U.S. Reps. Kuster, Schneider, Harder, Cisneros Endorse Sam Liccardo
On heels of NewDem endorsement, Liccardo’s national coalition is growing
SAN JOSE, CA — On the heels of endorsements from the New Democrat Coalition Action Fund, U.S. Representatives Annie Kuster, Brad Schneider, Josh Harder, and former Representative Gil Cisneros announced their endorsement of Sam Liccardo for Congress. This announcement comes after a poll showing Liccardo with a 12% lead in the two-candidate race to replace the retiring Congresswoman Anna Eshoo.
“I’m honored and grateful to have the support of these exceptional leaders,” Liccardo said. “I look forward to joining them in the fight to address our housing crisis, reduce the cost of living, combat climate change, prevent gun violence, and reduce the budget deficit.”
Annie Kuster is the chair of the New Democrat Coalition, and co-chairs the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence. She sits on the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
“Sam has a proven record of bringing together people who disagree, and delivering results for his constituents,” Kuster said. “As Mayor of San José, Sam balanced a budget and left his successor a surplus. We need him in Congress to do the same. He has what it takes to get things done in Washington, for his district and for our country. ”
Brad Schneider (IL-10) is vice-chair of the New Democrat Coalition, a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, and vice-chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.
“Sam Liccardo is the kind of leader who will help get Congress back on track,” Schneider said. “Our nation is facing a number of serious crises, from the cost of living to climate change to gun violence. Sam has a vision to bring Congress together and work to solve these problems. I believe he can. I’m proud to endorse his campaign.”
Josh Harder (CA-9) sits on the powerful appropriations committee, and is the recruitment co-chair for the New Democrat Coalition.
“Sam understands the issues our working families are facing, including growing public safety concerns and an unaffordable cost of living,” Harder said. “Sam will take a thorough and thoughtful approach to tackling these issues in Congress. I’m proud to endorse him.”
Gil Cisneros is the former Representative for California’s 39th District, and served as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in the Biden administration.
“We need Sam in Congress to move our country forward,” Cisneros said. “Whether it’s standing up to special interests and big oil, working across the aisle to build an economy that works for the middle class, or tackling the climate crisis, I’m confident Sam can get it done. That’s why I’m proud to endorse his campaign.”
Liccardo is endorsed by the New Democrat Coalition, the Sierra Club, NorCal Carpenters Union, Laborers’ International Union of North America, Defend the Vote, California State Controller Malia Cohen, U.S. Representatives Nanette Barragan, Tony Cárdenas, Lou Correa, Robert Garcia, Linda Sanchez, and Scott Peters, Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and more than 100 local elected officials and community leaders. In the primary election, he was endorsed by the Mercury News and the San Francisco Chronicle. A full endorsement list can be seen here.
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About Sam Liccardo
Sam Liccardo is running for Congress to focus Washington on the big issues like homelessness, climate change, reproductive rights, and the punishing cost of living. To a Congress that has been called the least productive in decades, Liccardo says “Let’s Get it Done!” on the problems that matter most to the Peninsula, the Coastside, and Silicon Valley.
As Mayor of San José, the Bay Area’s largest city, Liccardo’s innovative efforts to confront homelessness include pioneering the conversion of motels to housing in 2016, four years prior to California adopting it as a statewide model. He piloted the development of quick-build prefabricated housing communities that were constructed at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional apartments, helping thousands come off the streets. Liccardo also launched a successful program that employs unhoused residents cleaning the city in exchange for housing and pay (“San José Bridge”). Though San José long struggled with growing homelessness, it became one of the very few California cities to reduce street homelessness in Liccardo’s final year in office, 2022.
Under Liccardo, San José resolved chronic deficits, reduced city debt, and improved its credit rating, particularly through a 2016 ballot measure that saved taxpayers $3 billion over three decades. He took on the gun lobby and crafted a first-in-the-nation requirement for gun owners to pay annual fees to support violence-prevention programs and to purchase liability insurance. He launched San José Clean Energy for the city’s one million residents which now procures 95% of its electricity from renewable and GHG-free sources. Liccardo also led a series of successful ballot measures to preserve open space and hillsides, rebuild city streets and other infrastructure, and provide hundreds of millions in funding for housing affordable to vital workers such as teachers, nurses, firefighters, and police officers. Liccardo led efforts to expand BART and was part of the regional coalition that supported the successful efforts to electrify Caltrain.
Prior to his service in elected office, Liccardo prosecuted felony crimes of sexual assault and child exploitation in the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, and also served as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of California. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Georgetown University. His published works have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and other national publications. He and his wife, Jessica García-Kohl, live in San José.
About California’s 16th Congressional District
California’s 16th is an open Congressional District that covers parts of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, home to Silicon Valley. The district covers all or part of the cities of Menlo Park, Los Altos, Woodside, Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, Atherton, Pescadero, Portola Valley, Campbell, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Saratoga and Stanford.