For months, attacks have raged between the two Democrats vying for the House seat vacated by Anna Eshoo. The two faced off in a local debate on Friday.
Former San Jose Mayor candidate Sam Licciardo and Congressman Evan Lowe faced off in a House District 16 debate hosted by NBC Bay Area, Telemundo 48 and KQED. The two men exchanged jabs, expressed support and tried to appeal to the public for a vote.
Out of the gate, Ricardo and Rowe were asked if they were running an ethical campaign. The two sides have been exchanging accusations for months over campaign finances, a controversial recount and their own records.
“We should agree on one issue: Every vote should be counted. Every vote should be counted. We can agree on that, except for Evan Law,” Ricardo said.
In response, Lowe said, “It’s important to talk about our record and not just rhetoric.”
Former San Jose Mayor Sam Licciardo and Congressman Evan Lowe faced off in the House District 16 debate hosted by NBC Bay Area, Telemundo 48 and KQED. Watch a rebroadcast of the debate, which first aired on Friday, October 11th.
The hour-long debate covered a wide range of issues, including the Israel-Hamas war, immigration, homelessness, technology policy and crime.
At every opportunity, the pair land jabs at each other. Mr. Lowe at one point accused the city of San Jose of paying as many as 300 people for the “tragedy” Mr. Ricardo caused during his tenure.
Licciardo said it was good to be “smart on crime” and left office with “the lowest murder rate of any major city in the United States.”
They also mentioned Proposition 36, a statewide ballot measure that would make it easier to increase penalties for drug crimes and retail theft crimes.
Lowe said he does not support the measure because he refuses to “go back to the era of mass incarceration.” In response, Ricardo said arrest is not equivalent to imprisonment.
“What we need is accountability,” Ricardo said.
Liccardo has at times criticized Roe’s lack of leadership at the state level. Mr. Rowe took time to say that Mr. Ricardo’s leadership during his time as mayor had failed.
Melinda Jackson, a political analyst and professor at San Jose State University, said she thinks the debate is a tie.
“There’s never any love lost between these two candidates,” Jackson said. “There aren’t many polls done in races like this, but an independent poll conducted about a month ago found that about 40% of voters in this district were still undecided. .”
Despite their clash on the platform, both candidates agreed that voters needed someone with a clear plan.
