SAN JOSÉ, Calif. (CN) — Former San José mayor Sam Liccardo has set his sights on a hotly contested congressional seat.
Liccardo has pulled papers to run in what will likely be a tight competition for the 16th Congressional District, which includes the Silicon Valley and much of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, multiple outlets reported. The seat is finally open after longtime representative, Democrat Anna Eshoo from Palo Alto, announced Nov. 21 that she would not seek reelection in 2024 after more than 30 years in public office.
While Liccardo has not established a campaign committee, pulling papers with the Federal Election Commission aligns with a new push to gather donors. This week, political operative Cooper Teboe sent an email inviting prospective donors to Liccardo’s Portola Valley home to support the former mayor’s congressional bid, although Liccardo said this week he was still deciding if he wants to run.
The Mercury News reported that earlier this year Liccardo said he was considering a bid for Congress. Liccardo had not confirmed his run for the seat on social media as of Thursday afternoon.
Other candidates who could be eyeing the seat include state Senator Josh Becker and Assembly member Evan Low. Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian announced his bid for the job on X, formerly Twitter.
“You heard it here first, folks. The time has come and I’m all in,” Simitian wrote.
Liccardo served as San José's mayor from 2014 until 2022, and led the city’s recovery during an economic downturn, flooding emergencies and wildfires in 2017 and rising homelessness.
He often signaled a preference for big business by supporting tax breaks for downtown high-rises and leading a now-delayed push to sell public land to Google. He also spearheaded a groundbreaking gun safety policy — currently being fought by gun rights groups — to require San José gun owners to carry liability insurance and pay an annual fee.
Liccardo served as an assistant district attorney out of Harvard University, and after his mayoral term ended has been a part-time lecturer at Stanford Law School. He is the senior adviser and counsel for California civic initiatives at San Francisco’s Ground Floor Public Affairs.
He lost a $500,000 lawsuit brought by the First Amendment Coalition and San José Spotlight over his use of personal email accounts and texts to conduct public business, which a judge were improperly withheld after a records request. Liccardo also blocked efforts in 2020 and 2021 to obtain city business records, including messages to and from his personal email account.
Follow @nhanson_reports
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