Democratic congressional candidates gay state Assemblymember Evan Low and former San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo clashed over ethics and policy during a televised debate hosted by a trio of local news organizations. They are locked in an increasingly contentious contest for the state's 16th Congressional District.
Their race to succeed Congressmember Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) has been marked by months of accusations between the two campaigns that they violated rules governing financial donations. They also have traded barbs over who is stronger on crime and their records on housing issues.
It was on full display during their 60-minute exchange October 11 co-hosted and broadcast by KQED, NBC Bay Area, and Telemundo 48. The first question from NBC Bay Area anchor Raj Mathai for the two candidates was if they are running ethical campaigns.
"We should agree on one basic principle, every vote should be counted. Every vote should be counted, and we can agree on that except Evan Low. He can't," said Liccardo, who was first to respond. "We had Evan Low and his attorneys attempting to stop a recount."
He publicly acknowledged doing so, said Liccardo, "because he thought he might lose if he had a full recount."
He was referring to Low's attempt to stop a recount of the March 5 primary race results that saw Liccardo place first and Low tie with Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian (D) for second, which would have meant all three advanced to the general election. But a former aide to Liccardo sought a recount, claiming he was doing so on behalf of Low.
The state legislator cried foul, accusing Liccardo of working behind the scenes to bump him out of the race. In the end, Low emerged victorious over Simitian by five votes, keeping alive his bid to become the Bay Area's first LGBTQ congressional member.
Low began his response to Mathai's question by stating, "Most certainly, we abide by the most ethical standards that is the obligation that we have as public servants." But he quickly pivoted to attacking Liccardo's mayoral record and how he "implemented a plan that dismantled public employees and public safety. In fact, 500 police officers left because he instituted his public safety plan."
His answer prompted Mathai to ask Low for clarification on if he is "running an ethical campaign," to which Low said, "Absolutely."
It provided an opening for Liccardo to retort, "I think it is interesting he dodged the question," and bring up state and federal campaign finance complaints filed against Low. The most recent being by campaign watchdog group Defend the Vote that accused Low of illegally using nearly $600,000 in his state legislative campaign account toward his congressional race.
The money has funded TV ads touting Low's legislative focus as a state legislator without mentioning his run for the House seat in order to abide by the rules allowing for such issue advocacy ads. Both Defend the Vote and Liccardo have accused Low's doing so an attempt to skirt the rules on behalf of his congressional candidacy.
Liccardo noted Low's state account "is funded by PG&E, Chevron, and private prison corporations. Corporations that can't donate to any federal campaign."
Low rebutted that Liccardo had "taken thousands of dollars from PG&E" and was aided by "dark money" donations former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg gave toward funding the recall count in the spring.
Feisty exchanges
It was just one of many feisty exchanges between the two South Bay leaders running to represent the House district that straddles Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Polling has shown Liccardo with a lead in the race, while LGBTQ advocates this month have stepped up their efforts to see Low potentially triple the number of LGBTQ members in California's congressional delegation.
The debate had been rescheduled after Liccardo pulled out on the day it was originally to take place due to having laryngitis and being ordered at least five days of vocal rest by his doctor. Repeatedly during their hourlong discussion Low and Liccardo argued they were the better candidate to address such intractable issues as immigration, public safety, and affordable housing in Congress. Each attacked the others' record on tackling homelessness.
Low pointed to a state audit that questioned how San Jose, when Liccardo was mayor, spent state dollars awarded to it to address the issue and found homelessness had increased 40% on his watch. He contended it was behind why state lawmakers adopted stronger laws to hold cities accountable on constructing new housing.
"He talks about a plan for homelessness and addressing it. Well, his plan failed," said Low, pledging to champion housing solutions in the House. "We need to be doing better. Enough is enough."
Liccardo defended his record, saying San Jose saw an 11% reduction in street homelessness during his last year as mayor in 2022 due to the policies he enacted. While he was working to address the issue, Liccardo blasted Low for not taking a lead role on it in the Legislature as an author of housing bills.
"Evan Low has demonstrated absolutely zero leadership on homelessness in the 10 years he's been in the assembly despite the fact that we've had a crisis where homelessness has increased statewide by an even higher rate than it did in the city of San Jose," said Liccardo.
In another exchange on policing, Low called Liccardo "the original defunder of the police," alluding to his supporting a measure that cut pension benefits for San Jose firefighters and police officers. Liccardo responded that as mayor he was able to resolve the pension issue with another ballot measure and left office with San Jose having "the lowest homicide rate of any major city in the United States."
On Congress' passage of a bill forcing the sale of the social media app TikTok to a non-Chinese owner, Liccardo agreed with its doing so but said, "I don't think that's a long-term strategy for solving this challenge."
Low said it was "the wrong direction" but agreed tech companies should be held to account for their impacts on youth, in particular.
"We need to be able to partner with our tech companies and also where users are. Everyday Californians are utilizing it to get information," said Low.
There were moments of agreement between the two candidates. They sounded similar stances on immigration, saying they would work to secure the border but also noted the country's economy needs immigrant labor to thrive.
"It's important for us to recognize that we can have both a safe, secure border and more immigration. We don't need to put these objectives against each other," said Liccardo, noting he was a federal prosecutor at the southern border.
Low called for reforms to the country's visa programs to allow in more qualified workers. He noted the issue is of particular importance to the tech industry in Silicon Valley.
"We must have comprehensive immigration reform. As you may know, there is a bipartisan bill that's worked through Congress," said Low. "Unfortunately, Donald Trump said, 'Please do not pass this until post election.' I am working alongside Kamala Harris in making sure that we deliver that bill to her desk and gets that signed into law."
Another issue the two candidates are in agreement on is calling for an immediate ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the return of the hostages taken by the terrorist group a little over a year ago.
There were no questions regarding LGBTQ issues, and the only time one was mentioned was during Low's response to how he would be able to cross the aisle in a divided Congress to work with his Republican colleagues. He noted he led the charge in the Assembly to put Proposition 3 on the November 5 ballot, which aims to strike the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman from the state's constitution, and it drew no votes against it from any GOP assemblymembers.
The full debate can be viewed below.
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