REPLACING:

Anna Eshoo (D) [i]

WORK HISTORY:

City of San Jose (Mayor); City of San Jose (Councilmember); U.S. Conference of Mayors (Member of the Board of Advisors); Metropolitan Transportation Commission (Executive Board Member); Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (Board Member / Past Chair); Stanford Law School (Lecturer); California Big City Mayors (Chairperson); Santa Clara County Cities Association (Past President); Association of Bay Area Governments (Board Member / Executive Committee Member); Office of the Santa Clara County District Attorney (Deputy District Attorney); Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California (Assistant U.S. Attorney) [ii] [iii]

EDUCATION:

JD, Harvard Law School; MPP, Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government; BA, Georgetown University; Diploma, Bellarmine College Preparatory [iv]

CAMPAIGN ON:

Housing Affordability; Cost of Living; Homelessness; Crime; Environment & Climate; Reproductive Rights; Defending Democracy; Education; Innovation & Workforce [v]

ON THE ISSUES

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

Liccardo believes Congress must prohibit states from restricting access to medical abortions and telemedicine reproductive services, regardless of fetal viability. He opposes legislative efforts that impose conditions on medical services or mandate that patients visit in person before abortion procedures. Liccardo supports abortion coverage through Medicaid, expanding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, and allowing patients to travel to other states for reproductive health procedures. He advocates for protecting key legislation addressing reproductive health, including the Women’s Health Protection Act, the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act, and the Right to Contraception Act. [vi]

IMMIGRATION & BORDER SECURITY:

Liccardo has drafted a “pro-work agenda for immigration reform” that implements a “sensible” secured border and encourages a high-skilled immigration workforce. He supports the Immigration Visa Efficiency and Security Act of 2023, describing it as a bipartisan effort to expand access to high-skilled visas and eliminate country-specific caps on employment visas to alleviate the backlog of visa applications. Liccardo argues that the United States can secure the border while balancing increased immigration. He proposes investing in technology to surveil the Southern border and implementing long-term strategies that build partnerships among companies to reduce geopolitical and trade secret risks. [vii]

ECONOMY & JOBS:

Liccardo has raised concerns about the increasing cost of living and has advocated for a federal Resilience Savings Plan that will incentivize homeowners to use solar energy to reduce utility bills and curb insurance costs. Liccardo urges Congress to reduce biofuel subsidies to support lowered grocery costs and aid low-income families through increased child tax credits and allocations to the Child Care and Development Fund. [viii] Liccardo has been endorsed by several unions, including the Laborer’s International Union of North America, Nor Cal Carpenters Union, and the Marine Firemen’s Union. [ix]

TAXES:

Liccardo proposes raising the federal marginal tax rate for corporations, arguing a 2% raise would generate approximately $22 billion in revenue. He plans to incentivize companies that focus on research and development with a lower tax rate. Liccardo urges Congress to allocate money to research that would reform tax loopholes in the Qualified Business Income deduction. [x] To expand housing availability, Liccardo has advocated for offering commercial building owners a federal tax credit for converting empty buildings into multi-family housing. He also proposes “a federal financing program for accessory dwelling units, or backyard homes, and reforming federal tax exemptions for capital gains to boost housing stock.” [xi]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

On his campaign website, Liccardo touts his work to strengthen public safety and community partnerships during his tenure as mayor of San Jose. He replenished the San Jose Police Department with more than 200 officers and invested in community partnerships to prevent gang violence. Liccardo also launched San Jose Works, a program that provides employment opportunities for at-risk youth. In response to the 2020 civil unrest, Liccardo resisted calls to defund the police, emphasizing the need to preserve progress in rebuilding the police department. Instead, he advocated for internal reforms and enhanced the department’s internal accountability arm, the Independent Police Auditor. Liccardo also touts San Jose maintaining the lowest homicide record in America’s cities when he departed office in 2022. His broader policies to address crime and public safety include urging the federal government to break the connection between drug addiction and crime, preventing sexual assault and domestic violence, cultivating a bipartisan path to sensible gun control, and combatting retail thefts. [xii]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

While serving as mayor of San Jose, Liccardo touts battling “billionaire developers, the gas industry, large corporate utilities, and the plastics industry” to address climate issues. He launched a community choice clean energy utility service, introduced ballot initiatives to protect open spaces, mandated electric construction for new developments, advanced regional transportation projects, banned plastic bags, and advocated for strict fuel efficiency standards. Liccardo plans to continue his local work in Congress, proposing less plastic usage, preserving natural resources, and transitioning from fossil fuels through a Resilience Savings Plan that incentivizes homeowners and small businesses to invest in solar energy resources. He also advocates for funding preventative measures for potential climate disasters and the American Climate Corps. [xiii] Liccardo is endorsed by the environmental groups California Environmental Voters, the Sierra Club, and 350 Bay Area Action. [xiv]

FOREIGN POLICY:

During an October 2024 candidate debate, Liccardo stated support for an immediate ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He supports Israel’s right to exist and urged for a return of hostages. Liccardo also advocated for “accelerate[ing] aid to nearly two million Palestinians who critically need it.” [xv] Liccardo is endorsed by the Jewish Democratic Coalition of the Bay Area. [xvi]

HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

Liccardo advocates for Congress to address Medicaid reimbursements, referring to California’s Medi-Cal, suggesting it has limited medical providers’ ability to treat mental illnesses and reduce crime. He supports revising federal funding laws that restrict Medicaid funding to mental health facilities while highlighting the importance of community-based treatment. [xvii] Liccardo advocates for lower costs in healthcare treatment. He encourages bipartisan legislation to regulate Pharmacy Benefit Managers to ensure pricing transparency and competition in the healthcare market. Liccardo also urges Congress to reduce the administrative costs in healthcare by instructing the Department of Health & Human Services to implement standardized coding and contracts through partnerships with industry professionals and create a regulatory framework to improve healthcare and reduce taxpayer expenses. [xviii]

DEMOCRACY:

Liccardo plans to defend democracy by safeguarding voting rights and reforming campaign finance. While he supports the proposed voting rights bills, the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Liccardo argues the legislation will fail to pass in a divided Congress. He advocates for implementing protections for election workers, restricting gerrymandering, restoring protections granted in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making voting accessible, and modernizing methods for voter registration. To reform campaign finance laws, Liccardo plans to overturn the landmark Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision and mandate immediate disclosure of campaign funds. [xix]

SOCIAL ISSUES:

During Liccardo’s tenure as San Jose’s mayor, the Human Rights Campaign gave the city a perfect score on the Municipal Equality Index for four consecutive years for its equality in services to LGBTQ+ residents. [xx]