At a town hall forum Saturday in Mountain View, Congressman Sam Liccardo told constituents concerned about chaos, corruption and war that “cracks were forming” in President Donald Trump’s vice grip on the Republican coalition.
“We are seeing immense frustration,” said Liccardo (CA-16). “This democracy is working, though we would all wish it would work more quickly.”
For the more than 200 people packed into the Mountain View High School gym, Liccardo’s declaration was welcome news, if perhaps a bit short on details.
“If these things didn’t matter, then people wouldn’t care as much,” said Mountain View Mayor Emily Ann Ramos following the town hall.
Over the course of about an hour and about eight public questions, Liccardo aligned himself in stark contrast to President Trump and his purported abuses of federal executive power – but also with the realities of governance for a first-term Congressman returning to the Bay Area to trot out his record and outline policy goals still undone.
There was mention of the $14 million Liccardo secured for affordable housing, homelessness, coastal resilience and infrastructure improvements across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Liccardo was last in Mountain View just about a month ago announcing the money, which included $2 million in federal funding for a 143-unit affordable housing development on Evelyn Avenue.
“We’re really fighting tooth and nail to get every dollar that we can,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga to the attendees.
But the crowd really rose to their feet when Liccardo spoke out on President Trump. He said several bills he had authored were in the queue for consideration – both of which involved suing the executive branch or federal agencies for violations.
“This is an unprecedented moment… I’m deeply concerned about our constitutional order,” Liccardo said to a roar of applause.
But Liccardo also spoke of crossing the aisle as a political necessity, and sought to assuage irritation that the Democratic Party wasn’t doing enough to challenge abuses or widen their tent.
“I don’t think there’s anyone who hates Democratic leadership more than Democrats – and I’ve talked to a lot of Republicans,” Liccardo said.
It was the first Liccardo town hall for many, including Diane Hutchins of Sunnyvale.
“I thought he had some really good points,” she said. “I think people have to drop the small issues right now and we need to fight for our democracy.”
The questions ranged from for-profit prisons, election reform and President Joe Biden to wealth inequality and the 25th Amendment. But the ongoing conflict in Iran loomed large over the discussion.
“The short answer is yes,” Liccardo said when asked whether he thought the Iranian regime should be eliminated. “All that can be true and we have to ask ourselves a very important question before we go into any war: And what is the objective we intend to accomplish?”
The subject aroused yelling, interruptions and pleas from the crowd during the town hall. After it was over, a large contingent confronted Liccardo with more questions on Iran, with one calling Liccardo’s advocacy to arm an organized insurgency of Iranians instead of risking American servicemen “outrageous.”
But other first-timers at a Liccardo town hall found his comments measured, despite the apparent wide matters of opinion on the conflict.
“The key thing I liked was no American boots on the ground,” said David Njuguna of Mountain View. “It’s very real. Nobody wants that.”
Njuguna said the time constraints left some issues unexplained – particularly
he hoped to hear more about artificial intelligence and potential layoffs, and thought Licardo’s discussion of bridging the aisle in federal policymaking deserved more explanation.
“He needs to explain how and why, just make it come from a layman’s perspective,” Njuguna said.
