On Saturday, Sam Liccardo, the 16th Congressional District representative, went for a hike in Los Gatos with his wife; on Sunday he was sworn in by predecessor Anna Eshoo (with the help of emcee Lissa Kreisler, the partner of Los Gatan columnist Jeffrey Blum) in Mountain View.
Now, the fresh face on Capitol Hill is readying anti-corruption legislation to be announced this week.
In his speech at the Computer History Museum to a packed audience that included Los Gatos Mayor Matthew Hudes, Vice Mayor Rob Moore and Councilmember Maria Ristow, as well as a slew of technology executives and political leaders from around the region, Liccardo shared a hopeful message about preserving openness, but in a stern prosecutorial tone.
“The essence of what is unique about our region amounts to much more than just the sum of its parts,” he said. “Rather, what is unique about us is our extraordinary culture. Values animate that culture. Values that I’ll venture to summarize with a single word: openness. Innovative systems are fundamentally open, which enables rapid experimentation and learning.”
Liccardo first spoke the oath of office on Jan. 7, in Washington, D.C., with this weekend’s event held as a way to share the moment with his West Coast supporters.
“Our Valley culture succeeds by its openness—for people, for knowledge, to the world, to risk,” he said. “We embrace people with whatever identity they choose, whoever they choose to love and wherever they may come from in the world…I think we all agree we should enforce laws at borders, but we live in a region where 40% of our adults were born in a foreign country.”
“That’s right,” interjected a voice from the audience.
Liccardo said he believes it’s this spirit that allowed Silicon Valley to become such an influential global force.
“We don’t need to see the exhibits in this museum to know—just here within the Valley—the success we’ve seen, from luminaries ranging from Andy Grove (former Intel CEO) to Jerry Yang (former Yahoo! CEO) to Hock Tan (Broadcom CEO), to Jensen Huang (Nvidia CEO) and thousands and thousands more,” he said. “Of course, we never made it easy on any of them to get here.”
Liccardo emerged as the top vote-getter in a primary that resulted in a tie for second (which was overturned by a recount). Evan Low, who ended up placing second in the November contest, has now been accused by California’s campaign finance regulator of improperly accepting $113,000 in non-monetary campaign donations, among other violations, CalMatters reported.
A healthy contingent of Los Gatans queued in the lobby, ready to experience a milestone in the congressman’s D.C. honeymoon period.
That included Bill Rehbock, 58, of Coldwell Banker San Jose.
“We supported Sam when he ran for Congress,” the Los Gatos resident said. “We felt he was the best for the real estate business…and expanding housing.”
As people milled about in the meeting room, Kreisler explained why she supports Liccardo.
“I trust him to protect my granddaughters,” she said, adding, “I know he will be in the forefront.”
Assemblymember Gail Pellerin greeted Kreisler before heading on her way.
Saratoga Vice Mayor Chuck Page said he likes how Liccardo reaches out to people of different political stripes.
Los Gatos High School graduate Victoria Thúy Vi McDowell sang the national anthem—persevering with a powerful delivery despite some temporary mic fluttering.
Kreisler opened the event with a land acknowledgement that named the “Ohlone” and also the “Muwekma Ohlone.”
After losing their bid in the courts for federal recognition, the Muwekma Ohlone have been lobbying politically for official status.
(The Muwekma Ohlone flag is displayed on part of the mid-century structure which also houses the Los Gatos Town Council Chambers.)
Later, in an interview with the Los Gatan, Liccardo poured cold water on the idea he might be looking to go out of his way to advocate for recognition for the Indigenous organization.
“I’m happy to assist in providing whatever support might be helpful,” he said, referencing the established system. “I’m not interested in going around the process to bestow recognition.”
Just as Blum dipped into the comedic well for his Los Gatan column last week, Kreisler peppered her introductory words with a little humor, for example remarking on Liccardo’s robust crowd.
“Do not look at the maximum capacity, because he’s already breaking the law,” she said, reminiscent of Blum admitting a “Grand Canyon-sized pothole on the Highway 17 north on-ramp” might drive him to crime. “Do you think the president will pardon him?”
Next, District Attorney Jeff Rosen took a shot at Donald Trump, too, adding he’s known Liccardo since they worked out of the same prosecution shop.
“He will not swear an oath to the president or a king,” Rosen said, “or even a president who thinks he’s a king.”
And he called up the next speaker, “local legend” Eshoo.
“This is a moment of great joy,” she said, as she prepared to administer the oath. “The constitution is our soul.”
Liccardo said focusing on maintaining the rule of law is something that can unite the country.
“It’s a value we all share, whether we’re from the Bay Area or not,” he said, also pointing to what he sees as attempts to undermine federal authority and erode scientific freedom. “We need to fight, and we’re going to fight.”
Cheers from the crowd.
“We’ll need all hands on deck. We’ll need you,” he said.
In contrast with Trump’s attacks on the media, Liccardo referenced former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw in his remarks.
Colleen Wilcox, a former Santa Clara County superintendent of schools, liked what she heard.
“I think his speech covered every critical issue,” the Los Gatos resident said. “He’s the real thing.”
When asked what he thought about the fact that a Los Gatos resident was now in the House, representing the District, Mayor Hudes was bursting with positivity.
“It’s great to have someone who understands our community and really understands what the tech business is,” said Hudes, who has a biotechnology background.
Hudes added that Los Gatos is about to hold a study session on the impact of potential federal funding cuts.
For example, $2 million from the feds goes to vegetation management alone, he noted.
“People need to know how much federal funding impacts services,” he said.
Richard Wong, CEO of nonprofit Smart City CA USA, said he’s committed to helping Liccardo succeed.
“We helped him to run the campaign,” he said. “He supported us. We supported him.”
Pierluigi Oliverio, who once ran against Liccardo for San Jose mayor (and who spent the previous evening at Pedro’s on North Santa Cruz Avenue), said Sam Liccardo has what it takes to make a difference in Washington.
“I think he’s going to be great,” he said.
Jessica García-Kohl, Liccardo’s wife, shared that the day before the big swearing-in, they’d spent some quality time together on the Los Gatos Creek Trail.
“That’s our sanity,” she said.
In a telephone interview after the event, Liccardo, who grew up in Saratoga, said they even went up St. Joseph’s Hill.
And it was “wonderful,” he added, to see so many friends and community leaders the following day, before heading back to the chaos of Washington.
“It was nice—in a moment when we’ve had an enormous amount of fear and anxiety—to be able to take a breath, to be able to celebrate for a moment, and gather our energy for the tough battles ahead,” he said, just hours before his scheduled flight back to the East Coast.
He declined to say too much about his latest bill, with details to be released to the public this week, but said it would take aim at “governmental corruption.”
