Sam Liccardo for Mayor of San Jose

Councilmember Sam Liccardo is a candidate for mayor to make our city safer, our economy stronger and our government more responsive and responsible.

He represents San José’s Third District on the San José City Council, one of the most diverse communities in our city. Prior to winning election to City Council, Sam served in the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office as a prosecutor of sexual assault and child exploitation crimes and as a federal prosecutor.

Sam’s work in the community includes teaching government and political science at San José State University, co-founding an innovative program to mentor children, serving on the boards of several affordable housing organizations, and advocating for a successful countywide transit ballot measure in 2000 that is helping to bring BART to San José.

Sam and his wife, Jessica García-Kohl, live in downtown's Northside, which boasts San José's oldest neighborhood association and the city’s most diverse group of residents. Sam and Jessica live not far from where Sam’s grandfather founded and ran a neighborhood grocery store, which was a center of life and assistance for generations of long-time residents and new arrivals to San José.

After graduating from Bellarmine College Prep in San José, Sam attended Georgetown University. Sam graduated magna cum laude in 1991, and two years later, he enrolled at Harvard Law School and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. After graduating with a law degree and a master’s degree in public policy, Sam returned to the Bay Area in 1996.

In addition to his roles on Council committees responsible for Transportation & Environment and Community & Economic Development, Sam has also served on a number of regional boards, including the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Santa Clara County Cities Association and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

On the Council, Sam has focused on improving public safety, growing our economy and making city government more effective.