‘Cancel the Big Gatherings’: San Jose’s Democrat Mayor Ignored Coronavirus Guidelines for His Own Thanksgiving

Smash and Grab SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 16: (L-R) Sam Liccardo, Bita Daryabari, Matt Mahood, E
Steve Jennings/Getty Images for PARS EQUALITY CENTER

San Jose’s Democrat Mayor Sam Liccardo failed to take his own advice over Thanksgiving, spending the cherished American holiday with people outside of his immediate household, despite urging residents to “cancel the big gatherings.”

The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit reported that Liccardo broke county health protocols and spent Thanksgiving with “his elderly parents at their Saratoga home with an unknown number of other guests.”

While the anti-Trump mayor’s press team initially stated that the mayor would spend the holiday “staying home,” his office later claimed that the spokesperson “misspoke” and confirmed that he spent the holiday at his parents’ home, though the number of households present, as well as the number of total guests, remains unknown.

“This is a private event — not public,” Liccardo’s Chief of Staff Jim Reed said, according to the outlet. “We are going to redraw the line between what is personal and what is public because that line has become blurred.”

Reed would not provide specific details of the gathering, such as if guests were wearing masks, but he claimed the mayor and others “practiced social distancing while gathering and eating outside.”

San Jose is in Santa Clara County, which moved into the state’s most stringent Purple Tier of the “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” on November 17.

“Public health officials urge residents to cancel holiday travel plans and exercise caution in interactions outside of their immediate household,” the release of the announcement read.

Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody also urged residents to keep holiday gatherings “to your immediate household members only.”

“I cannot emphasize enough, gathering with friends and family who are not in your household is not safe,” she added.

The city’s website also lists Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) “Limited Stay At Home Order” for all Purple tier counties.

“People are free to leave their residence as long as they do not interact with people from other households,” the city emphasized while detailing the prohibition of gatherings between the 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

The day before Thanksgiving, Liccardo urged residents to “cancel the big gatherings” as part of an effort to keep others “safe”:

Liccardo is hardly the only California politician to violate coronavirus guidelines after championing them. Newsom came under fire last month after attending a crowded dinner party, later calling it a “bad mistake.”

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