SACRAMENTO - Silicon Valley powerhouse Kathy Levinson and her partner are donating $300,000 to defeat a March ballot initiative banning gay marriages - one of the largest individual donations ever made to fight a state proposition.

Levinson is president and chief operating officer of ETrade Group Inc., the Internet stock market trading company based in Menlo Park. A multimillionaire, she lives in Palo Alto with her partner, Jennifer Levinson, and their two children.

The donation puts the campaign on an equal financial footing with backers of the Definition of Marriage initiative, which so far has been funded mostly by religious conservatives and an active campaign by the Mormon church.

The initiative would define marriage as "between a man and a woman" - terminology already in state law.

The ballot measure is an attempt to short-circuit pending court rulings in other states that could legalize gay marriage based on the argument that all citizens, including gay couples who want to marry, must be treated equally under the law.

At a Sunday fund-raising brunch at her home, Levinson told a crowd of Silicon Valley and Bay Area elite that she and her partner had donated $300,000 and raised another $60,000 from friends throughout the country, according to people who attended the party.

"When she first made her announcement, she had everyone on their feet, cheering wildly," said San Francisco Supervisor Mark Leno, one of about 120 guests. "It was a very exciting time."

Levinson told the crowd she hoped to raise another $40,000 and challenged her guests to donate an additional $100,000. Mike Marshall, manager of the Californians for Fairness campaign, said people were responding. He estimated that Sunday's event brought in at least $500,000.

"She's obviously a leader in Silicon Valley who is also a very devoted mother and partner, and her family is of utmost importance to her," said Leno. "She recognizes that her family is being directly challenged by a very mean-spirited, worthless initiative."

Supporters held 4-1 edge

Only two weeks ago, when campaign finance reports were made available, it appeared supporters of the initiative had a 4-1 edge over the opposition. The Definition of Marriage camp had raised $839,000 compared with $223,000 for the Californians for Fairness campaign, which is based in The City.

Two of the biggest contributors supporting the initiative have been Roland Hinz and Richard A. Riddle, co-founders of the Allied Business PAC, which backs religious conservative candidates in the Legislature. Both men gave $50,000.

By promising to add another $300,000 to the opposition, Levinson has thrown herself aggressively into one of the most divisive issues in California politics.

She also joins the ranks of high-powered, politically active gay millionaires like Hollywood mogul David Geffen, a frequent and generous contributor to Democratic causes.

At the Sunday fund-raising brunch, Levinson said that she and her partner "had not been involved even in gay and lesbian issues in terms of ballot measures, but they were persuaded this was important and was necessary," said state Sen. Byron Sher, D-Stanford, who attended the brunch but left before the announcement about the donation. Levinson attended Stanford University, the University of San Francisco and Harvard University. She joined ETrade in 1996 after working in various high-level management positions at Charles Schwab & Co. in San Francisco for 15 years. She did not return calls for comment.

Her donation may open ETrade to pressure from the religious right even though the money comes from her personal account, not the burgeoning company's.

Backer will drop ETrade account

When told by The Examiner about the $300,000 donation, Rob Stutzman, spokesman for the Definition of Marriage initiative campaign, said: "Oh man, I have an ETrade account. I'll have to switch."

Stutzman said he has always expected the opposition campaign to be competitive. He said money continues to flow into the initiative campaign, but he wouldn't disclose any donations made since the close of the fund-raising period in June.

"There are very wealthy gays and lesbians who potentially could be very large donors to their campaign," Stutzman said about what is likely to be a very aggressive fund-raising war over the next seven months.

Marshall, with Californians for Fairness, said he expects to raise at least $5 million, enough to buy TV time. The campaign also is building support among other business executives and politicians.

Rep. Tom Campbell, R-San Jose, has already come out against the initiative, and a high-ranking executive at the Charles Schwab brokerage house, co-CEO David Pottruck, gave $5,000 to defeat it. Levinson used to work with Pottruck at Schwab. John and Marcia Goldman, who own an insurance company in San Francisco, gave $25,000. "The gay community throughout the state is too small on its own to defeat something like this," Marshall said. "We need to be in a coalition with all fair-minded Californians."

©1999 San Francisco Examiner