San Jose Mayor to Boycott Trump Inauguration Day Ceremony

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo will join a notable list of elected officials Friday, when he skips Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day ceremony.

In an interview conducted last week—excerpts of which which will be published Thursday—the mayor noted that he had unexpectedly received an invitation from the inaugural committee for the next president of the United States.

“We originally had plans to stay there for the week and my candidate (Hillary Clinton) didn't win, so I decided to shorten the trip and come back a little earlier,” said Liccardo, who traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to attend a national conference for mayors.

The invite is a surprise considering Trump was critical of San Jose’s top elected official and police after violence erupted at his June campaign rally here. The swap of President Barack Obama for Trump is one that many people, including Liccardo, are still coming to terms with.

“It's no secret that I’m a big Obama fan,” Liccardo said. “I felt a sense of personal loss, honestly, watching the farewell address. Certainly we’ll miss his inspiring words, but even more, I know, I will miss the standard of leadership that he offered for those of us who aspire to lead in any community. Someone who is incredibly ethical, someone who focuses on how we can lift people up and try to keep our eye on on how we can move forward rather than constantly fighting over whatever happened in the past.”

In a sign of blunders to come—or perhaps a Machiavellian slight—Liccardo’s name was misspelled on the invitation telling him how to register. He offered it to this reporter and quipped, “If you can translate it from the original Russian you’re entitled to take it.”

Donald Trump’s inauguration committee misspelled San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s name on his invite.

Donald Trump’s inauguration committee misspelled San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s name on his invite.

Josh Koehn is a former managing editor for San Jose Inside and Metro Silicon Valley.

28 Comments

  1. I love how they redacted the ID and Password. Like someone would hack-in and change the Evite reply to “I’ll Be There Donald!”.

  2. Good.

    Saves valuable federal government bouncer resources that would be needed to eject the bum.

  3. This info is straight from TBOWC, “The Book of Who Cares.” Liccardo is a spoiled, little brat, who can’t take defeat gracefully. He’s a pis* poor representative for San Jose; it’s too funny that they spelled his name incorrectly.

  4. So, would it be fair to say that Sam Lick-a-rod (and Zoe Lofgren) are disrespecting the Office of the President?

  5. Greg’s right, Liccardo’s a dirtbag. Nobody was penalized for pounding the crap out of peaceful Trump supporters.

  6. I think Leaky Sam’s nemesis, Lisa Gillmor was planning to stay in town to conduct business. Why would Leaky Sam want to disappear for a week anyway?

  7. Thanks Sam! Disrespecting the office of President? Hardly. That was done by DJT for 8 years that he harassed President Obama regarding the “birther” issue. Karma for the P-grabber in Chief. A disgrace if ever there was one.

      • Remember, Mr/Ms Down: pay your federal taxes.

        I’ll be actively snitching on all the progressive tax cheats who have been sucking off of the system for the last eight years.

        George Soros and all of his sham organizations probably owe a pretty big bill. I expect that President Trump will be offering a pretty big bounty on him. If you provide information resulting in his arrest and conviction, or extradition to Hungary or France, I’ll give you a cut of the reward.

        • Remember Ms. Bubbly:

          I will be actively watching those who impersonate federal agents and informants, as well as those who violate anti-hacking laws to “snitch” on individuals. I know you will not do any of those things. I will also actively encourage civil lawsuits against those who defame by innuendo, negligently or intentionally inflict emotional distress, or unlawfully curtail protected speech by aiding/abetting government action. I know you will not do any of those things. If somehow you elected to do any of those things — and I know you would not — the “progressives” injured by your tortious actions might own your house and your bank account. So if you did those things — and I know you would not — remember to keep your bank account well funded and your house nice and comfy. The progressives might want to throw a pizza party.

          • > the “progressives” injured by your tortious actions might own your house and your bank account.

            Not to worry.

            Jeff Sessions is soon to be our Attorney General.

            A fair, honest, and upright Christian man.

  8. @ Empty:

    Yup, whole lotta self-incriminatin’ goin’ on!! Get off the internet and go coon-huntin’ or something. You got your fair, honest, upright and rectilinear (or is it rectal) law-yuh protectin’ you. I’m sure he’ll take up all of your causes. Down to the last doofus.

    • Oh Downer,
      I’m just going to wither away like a snowflake, please don’t call me a racist or something bad, I just won’t be able to drink that bottle of Champagne before 9am Friday morning.

      No law-yuh, just a big M.T.GUNN keep’n warm and so happy, and free at last!

      • The bigger danger for you, Empty, is that there will be noone left to call you a racist or something bad. ‘Cos everybody will be just like you. Then you will have no one left to hate but your own kind. Enjoy that freedom.

        • Oh no, no one left to hate. What a problem, fortunately you will all likely survive and thrive, there should be no shortage of snowflakes and tolerant one’s to poke fun of.
          So just 20 little hours to go before you melt, where would you like that one way ticket too?

          • So am I going to “survive and thrive” and be around for you to hate, or am I going to get a “one way ticket” somewhere you won’t have to deal with me? When you are ready to decide on what your reality looks like, lemme know. Your pal Bubbles is working on a plan to put me in jail. You might wanna consult with him and coordinate your fantasies. On second thought, that sounds like a very bad porn movie. Never mind.

  9. I’m definitely signing onto the theory that lick-a-rod was intentional. This invite seems like a victory lap on the part of the Trump transition, rubbing it in Sam’s face.

  10. Disappointment…………..this was an opportunity for the Mayor of our great City (not just his) to show that San Jose was inclusive of all, including the President Elect and his policies, and to show that the mayor appreciated the invitation (isn’t that a basic form of courtesy we instill in our children). Is our mayor aware that he is governing for his entire constituency, not just the ones that are of his political party and political views. Perhaps he could have used this as a message to the President Elect that San Jose is inclusive and is ready and willing to work with the new incoming Administration to promote the goals of inclusiveness of the City of San Jose, and our positions to work on a common goal for ALL of its citizens, naturalized or otherwise. Perhaps….but that Perhaps is gone, because Mr. Lick a Rod, felt it more important to jump on the Trump boycott bandwagon for his fifteen minutes of fame….Boycotting or promoting divisiveness, is ironically the same that is being said of President Elect. How did the Mayors comments for this article promote Unity or promote anything except for showing that our Mayor values his self interests before that of the City.

    • Unfortunately for San Jose, Sam the Sham is likely to inspire Mr Trump to cut federal funding to the city. This could mean bankrupting the city and having the state or federal government take over the PD and fire department closing schools and libraries and laying off hundreds of entrenched bureaucrats in city hall.

      Hummmm, on second thought keep it Slick Sam!

  11. Typical punk behavior. Rather than take one for the team (the city he was elected to represent), Mr. Liccardo instead refused the invite and revealed his willingness to let the federal chips fall where they may for all San Joseans. But a polite, diplomatic turndown was not enough for this ill-mannered product of wealth and privilege, so he goes public with his decision, making sure it will be understood as a partisan rejection of the man who will be the world’s most influential American for the next four years — a man well-known for his grudge bearing and long memory.

    No chance of this bitting any local butts in the next four years… no chance at all.

    • I think we can be sure that Trump will have “bigger fish to fry” (and grudges) than the mayor of san jose [out in the east coast, most people know San Francisco, but not San Jose]

      • You’re probably right… after all, how likely is it that anyone in the White House will ever take notice of the who, what, and where in Silicon Valley? Probably as unlikely as foreign investors ever concerning themselves with currying Mr. Trump’s favor, or avoiding his disfavor.

        Austin, Texas ought to send Mr. Liccardo a thank you card.

      • If you’re from the East Coast San Jose is just a bedroom community southeast of Disneyland.
        Mr Liccardo can sit on a pointy fence post and pound sand!

  12. Sam Liccardo is a “politician of note”? What a joke. Perhaps he should focus on why his party lost the election rather than being a sore loser. Just as his party lost the presidential election for being deaf to middle America, Liccardo is equally deaf to the residents of San Jose for an utter lack of core city services, instead puffing himself up for the next office with an endless litany of failed social engineering projects, leaving this city broke in his wake. Sam Liccardo, you are a buffoon of the highest order. Get your head out of your utopian crowd and understand just how out of touch you are with most of America.

  13. It is always difficult to balance genuine political conviction and the shock value politicians all around the world seem to crave these days since the advent of the internet and social media. However, one overriding factor should always prevail: the will of the people. I talk about this on my site http://www.PDABuzz.com in the context of commerce, but it applies just as much, and arguably even more so, in matters of government.

    Like it or not, if you are in politics then you are in the business of effecting the will of the people, no matter your personal views, no matter your personal politics, and no matter your party. If more politicians looked at the basis of their sovereignty and held themselves to account on this, then the States and indeed the world would be a better place.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *