In the latest developments in the hotly contested 16th District Council race, a political email sent by a super PAC supporting former San Jose Mayor Sam Licciardo’s candidacy sparked outrage among Valley Transit officials, calling it “insensitive and wrong.” It has been labeled as “
Mr. Liccardo and Rep. Evan Law, a longtime U.S. congressman, are facing an increasingly tense race that has seen more than $4 million in spending from outside groups and about $7.4 million in spending between candidates. He is vying for the chance to replace Anna Eshoo.
The campaign flyer in question was paid for by Neighbors for Results, a super PAC supporting Ricardo that is largely funded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg. The ad highlights the Bay Area’s deadliest mass shooting in 2021, when a VTA officer opened fire at a San Jose train depot, killing nine people, before turning the gun on himself.
Federal campaign rules prohibit super PACs like Neighbors for Results from working with candidates they support. This means the mailer was distributed without the Ricardo camp’s stamp of approval.
The front of the double-sided mailer features a photo of a post-shooting candlelight vigil prominently featured: “When gun terror came to his town, this mayor said, ‘Enough is enough.'” It is added in bold. -National law passed by the San Jose City Council in 2022 under Ricardo’s leadership.
The union representing Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority workers is outraged that a pro-Sam Liccardo super PAC is using the 2021 VTA depot shooting in a political email. (Provided photo)
The former mayor first floated the idea of requiring gun owners to purchase insurance for their weapons in the wake of the deadly Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting in 2019. The proposal was put on the back burner the following year due to the pandemic, but was revived in 2021, just two weeks after the VTA shooting.
But some VTA employees are outraged that the shooting was used as a political email. Raj Singh, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, VTA’s largest union, said in a letter to District 16 voters that the mailings were “in the wake of tragic events. “It’s a revisionist depiction of Sam’s record of uniting communities in the United States.”
The National Transit Union supports Rowe.
Mr Singh said Mr Ricardo was trying to “exploit” the shooting incident for political purposes at the time, and used the “tragic moment” to tell former union president John Courtney: “It’s a great time to switch from rail to bus as a compensation. ”, he accused him of suggesting. -Savings. ”
“No one consulted the victims before using this tragic shooting for political mailings,” Singh said. “They ended up reliving the darkest days of their lives because Sam’s allies tried to exploit their pain to score political points. It’s insensitive and wrong. Sam and his allies I hope he publicly apologizes.”
Singh told the Mercury News that he believes the gun insurance initiative is not a solution to gun violence, but rather “a way to generate revenue for the city.”
Courtney, now retired, acknowledged in an interview that Singh was told by Ricardo after the shooting. Courtney said she was “appalled” by the former mayor’s proposal to move away from light rail at the time. The two haven’t spoken since then.
Courtney criticized the ad for politicizing the shooting, calling it “disgusting.”
“Mr. Ricardo did nothing to even provide mental health resources or financial vision for his family. It was basically Cindy and Dave,” Courtney said in a statement to Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez. and praised Dave Cortese, now a state senator, for his assistance to the family. victims.
“What is so sad here is that Evan Lowe’s supporters have politicized Mayor Liccardo’s bold actions to protect residents from gun violence,” Neighbors for Result spokesperson Matt Rodriguez said in a statement. This is what they are trying to criticize.”
“The fact is that Sam Licciardo was the city’s mayor when an unthinkable tragedy occurred in San Jose, and he took a leadership role in preventing further mass shootings,” Rodriguez said. “That’s why Sam is endorsed by Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety, two of the nation’s leading organizations working to end gun violence.”
There was no immediate comment from Ricardo’s camp.
Tammy Danota, who works as a public communications specialist at VTA and is a member of SEIU Local 521, also called the mail carrier “aggressive” and said, “I want to keep politics out of this.” Ta. The tragedy that happened to us has nothing to do with Ricardo’s race or any other race. ”
Danota said the shooting continues to impact the mental health of VTA employees to this day.
“Ricardo should listen to the voices of the workers affected by this terrible tragedy and stop these ads,” said Lindsey Cobia, Lowe’s campaign manager.
