Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire philanthropist and former New York City mayor, has poured $500,000 into a Super PAC supporting ex-San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s congressional run.
Bloomberg donated to Neighbors for Results — the only independent expenditure committee currently backing Liccardo, on Feb. 7 — according to federal campaign reports filed this week. Neighbors for Results spent more than $400,000 in the District 16 primary election for outgoing U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo’s District 16 seat. Liccardo secured his spot in the general election last week, but his competitor is still unknown as the race for second between Assemblymember Evan Low and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian is still too close to call.
Until this week, Neighbors for Results had only listed one major donor: former NetApp CEO Daniel Warmenhoven, who gave to Liccardo’s 2018 re-election campaign for mayor, according to San Jose election filings. He contributed $50,000 to the Super PAC on Jan. 10.
“Mike admires Sam Liccardo’s leadership as a mayor fighting for gun safety, protecting the climate and keeping tobacco products out of kids’ hands,” a spokesperson for Bloomberg said in a statement to The Mercury News. “Mike believes his voice is needed in DC.”
While Bloomberg has provided the majority of funding to Neighbors for Results, the spokesperson said the former presidential candidate did not set up the Super PAC — political action committees that can raise unlimited money for or against candidates and operate independently from their campaigns.
The half-a-million dollar check may not be a surprise to local politicos who have watched Liccardo and Bloomberg’s relationship develop over the years.
In 2018 when Liccardo was mayor, Bloomberg Philanthropies accepted San Jose into a two-year program — the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge — to help the city meet its climate goals.
A year later, Liccardo threw his support behind Bloomberg for president in the 2020 election after now-Vice President Kamala Harris dropped out. He also served as the California co-chair for Bloomberg’s campaign.
Liccardo campaign spokesperson Julie Edwards said in a statement that while they don’t have control over Super PAC money, they “are not surprised Sam’s record of bold policy-making has won the support of leaders who care about tackling big challenges.”
“Sam worked closely with former Mayor Bloomberg on several initiatives, including two groundbreaking efforts to address climate change and gun violence prevention,” Edwards said. “For example, their work to make San Jose the largest U.S. city with an all-electric building code has helped to reduce greenhouse gas emissions citywide. Sam also worked closely with Moms Demand Action (a Bloomberg-affiliated organization) on San Jose’s first-of-its-kind gun legislation.”
Bloomberg also gave $6,600 directly to Liccardo’s campaign in December.