Silicon Valley House Candidates Sam Liccardo, Evan Low Spar In Congressional Debate

Democrats competing for Silicon Valley’s congressional seat clashed, snarled and bristled over campaign ethics, public safety and homelessness in Friday night’s debate.

The matchup between former San José Mayor Sam Liccardo and Assemblymember Evan Low was rescheduled from Oct. 2, when Liccardo withdrew citing laryngitis. They are vying to replace Rep. Anna Eshoo, who announced last year that she would not seek re-election for California’s 16th Congressional District, a seat that represents Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Pacifica, and other cities in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

Liccardo is polling at 30.9%, compared to 20% for Low, according to polling released in late September by USC, Cal Poly Pomona and CSU Long Beach.

Tensions between the two Democrats have been simmering for months. Low won a spot on the November ballot following a high-profile recount in May that was largely funded by allies of Liccardo.

Liccardo quickly put Low on the defensive about campaign ethics complaints, arguing that Low’s campaign has skirted a law that prohibits using state campaign funds on federal races. The voting rights group, Defend the Vote, which has endorsed Liccardo, filed a federal complaint against Low over the issue.

“Only one of these candidates is under an FPPC investigation,” Liccardo said, referring to a separate investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

Low defended his campaign’s approach. He repeatedly criticized Liccardo’s record on public safety during the debate hosted by KQED, NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48.

“When he was mayor of San José, he implemented a plan that dismantled public employees and public safety. In fact, 500 police officers left,” Low said, adding that he has the sole endorsement from the San José Police Officers Association.

Low, mentioning that his brother, who is a police officer, was in the live audience, blasted Liccardo’s support for pension reform and a decline in police staffing when Liccardo served on the San José City Council and as mayor.

Liccardo slammed Low for blocking a police reform bill in 2018 that would have opened up police misconduct records around the state. Low said he still supports his decision.

“Sexual assault. Excessive use of force. Theft. These are all crimes. And when police officers commit these crimes, the public has a right to know about it,” Liccardo said.

Both candidates said they supported allowing for more immigration, but also supported strengthening the border. But the two diverged when asked if they would have changed President Joe Biden’s approach to immigration.

Low, who frequently invoked Vice President Kamala Harris, said “No.” Liccardo said that the Biden Administration was “too slow to respond to the crisis at the border.”

Low said he supports comprehensive immigration reform at the national level.

“In Half Moon Bay, there are undocumented farmworkers who are struggling to put food on the table,” he said, adding that he wants to pass Biden and Harris’ immigration reform bill. “We also know there are highly-skilled workers that we need immigration reform for as well.”

They took digs at each other on housing and homelessness. Liccardo said Low didn’t do enough in the state Assembly to curb the issue, while Low accused Liccardo of allowing homelessness to sprawl out of control during his time as mayor.

Liccardo said he supports removing barriers to Section 8 housing vouchers. Low said he thinks there needs to be stronger auditing and accountability around spending for homeless services, and holding cities accountable for building enough affordable housing.

“The city missed the mark by 13,128 units during his tenure,” Low said, referring to state-mandated housing goals.

“Evan Low has demonstrated zero leadership on homelessness,” Liccardo responded.

Technology, which dominates big industry in the district, was one area where the two found some common ground. Both said they support increasing privacy protections online, in particular for children, and creating protections for workers whose jobs are threatened by automation.

“There is a lot we can do if we set a private industry standard — the best standard — to be the floor for liability,” Liccardo said.