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By Brandon Pho. San José Spotlight via Bay City News.
Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and California Assemblyman Evan Low traded barbs over each other's records on climate, public safety and housing in a tense, hourlong debate for Silicon Valley's hottest congressional race.
The 16th Congressional District candidates were initially cheerful in the NBC Bay Area studio in San Jose on Friday. But the gloves came off when moderators asked Liccardo and Low if they were running ethical campaigns amid a highly contentious recount, endorsement maneuvers and competing complaints about election transparency.
Both maintained that their efforts to reach Congress have been ethical. Liccardo, who has been accused of secretly coordinating the recount after the March primary and has denied it, said the lack of an automatic recount provision in state election law opened the door to political theater.
“Evan Low and his attorneys tried to stop the recount twice,” Liccardo said. “(Low) admitted at a public forum on June 14 in Los Altos that he did it because he thought he might lose if there was a full recount. Let’s make sure every vote is counted. It should be funded by the Registrar (of Voters), and in this case, it couldn’t be because of legal issues.”
Low said his campaign is held to “the highest ethical standards” and turned his response into an attack on Liccardo’s public safety record.
“When he was mayor of San Jose and on the City Council, he implemented a plan that dismantled public employees and public safety,” Low said. “In fact, 500 police officers left because he instituted his public safety plan. As a result, he had to declare a state of emergency due to rising crime rates.”
The state of emergency was prompted by a shortage of police personnel. As a council member, Liccardo pushed for passage of Measure B in 2012, which was intended to reduce the city’s growing pension debt. But it drastically cut benefits and pensions for the city’s police and firefighters.
Liccardo responded that he was being “smart on crime” and insisted that the San Jose Police Department added 200 officers during his tenure at the city’s helm. He criticized Low for being too cozy with police unions and opposing laws like Senate Bill 1421, which in 2018 allowed for greater disclosure of records of police misconduct, sexual assault and excessive use of force.
Moderators asked both candidates for their positions on Proposition 36, a statewide ballot measure that, if approved by voters, would increase criminal punishment for shoplifting and drug-related offenses. Liccardo said he supports it. Low said he does not.
“I refuse to return to the era of mass incarceration,” Low said.
Liccardo said the arrest does not mean imprisonment.
“It’s interesting that Evan Low mentioned incarceration, because his support for private prisons has been notable,” Liccardo said.
The candidates answered questions about their plans to build affordable housing. Liccardo said he supported an expanded tax credit program to transform vacant office and retail buildings into housing. He also called for exempting older homes from capital gains taxes to encourage homeowners to sell.
“We have a fundamental supply problem and we need to reduce cost and price by producing more housing,” Liccardo said.
Low again turned his response to the question into an attack on Liccardo’s record, blaming the former mayor for rising homelessness and a lack of measurable housing outcomes. Liccardo responded that a state audit earlier this year found that California lawmakers had failed to account for billions of dollars in spending on homeless assistance programs.
Low pledged to partner on housing with presidential candidate Kamala Harris if she is elected.
“In Congress, I will partner with Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket to implement the construction of 3 million new homes, including $25,000 tax credits for first-time homebuyers,” Low said.
Moderators also asked the candidates about the climate crisis. Liccardo criticized the strong support Low received from oil and gas companies, as well as PG&E. Low responded, criticizing the support Liccardo received from Texas philanthropists who worked in the oil business.
Liccardo called for federally backed funding to help homeowners protect their homes from the elements. One example he mentioned was helping people in wildfire-prone areas replace wood shingle roofs and install rooftop sprinklers.
His efforts to explore community choice energy services and combat PG&E have earned him broad support among climate activists.
“Sierra Club has endorsed me. The League of Conservation Voters has endorsed me,” Liccardo said. “All of the environmental organizations involved in this race have endorsed me.”
Low relied on his track record.
“In the Legislature, I have led efforts to ensure that California has zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and a clean electric grid by 2045,” Low said. “In fact, I just came out of the special session of the California State Legislature holding oil companies accountable for price gouging, so I am deeply committed.”
The elections will be on November 5th.
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