Sam Liccardo

In 2015, Mayor Sam Liccardo became one of the San José’s youngest mayors in San Jose's history.

An advocate of pension reform, Mayor Liccardo quickly brought eleven labor unions together to resolve a half-decade of battles and litigation over retirement benefits, reaching a settlement that will secure $3 billion in savings for taxpayers. Last November, the voters approved this settlement, Measure F, which will critically help to rebuild the San Jose Police Department.

Liccardo has launched the rebuilding of San Jose Police Department by resolving a contract to restore pay while ensuring greater accountability to taxpayers for performance. Liccardo also emphasized using smarter ways to tackle crime, such as the greater deployment of data analytics, a crime camera registry, expanding after-school programs serving low-income students, and the launch of San Jose Works, which provides teens living in gang-impacted neighborhoods with their first paying jobs.

Mayor Liccardo led efforts to address Silicon Valley's infrastructure needs, co-leading Measure B in November with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group to unleash more than $ 6 billion in transportation improvements, including the completion of BART to San Jose, doubling CalTrain capacity, and improving road repair. He has landed several major tech expansions and added five international routes to the service at fast-expanding Mineta San Jose International Airport.

Mayor Liccardo has confronted the Valley's affordable housing crisis by leading efforts to enact an inclusionary housing program and impact fee that will provide tens of millions of dollars annually for new construction of rent-restricted apartments, and to cut fees for high-density, transit-oriented development.

A graduate of Georgetown University, Harvard Law School, a , Liccardo previously served as a criminal prosecutor, with a focus on sexual assault and crimes against children.