San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo endorsed former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for president Monday, in the first stamp of approval for the billionaire White House hopeful from a prominent California elected official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liccardo had previously backed<\/a> home-state Sen. Kamala Harris, who dropped out of the presidential race last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMayors don\u2019t have the luxury of hyperpartisan tongue-wagging, they have to solve problems and get things done,\u201d Liccardo said in a statement. \u201cAs mayor of the nation\u2019s largest, most diverse, and most complex city, Mike solved problems \u2014 to reduce poverty, expand jobs, cut gun violence, improve public health, and build affordable housing.\u201d TOP ARTICLES1\/5READ MOREKurtenbach: The real reason the Sharks had to fire PeteDeBoer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Liccardo has cultivated a relationship with Bloomberg in the past. Last October, San Jose was chosen by Bloomberg Philanthropies to participate in a two-year program<\/a> aimed at addressing climate change locally. As part of the program, Bloomberg provides technical support, funding for a team member and training for senior leadership to San Jose employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In October, the San Jose mayor had planned to participate in a climate summit in Denmark led by a group Bloomberg chairs, although he had to cut the trip short during the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. power outages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A spokesman for Liccardo said he wasn\u2019t immediately available to discuss his endorsement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Liccardo will serve as the California co-chair for Bloomberg\u2019s campaign \u2014 helping direct his political efforts in a state that will be key to his fellow mayor\u2019s unorthodox bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bloomberg is planning to skip the early caucus and primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire and focus on Super Tuesday states like California, spending millions of dollars to blanket the airwaves up and down the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But plenty of previous ultra-wealthy candidates<\/a> who ran for California\u2019s top offices \u2014 such as former HP executive Meg Whitman, who Bloomberg endorsed and campaigned with in San Jose when she ran for governor in 2010 \u2014 have flamed out even after spending millions of their own fortunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Liccardo\u2019s endorsement comes as the Democratic presidential contenders are vying for the backing of Harris\u2019 former California supporters, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Casey Tolan covers national politics and the Trump administration for the Bay Area News Group. Previously, he was a reporter for the news website Fusion, where he covered criminal justice, immigration, and politics. His reporting has also been published in CNN, Slate, the Village Voice, the Texas Observer, the Daily Beast and other news outlets. Casey grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from Columbia University. Follow Casey Tolan @caseytolan<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Emily DeRuy covers housing for the Bay Area News Group. Prior to that, she covered the city of San Jose. Earlier in her career she wrote about education for The Atlantic in Washington, D.C. Follow Emi<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" First endorsement for the billionaire candidate from a prominent California elected official By CASEY TOLAN | ctolan@bayareanewsgroup.com and EMILY DERUY | ederuy@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group PUBLISHED: December 9, 2019 at 4:31 pm | UPDATED: December 10, 2019 at 11:53 am San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo endorsed former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for president Monday, in the first… Continue reading
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