Sam Liccardo’s Big Cheat

When I filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission and the San Jose Ethics Commission against mayoral candidate Sam Liccardo, I did so because I take laws seriously.  Liccardo has cheated his way through the early part of the campaign to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he shouldn’t get away with it.

San Jose Municipal Code section 12.06.290(A) that states “No person shall solicit or accept any campaign contribution for any campaign into any municipal campaign bank account except during the campaign contribution period.”  In another part of the section, that campaign contribution period is defined as no earlier than 180 days prior to the election.  That means candidates are not to do any soliciting, requesting, or obtaining pledges of any kind before the beginning of the campaign period.

On October 16, 2013, San Jose City Attorney Richard Doyle issued a Memorandum to the Mayor and the San Jose City Council reminding them not to raise money outside of the fundraising period.  He wrote “lining up pledges or contributions during the black-out period would seem an indication that some degree of solicitation was made and is therefore prohibited.”  It is clear that — despite Doyle’s warning — Liccardo and his Committee broke the law by seeking pledges in an amount that exceeds $200,000 during the “black out period.”

This is not a technical violation.  Political campaigns are like running a marathon. That’s 26 miles, 385 grueling feet from start to finish.  In San Jose the starting gun for fund raising doesn’t start until 180 days before the election.  To let Sam start earlier is like starting a marathon run at mile 15.  It’s not fair.  It’s cheating.  It’s illegal.

Liccardo’s response to getting caught has makes matters even worse.  He admitted violating the law, but his spokesperson said that people are upset because he’s raised the most money and “that’s what winners do.”  Apparently, Liccardo thinks he’s above the law.

The FPPC & the Ethics Commission must act and they must uphold the integrity of the mayor’s race and the law.  All of the funds received as a result of Sam’s illegal actions should be refunded to the contributors and not be re-submitted by them to his campaign or any PAC that supports Mr. Liccardo. The integrity of San Jose’s campaign contribution laws is at stake.

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1 Comment

  • carthagus Apr 19, 2014 at 2:41 pm

    For an explanation of your decision to submit complaints, it seems rather convenient that you spend no time describing or explaining your evidence of Liccardo lining up donations. I challenge that you left this out because you have no serious evidence, and I would think that your training as an attorney means you’d be smart enough to mention the evidence against him if it actually had merit to it.

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