Sam Liccardo

Samuel T. "Sam" Liccardo (born April 16, 1970) is an American politician from California, currently serving as Mayor of San Jose, California. Before his election to the city council in 2006 he served as a criminal prosecutor in the District Attorney’s office. Liccardo was elected mayor in November 2014.

Biography

One of five children to Salvador and Laura Liccardo, Sam Liccardo grew up in Saratoga, California and graduated from Bellarmine College Prep. In 1991, he graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University, and subsequently enrolled in graduate studies at Harvard University. In 1996, Sam graduated from Harvard Law School with honors, and also earned a master's degree in public policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, before returning to the Bay Area.

After working in a private law firm, Liccardo became a federal criminal prosecutor at the United States Attorney’s Office, and then handled dozens of felony trials in the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. There, he primarily prosecuted sexual assault and child exploitation crimes.