FEC complaint filed against Sam Liccardo, Super PAC that funded the Congressional District 16 recount

Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and the Super PAC that funded the Congressional District 16 recount are being hit with a Federal Elections Commission complaint from a local attorney who alleges the funders of the recount broke the law in “an apparent attempt to hide who was actually paying for the recount.”

The complaint, which was filed by Mountain View-based lawyer Brian J. O’Grady, comes a day after new campaign finance reports showed that Neighbors for Results, a pro-Liccardo Super PAC, transferred $102,000 to the Count the Vote Super PAC that funded the recount. Former New York City mayor and billionaire philanthropist Michael Bloomberg is the largest donor to Neighbors for Results, having shelled out $500,000 in February.

The FEC complaint is the latest twist in the contentious congressional race to replace U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo. The primary race ended in a tie between Assemblymember Evan Low and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, which prompted a voter-requested recount from Jonathan Padilla, a former Liccardo mayoral campaign staffer and 2020 and 2024 Biden delegate. Low came out victorious in the end by five votes and will face Liccardo in the general election.

O’Grady argues in his complaint that “all political committees are required to list their ‘affiliates’ when registering with the FEC.”

“Given the funding we now know it received, and the clear test established by the FEC, Count the Vote should have listed Neighbors for Results, the Liccardo PAC, as an affiliate when it registered,” the complaint said. “It may not have wanted to do so in order to hide the connections between Liccardo and the recount, but there was a clear legal obligation and the commission should immediately investigate this matter and take all appropriate action.”

In the complaint, O’Grady also states that Neighbors for Results transferred money to cover “exactly how much was needed to make the required recount payments to the counties each day.” But campaign finance filings show that Neighbors for Results only transferred $102,000 to Count the Vote, and with the $12,000 a day that Santa Clara and San Mateo counties each charged, that money would only have funded a fraction of the two-and-a-half week recount.

Neighbors for Results treasurer Matthew Alvarez of the law firm Rutan and Tucker previously told The Mercury News that the money was shifted between PACs so they could make the first payments to get the recount started.

“When the decision was made to confirm that every legal vote was counted, Neighbors for Results had money on hand while Count the Vote was just getting started,” Alvarez previously said. “Moving that money provided time for Count the Vote to get up and running and raise its own money from then on.”

The complaint also asks the FEC to investigate “whether there was illegal coordination between Sam Liccardo, his campaign, and the two PACs funding his recount.” Campaigns are barred by federal law from communicating with PACs in any way. O’Grady’s complaint provides no evidence that Liccardo coordinated with either PAC and the attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the matter.

The complaint prompted Low’s campaign on Wednesday afternoon to send out an email demanding Liccardo and Neighbors for Results to “come clean to voters.”

In a statement, Padilla said “the entire complaint is predicated on an outrageous falsehood, that the recount effort was coordinated with the Liccardo campaign.”

“This complaint is yet another transparent, meritless attempt distract voters from the uncomfortable truth that Evan Low tried to stop this recount and prevent dozens of legal votes from being counted,” Padilla said. “We are confident that the FEC will see these complaints for what they are: an embarrassing and frivolous attempt to weaponize the campaign laws to muzzle an opponent and distract voters from the real issues of homelessness, crime and the high cost of living.”

Liccardo’s campaign could not immediately be reached for comment.

The FEC complaint is the second of its kind filed against Liccardo in the last few months. In April, Santa Clara County Government Attorneys Association President Max Zarzana filed a complaint alleging Liccardo tried to circumvent campaign contributions by coordinating with Count the Vote to fund the recount on his behalf.

Any individual can file a complaint with the FEC. The commission’s Office of General Counsel reviews all complaints first to determine whether it satisfies the criteria for a complaint and deals with a violation in the FEC’s purview before it begins to investigate.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.