Sam Liccardo's congressional bid gets another $1.5 million from billionaire Michael Bloomberg – The Mercury News
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has again bankrolled former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo's run for Congress, this time donating $1.5 million to a political action committee supporting his candidacy.
In February, Bloomberg donated $500,000 to Neighbors for Results, a super PAC supporting Lickardt's bid for California's 16th Congressional District seat. The billionaire philanthropist made a second seven-figure donation on Aug. 30, bringing his total contributions to $2 million, according to a recent filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Rickard is facing off against state Rep. Evan Law in the hotly contested November election to replace retiring Rep. Anna Eshoo. Rickard is currently leading the fundraising race, raising $2.6 million to Law's $1.7 million, according to fundraising totals through March 31.
“Mike Bloomberg endorsed Sam Liccardo long before he knew he was beating Evan Law by 14 points because they are both problem-solving mayors with a track record of reducing homelessness and crime in their cities, which is very rare in government at any level today,” said Matt Rodriguez, a spokesman for Neighbors for Results, referring to the poll commissioned by the super PAC. The poll was conducted by RG Strategies among 600 voters from Sept. 4-7.
Neighbors for Results has spent about $563,000 on Lickard's congressional campaign and had $1.5 million in campaign funds as of Aug. 31. The super PAC lists only two other donors: former NetApp CEO Daniel Warmenhoven, who gave $50,000, and Cypress Semiconductor founder John Thurman Rogers, who gave $15,000.
Gil Rubinstein, a spokesman for Riccardo's campaign, said in a statement that the former mayor is “proud to have the endorsement of a Democrat like Mike Bloomberg, with whom I have worked to reduce gun violence, fight climate change and lower the cost of living.”
“Evan Law, on the other hand, has the backing of PG&E, big oil, casinos and private prisons because he voted their way when PG&E wanted to raise our rates or when big oil wanted to drill near our homes,” Rubinstein said. “The choice in this race couldn't be clearer.”
In a statement, Roe spokesman Nathan Click criticized Bloomberg's large donations to a super PAC supporting Liccardo.
“There could not be a more stark contrast in this race than Evan Law standing with San Jose police officers and Sam Liccardo standing with billionaires,” Click said, referring to recent criticism from the San Jose Police Officers Association of a recently released ad by Liccardo's campaign.
Rickard is not one of the Bay Area politicians Bloomberg has funded: Earlier this month, he donated $1 million to an independent expenditure committee supporting the reelection of San Francisco's London Breed.
Breed, like Liccardo, supported Bloomberg's unsuccessful 2020 presidential bid. Liccardo also served as California co-chair of Bloomberg's campaign after Vice President Kamala Harris withdrew from the race. In 2018, while Liccardo was mayor, San Jose was accepted into the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge, a two-year program aimed at helping the city meet its climate goals.
A Bloomberg spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
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