Mayor Sam Liccardo Endorses Matt Mahan for Mayor of San Jose
Liccardo Become 4th San Jose Mayor to Endorse Mahan
San Jose, CA –– Matt Mahan, who has mounted a surging campaign for common-sense solutions to San Jose’s most pressing issues, has earned the endorsement of San Jose’s highest ranking official, Mayor Sam Liccardo. Mayor Liccardo joins three former mayors in endorsing the Mahan campaign.
“On important issues from homelessness, to crime, to affordable housing Matt Mahan offers a common-sense plan for progress, accountability, and pragmatic solutions,” said Mayor Sam Liccardo.
“Matt is the kind of common-sense Democrat we need in leadership to ensure that our government works as hard as our San Jose families, at a time when too many families struggle to balance budgets amid surging inflation,” Liccardo said.
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Liccardo urged a greater focus on the important issues in the race for Mayor. Liccardo called his endorsement of Mahan a “rejection of the politics of fear,” decrying the “disingenuous scare tactics” coming from the campaign of Cindy Chavez around issues of police staffing, public safety, and women’s reproductive freedom. “Councilmember Mahan strongly supported our budgetary decisions to add dozens of officers to the SJPD, to institute walking patrol beats in every police district, and to support expansion of Planned Parenthood’s health services to women in need.” Liccardo continued, “Let’s stop the false attacks and start debating the serious issues.”
Mayor Liccardo, who cannot seek re-election because of term limits, has worked to keep one of America’s largest cities a center of innovation, championing common-sense solutions, such as adding hundreds of officers to SJPD, providing summer jobs to thousands of at-risk teens, building thousands of affordable apartments for the unhoused, attracting major employers like Apple and Google, protecting Coyote Valley and the hillsides from development, raising millions in college scholarships for low-income students, and employing the homeless to help clean the city. He has worked closely both with Matt Mahan on the City Council and with Mahan’s opponent, Cindy Chavez who has been in elected office on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors or other positions for nearly a quarter-century.
The mayor is adding his support to Mahan’s grassroots campaign, which has already organized more 25,000 community supporters from every corner of San Jose. Three former Mayors of San Jose had previously endorsed Mahan – Chuck Reed, Tom McEnery, and Ron James.
Matt Mahan was raised in Watsonville by working-class parents: a school teacher and a letter carrier. Growing up, he saw San Jose as a beacon of hope and opportunity, taking the bus 4 hours each day to attend Bellarmine College Prep on a work-study scholarship. Matt went on to Harvard, before working as a middle school teacher in San Jose’s Eastside. He later founded and grew companies dedicated to empowering citizens to hold their governments accountable.
Today, Matt Mahan serves San Jose as a new member of the city council. His solution to many of the city’s problems is to bring basic accountability to the government, such as by linking any future raises for elected leaders and top bureaucrats to improved services and results.
