In the latest development in the combative District 16 congressional race, a political mailer sent out by a Super PAC supporting former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s bid has sparked outrage among Valley Transportation Authority workers who have labeled it as “insensitive and wrong.”
Liccardo and Assemblymember Evan Low are vying for a chance to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo in an increasingly tense race that has seen more than $4 million in spending from outside groups and roughly $7.4 million between the candidates themselves.
The campaign flyer in question was paid for by Neighbors for Results — a Super PAC backing Liccardo that is largely funded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg. The advertisement highlights the Bay Area’s deadliest mass shooting that took place in 2021 when a VTA worker opened fire at the agency’s San Jose rail yard, killing nine before turning the gun on himself.
Federal campaign rules prohibit Super PACs, like Neighbors for Results, from coordinating with candidates they are backing — meaning the mailer was distributed without the Liccardo campaign’s stamp of approval.
The front of the double-sided mailer prominently features a photo of a candlelight vigil following the shooting with bold text that reads, “When gun terror came to his town, this mayor said ‘enough.’” The opposite side discusses the first-in-the-nation law passed by the San Jose City Council in 2022 under Liccardo’s leadership.
The union representing Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority workers is upset that a pro-Sam Liccardo Super PAC is using the 2021 mass shooting at the VTA rail yard in a political mailer. (Courtesy photo)
The former mayor first floated the idea of requiring gun owners to purchase insurance for their weapons in 2019 after the deadly Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting. The proposal took a back seat to the pandemic the following year, but was revived in 2021 just two weeks after the VTA shooting.
But some VTA workers are outraged about the use of the shooting in a political mailer. Raj Singh, the president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 — VTA’s largest union — said in a letter to District 16 voters that the mailer paints “a revisionist picture of Sam’s record on bringing the community together in the wake of a tragic event.”
The national Amalgamated Transit Union has endorsed Low.
Singh accused Liccardo of trying to “leverage” the shooting for politics at the time and of using the “tragic moment” to suggest to previous union president John Courtney, that “it would be a great time to pivot from rail to bus as a cost-saving measure.”
“No one consulted those affected by this tragic shooting before using it in a political mailer,” Singh said. “They were forced to relive one of the darkest days of their lives because Sam’s allies were trying to take advantage of their pain to score political points. It is insensitive and wrong. I hope Sam and his allies issue a public apology.”
Singh told The Mercury News that he didn’t believe the gun insurance initiative was a solution to gun violence and instead was a “way to generate revenue for the city.”
In an interview, Courtney, who is now retired, confirmed what Singh said Liccardo told him following the shooting. Courtney said he was “appalled” by the former mayor’s suggestion to move away from light rail at the time. The two haven’t spoken since.
Courtney called the ad “disgusting” for politicizing the shooting.
“Liccardo did absolutely nothing to provide mental health resources or even a financial vision for the families, it was basically Cindy and Dave,” Courtney said giving credit to Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez and now state Sen. Dave Cortese for assisting the families of the victims.
Matt Rodriguez, a spokesperson for Neighbors for Results, said in a statement that “what’s deeply sad here is that Evan Low’s supporters would attempt to politicize and criticize Mayor Liccardo’s bold action to protect residents from gun violence.”
“The fact is that Sam Liccardo was Mayor when an unthinkable tragedy struck San Jose, and he took on a leadership role to prevent further mass shootings,” Rodriguez said. “That’s why Sam has been endorsed by Moms Demand Action and EveryTown For Gun Safety — the nation’s leading organizations dedicated to ending gun violence.”
Liccardo’s campaign could not immediately be reached for comment.
Tammy Dhanota, who works as a public communications specialist at VTA and is a member of SEIU Local 521, also called the mailer “offensive,” and said she “would like to keep politics out of this. The tragedy that happened to us has nothing to do with Liccardo’s race or any race.”
Dhanota said the shooting continues to impact the mental health of VTA employees to this day.
Low’s campaign manager, Lindsey Cobia, said that “Liccardo should listen to the workers that have been impacted by this terrible tragedy and stop these ads.”
