Sam Liccardo

In 2006, Liccardo ran for San Jose's District 3 Council seat. After placing first in an eight-candidate June primary with 43% percent of the vote,[5] Liccardo went on to place first in the November runoff election, this time with 61.3%.[6] In June 2010, he won his reelection to the City Council with 80.16% of the primary vote.[7]

As councilman, Liccardo advocated for more high rises in San José's downtown, including the construction of the $135 million, 23-story high rise at One South Market.[8]

In 2014, Liccardo ran for Mayor of San Jose to succeed termed-out Mayor Chuck Reed. He placed second in a five-candidate June primary with 25.7% of the vote[9] and placed first in the November runoff with 50.8% of the vote.[10]

In his first year in office, he helped guide negotiations on an agreement with all 11 of city's employee unions[11][12] that could save the city $3 billion in pension costs over the course of three decades.[13] In the 2016 elections, voters approved the agreement by passing Measure F with more than 61% of the vote.[14] This measure replaced a contentious pension reform plan, which has faced a series of legal challenges since its 2012 passage.[15][16]

Liccardo advocated for a half-cent sales tax increase called Measure B on the 2016 November ballot,[17] which passed with over 70%.[14] The tax is devoted to transportation, with funds dedicated to expanding BART, reducing traffic congestion, and filling potholes.[18] Despite the majority vote, it has become a controversial topic throughout Santa Clara County as the tax measure has also attracted negative reception from Saratoga, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Cupertino, and Mountain View as well as San Jose Sharks Sports & Entertainment, LLC who have harshly criticized Liccardo with wasting millions of dollars on insufficient roadway projects, lack of focus on local transit and bus service, and insisting that the BART subway through Downtown San Jose be a single bore rather than the traditional double bore.[19][20][21]

In March 2016, Liccardo unveiled a Smart City Vision, with the expressed goal to make San Jose the "most innovative city in America by 2020."[22] Liccardo hired Shireen Santosham to be his Chief Innovation Officer and lead the newly-created Mayor's Office of Technology and Innovation (MOTI).[23][24] The Smart City Vision received unanimous approval from the City Council in March,[25] and in June 2016 the city created an Office of Civic Innovation to meet its goals.[26] Since then, Liccardo formed a partnership with Facebook to deploy the company's wireless, high-speed internet technology called "Terragraph" in downtown San José,[27] and the City of San José launched a project to bring free wireless internet to two schools in San José's East Side Union School District.[28]

In 2019, Liccardo launched the San Jose Digital Inclusion Fund, a $24 million initiative to connect 50,000 households with broadband internet access over 10 years.[29]

Liccardo also advocated for ways to house the homeless, including rehabilitating two deteriorating motels, the Plaza Hotel[30] and the Santa Clara Inn.[31] According to a city staff report, such motel conversions represent a cost-effective way to house homeless households.[32]

On Veteran's Day in 2015, he also launched a campaign to get homeless veterans off the street called "All the Way Home" with non-profit Destination:Home and Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese.[33] One year after launching the program, the group announced it had found homes for more than 500 homeless veterans.[34]

On February 21–22, 2017, after one month of heavy rainfall, Coyote Creek flooded parts of San Jose, displacing 14,000 people. Residents complained that the city failed to uphold its duty to protect and warn its citizens. Liccardo and other city officials accepted responsibility for failures in their emergency response, but also put some of the blame on the Santa Clara Valley Water District.[35][36]

In May 2017, the San Jose City Council unanimously agreed to start up a Community Choice Energy program, becoming the largest city in the country to do so.[37] Mayor Liccardo advocated for the adoption of a Community Choice Energy program as a way to take action against climate change while President Trump's administration turned back to fossil fuels.[38]

Liccardo was elected to a second term of office on Tuesday, June 5, 2018.[39]