Sam Liccardo  Samuel Theodore Liccardo (born April 16, 1970) is an American attorney and politician from California, serving as Mayor of San Jose, California. Liccardo was elected mayor in November 2014. He was reelected in 2018 with 75.8% of the vote. One of five children to Salvador and Laura (née Aceves) Liccardo, Sam Liccardo grew up in Saratoga, California and graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in 1987. Liccardo received a bachelor's degree in government from Georgetown University, where he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He later earned his Juris Doctorate and Master of Public Policy at Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School. Prior to his election to public office in 2006 he served as a criminal prosecutor in the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office. In 2006, Liccardo ran for San Jose's District 3 Council seat. After placing first in an eight-candidate June primary with 43% percent of the vote, Liccardo went on to place first in the November runoff election, this time with 61.3%. In June 2010, he won his reelection to the City Council with 80.16% of the primary vote. As councilman, Liccardo advocated for more high rises in San José's downtown, including the construction of the $135 million, 23-story high rise at One South Market. In 2014, Liccardo ran for Mayor of San Jose to succeed termed-out Mayor Chuck Reed. He placed second in a five-candidate June primary with 25.7% of the vote and placed first in the November runoff with 50.8% of the vote. In his first year in office, he helped guide negotiations on an agreement with all 11 of city's employee unions that could save the city $3 billion in pension costs over the course of three decades. In the 2016 elections, voters approved the agreement by passing Measure F with more than 61% of the vote. This measure replaced a contentious pension reform plan, which has faced a series of legal challenges since its 2012 passage. Liccardo advocated for a half-cent sales tax increase called Measure B on the 2016 November ballot, which passed with over 70%. The tax is devoted to transportation, with funds dedicated to expanding BART, reducing traffic congestion, and filling potholes. Despite the majority vote, it has become a controversial topic throughout Santa Clara County as the tax measure has also attracted negative reception from Saratoga, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Cupertino, and Mountain View as well as San Jose Sharks Sports & Entertainment, LLC who have harshly criticized Liccardo with wasting millions of dollars on insufficient roadway projects, lack of focus on local transit and bus service, and insisting that the BART subway through Downtown San Jose be a single bore rather than the traditional double bore.