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As a former council member, Evan Low is well accustomed to sitting through long meetings on municipal topics that range from purely ceremonial to critical and contentious.
But in recent months, as his Congressional race has heated up, Low returned to his roots of sitting through City Council meetings. This time, they’re not in his hometown of Campbell but in places like Portola Valley, Menlo Park and Half Moon Bay, a coastal community where Low had recently spent four hours listening to the council discuss, among other things, ways to spur the local tourism industry and stimulate the local economy.
His opponent in the race, Sam Liccardo, is also spending much of his time in northern Santa Clara County and in San Mateo County, a large portion of which lies in the 16th Congressional District. For more than three decades, the area has been represented by Anna Eshoo, a Menlo Park resident and former San Mateo County supervisor who is tightly connected to Palo Alto’s political establishment. After she announced that she would step down this year, she endorsed Joe Simitian, a former Palo Alto mayor who went on to the state Assembly and Senate before his current stint on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisor, where he is often a vocal voice for north county.
During the March primary election, Simitian dominated most of the precincts in Palo Alto, and Menlo Park, while falling behind Liccardo and Low in their respective power bases in south Santa Clara County. After a deadlock for second place and a recount, Low edged out Simitian by five votes, thereby ensuring that for the first time in more than 30 years, the area representative will come from the southern part of the district. With the race now in its final week, winning could come down to which candidate can pick up the most Simitian votes. Low said as much during a Sept. 8 forum in Palo Alto, where he led things off by acknowledging that he is in “Simitian country.”
For Liccardo, whose chief qualification is his experience as former San Jose mayor, winning in Simitian country means relentless door-knocking, backyard meet-and-greets, farmers markets and phone calls with local officials throughout the district, including in smaller cities and towns north and west of his traditional power base of San Jose. Last Sunday, he was knocking on doors in Mountain View. On Tuesday, he was doing the same in Half Moon Bay. At every opportunity, he starts conversations by asking people, “What does this community need from an elected representative in Congress and what can Congress do to help?” he said in an interview. Some go on to become campaign allies.
“I learn a lot and I relied on a lot of them for insights and advice,” Liccardo said. “Many of these folks have hosted backyard meet-and-greets for me and they are reaching out to other community members who want to kick the tires on a candidate.”
Both candidates boast social media accounts loaded with photos of them in sandy, coastal areas, often surrounded by local officials and community leaders. Low partook in a beach cleanup day in Pacifica after the Fourth of July weekend and attended the July grand opening of the new Pacifica City Hall, he said. He attended a ceremony for veterans in Pacifica during Memorial Day and went back to Pacifica for the Fog Festival.
While District 16 is broadly Democratic, residents in a neighborhood like San Jose’s Little Saigon may have different priorities than those in Pescadero.
“There are major broad issue that people agree on but when we’re talking about sea-level rise, it’s an existential issue for many on the coast,” Low said. “And when you’re talking about the impacts of climate change and wildfires, it’s important to make sure the hard-to-serve areas are not forgotten.”
Liccardo said that as he campaigned around north county, he has been struck by the sophistication of the questions and the depth of knowledge.
“What I hear very clearly in North County, which is not terribly unique from rest of district because we have a lot of commonalities, is that there is a very strong environmental bent,” Liccardo said. “There is also a very significant concern about the dominance of short-term thinking in Congress that has left us with a housing crisis, with an underinvestment and education and with $35 trillion in debt for our children.”
Areas for improvement
Results from the March primary election suggest that Liccardo had a slight edge over Low when it came to persuading voters in and around Palo Alto. While Simitian typically finished first in many precincts in and around his hometown Palo Alto, Liccardo often – though not always — finished second while Low was third or fourth. In the Leland Manor precinct, for example, Liccardo picked up 123 votes, a distant second to Simitian, who received 469. Low only got 60. Liccardo also got nearly twice as many votes as Low in the adjacent precinct that includes much of Old Palo Alto, where he enjoyed an edge of 177 to 94 over Low. Simitian handily won that precinct with 524.
But the gap narrowed in south Palo Alto, where some precincts had Liccardo with only a slight edge over Low. In the precinct that includes Fairmeadow, for instance, Liccardo led Low by a count of 182 to 144. In another precinct that includes a portion of Barron Park, Liccardo had 174 votes while Low had 132.
Liccardo also had the edge in Menlo Park, finishing second in some of the city’s biggest precincts, all of which went heavily for Simitian. In Sharon Heights, Liccardo had 143 votes to Low’s 64, in the Willows, Liccardo led Low 101 to 73. Liccardo also had a solid edge in the precinct around Oak Street, just north of Oak Knoll Elementary School. He picked up 143 votes in this area, while Low had 64.
Low fared better in Mountain View, picking up strong support in neighborhoods throughout the city, particularly around Whisman Station. In the North Whisman precinct, Low led all candidates with 219 votes, while Simitian and Liccardo had 186 and 158, respectively. Just south, in the precinct around Whisman station, Liccardo and Low received 207 and 205 votes, respectively. Liccardo did better in the Monta Loma neighborhood, where one precinct had him enjoying a 265 to 193 vote edge over Low. Neither candidate had a decisive edge.
Near the coast, each campaign can find signs to feel optimistic. For Low, it’s Pacifica, where he had a particularly strong showing during the primary, according to precinct data. He picked up 257 votes in just one precinct, near Terra Nova High School, and 232 votes in another, near Sanchez Dog Park, winning both handily. Licardo finished second in both with 201 and 210 votes, respectively, according to registrar data.
But Low didn’t fare nearly as well in Half Moon Bay, where several precincts had him in fourth of fifth place during the primary election. One precinct, just south of Poplar St., had Liccardo pick up 215 votes to Low’s 143. In the precinct a few blocks to the northwest, Liccardo picked up 30 more votes than Low. In all these precincts, Liccardo was either first or second to Simitian.
Show me who your friends are …
Since the primary, both campaigns have tried to make inroads in the north by touting support from elected leaders who had originally supported Simitian. These include Palo Alto council member Pat Burt and Mountain View council member Lucas Ramirez. Burt is one of four council members who formally endorsed Liccardo after the primary, along with Mayor Greer Stone, Vice Mayor Ed Lauing and council member Julie Lythcott-Haims, whose own Congressional bid came to an end in the primary phase. Ramirez, meanwhile, is one of four Mountain View council members who endorsed Low, along with Mayor Pat Showalter and council members Ellen Kamei and Emily Ann Ramos. (Simitian, notably, has not endorsed anyone.)
Just north of Palo Alto, Liccardo picked up endorsements from Menlo Park Vice Mayor Drew Combs, Atherton Mayor Diana Hawkins, Atherton Vice Mayor Elizabeth Lewis and Council member Bill Widmer. He is also the favored candidate of five Portola Valley Town Council members: Mayor Sarah Wernikoff, Vice Mayor Judith Hasko and council members Craig Taylor, Mary Hufty and Jeff Aalfs.
Woodside was more split, with Mayor Jenn Wall endorsing Low and council members Chris Shaw and Brian Dombkowski backing Liccardo. The Los Altos Hills Town Council, meanwhile, leaned heavily toward Low, with Mayor Stanley Mok, Vice Mayor Lisa Schmidt and council members George K. Tyson, Linda Swan and Kavita Tankha, all endorsing him.
The reasons for why some community leaders in north district lean toward one candidate or another range from ideological to personal. Burt, who had served with Liccardo on the board of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, touted Liccardo’s understanding of the issues facing the local community, including climate change, affordable housing and public safety.
“Sam has a clear policy plan to address those issues,” Burt said in a statement announcing his endorsement.
Ramirez, meanwhile, said he was moved to support Low by personal ties. He said he had known Low since his days on the Campbell council. He had also volunteered on Low’s campaign for Assembly in 2014. And it probably didn’t hurt that Low had endorsed his council campaign, as well as those of Kamei, Ramirez and Ramos.
“If you were to talk to most members, many of us have known Evan for a very long time. Many of us do not have the same relationship with Sam,” Ramirez said in an interview.
Since the primary, Low has not been shy about flexing his endorsements from the California Democratic Party and political leaders like U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna. During recent candidate forums, he has been quick to align himself with the party standard-bearers like Vice President Kamala Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Earlier this month, when Liccardo criticized the Assembly for failing to provide cities like San Jose adequate funding to address homelessness, Low took umbrage on Newsom’s behalf.
“I’m staunchly defending Gavin Newsom and making sure we have accountability,” Low said during the Oct. 11 forum sponsored by KQED, NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48.
This week, Low got his reward in the form of a Newsom endorsement, which he said he was “absolutely thrilled and deeply honored to have.”
Liccardo, for his part, has positioned himself as an experienced problem solver who would work with Democrats and Republicans to achieve practical solutions. If elected, he would try to join the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, which has equal membership from both parties. His campaign website includes an 80-page book of policy proposals, including a federal tax credit for teachers and making housing vouchers more flexible.
While they are both Democrats, they have different stances on issues like the universal basic income (Low supports it; Liccardo does not) and Prop. 36, which would increase penalties for theft and drug offenses (Liccardo supports it; Low does not).
They also have different opinions on whether the endorsements will make a difference. Low believes that Newsom’s endorsement, as well as that of the state Democratic Party, could persuade voters who see two Democrats on the ballot and are unsure about the differences between them.
Liccardo questioned that premise. Most people don’t want to be told by a politician or by a party whom to vote for, he said.
“Outside of Oprah Winfrey, there aren’t a lot of endorsements that move voters in a significant way, particularly in Silicon Valley and in the Peninsula, where we have voters who are so well educated and relatively independent regardless of party affiliation,” Liccardo said.
But even if the impact of endorsements ends up being minuscule, Low knows from experience that even a tiny nudge could make a huge difference in a tight race.
“If anything, this race demonstrates that every vote counts,” Low said. “Could a local, familiar name have an impact on one vote or two votes? The answer is yes.”
The article fails to mention the newspaper endorsements which typically do a deep dive. Liccardo is endorsed by the SF Chronicle, The Mercury News, The San Mateo Daily Journal, and the The Palo Alto Daily Post, while Low has the sole endorsement of the Los Altos Town Crier. The Sierra Club is also a notable endorsement for Liccardo. For me, political endorsements carry less weight as they tend to be, “you endorse me and I will endorse you”.
Evan Low sent a hit piece linking Liccardo with California Waste Solutions, CEO David Duong, which was raided by the FBI in Oakland June ’24. Low himself has received $16,300 over the past few years directly from Duong. Of that money, $6,600 was donated to Low’s congressional committee in December 2023. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/how-silicon-valley-candidates-are-tied-to-troubled-recycler/ar-AA1ti9TF