which had not yet been constructed as of 2025, seeks stricter regulation of foods and beverages, and its board of directors at that time consisted of many people with ties to CSPI. 10

Hess Justice Fund

In 2020, Suzanne Hess and her husband Lawrence Hess founded the Hess Justice Fund as their personal foundation. 11

In 2024, the Hess Justice Fund reported revenue of $550,146, expenses of $1,416,239, and $1,364,168 in assets. The group made a $450,000 donation to HeadCount, a group that works with musicians to register voters at live events with a focus on traditional Democratic Party voting blocs such as young voters and racial minorities. The group made another $450,000 donation to the Southern Vision Alliance, an incubator and fiscal sponsor of left-wing groups. The group made a $402,221 donation to Accelerate Change and a $99,518 to the Working America Education Fund. 12

Campaign Contributions

According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) database, Suzanne Hess has made donations to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ($100,000+), Women Vote! ($15,000), Democratic National Committee ($24,000), League of Conservation Voters Action Fund ($50,000), San Diego Democratic Party ($46,000), Emily’s List ($20,000), Progressive Change Campaign Committee ($25,000), and Voices for Progress PAC ($55,000), among other left-of-center groups.13

As of December 2025, so far in the 2025-26 election cycle, according to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) database, Suzanne Hess has donated $5,000 to the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, $5,000 to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, $5,000 to the San Diego Democratic Party, $5,000 to the Voices for Progress PAC. She has also donated to U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). 14

In the 2023-2024 election cycle, Hess donated $5,000 to the Stacey Abrams-founded PAC Fair Fight, $1,000 to the Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor Party, $3,300 to ActBlue PAC, $10,000 to the San Diego Democratic Party, $10,000 to the Voices for Progress PAC, $10,000 to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and $5,000 to the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund. In addition to donating to those groups, Hess donated to numerous swing district Democratic U.S House and U.S. Senate candidates. 15

In the 2021-2022 election cycle, Hess donated $10,000 to the Voices for Progress PAC, $10,000 to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, $2,500 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, $300 to ActBlue PAC, $10,000 to the San Diego Democratic Party, $5,000 to the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, and $5,000 to the Midwest Values PAC. In addition to donating to those groups, Hess donated to numerous swing district Democratic U.S. House and U.S. Senate candidates. 16

In the 2019-2020 election cycle, Hess donated $10,000 to the Working Families Party’s independent expenditure committee,  $10,000 to the California Democratic Party, $9,775 to the San Diego Democratic Party, $10,000 to the Voices for Progress PAC, $10,000 to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and $10,000 to the Vote Tripling PAC. In addition to donating to those groups, Hess donated to numerous swing district Democratic U.S. House and U.S. Senate candidates. 17

References

  1. “Suzanne Hess – LinkedIn.” Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-hess-b8a40113.
  2. “Suzanne Hess.” Center for Science in the Public Interest, February 23, 2022. https://www.cspinet.org/biography/suzanne-hess.
  3. “Crashing Big Dem Donors’ Meeting.” POLITICO. Accessed June 22, 2023. https://www.politico.com/story/2010/11/crashing-big-dem-donors-meeting-045260
  4. Payton, Mari, and Ron Campbell. “Most of CA Campaign Giving Went To Out-Of-State & Presidential Candidates.” NBC 7 San Diego. NBC San Diego, September 15, 2016. https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/investigations/nearly-70-of-ca-campaign-giving-went-to-out-of-state-presidential-candidates/107847/.
  5. Hargrove, Dorian. “Lawrence and Suzanne Hess Gave $294,000 in Political Donations.” San Diego Reader. Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/news-ticker/2012/may/16/lawrence-and-suzanne-hess-give-294000-in-political/.
  6. “Black Visions Collective.” Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/.
  7. “About APTP.” Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.antipoliceterrorproject.org/about-aptp.
  8. “Racial Justice Coalition of San Diego.” Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.facebook.com/RacialJusticeCoalitionofSanDiego.org/
  9. Kragen San, Pam. “San Diego Repertory Theatre to Suspend Operations after 46 Years.” Del Mar Times, June 9, 2022. https://www.delmartimes.net/art/story/2022-06-09/san-diego-repertory-theatre-to-suspend-operations-after-46-years
  10. “Board of Directors.” National Food Museum. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.nationalfoodmuseum.org/board-of-director/.
  11. “Hess Justice Fund – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/852994125.
  12. “Hess Justice Fund, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/852994125/202511219349101556/full.
  13. “Hess, Suzanne.” Federal Election Commission (FEC). Accessed November 2, 2023. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=suzanne+hess.
  14. “Browse Individual Contributions.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Suzanne%2BHess&contributor_city=San%2BDiego&two_year_transaction_period=2026&contributor_state=CA.
  15. “Browse Individual Contributions.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Suzanne%2BHess&contributor_city=San%2BDiego&two_year_transaction_period=2024&contributor_state=CA.
  16. “Browse Individual Contributions.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Suzanne%2BHess&contributor_city=San%2BDiego&two_year_transaction_period=2022&contributor_state=CA.
  17. “Browse Individual Contributions.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Suzanne%2BHess&contributor_city=San%2BDiego&two_year_transaction_period=2020&contributor_state=CA.
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