Candidates running to represent Silicon Valley in Congress are pointing fingers over whose ties are tighter to a Bay Area recycling company under scrutiny by the FBI.
In the Congressional District 16 race, Assemblymember Evan Low’s campaign circulated an advertisement titled “Dirty Politics,” calling out Low’s opponent and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s connections to California Waste Solutions, the recycling company whose owners, including CEO David Duong, along with Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, were raided by the FBI in June. However, Low and his campaign have received direct and independent support from the company and its executives in this election.
Duong did not respond to requests for comment.
The ad highlights Liccardo’s history with California Waste Solutions. In 2022, the company gave $10,000 to a committee that Liccardo and allies started to support their picks for local office and $3,000 to a committee opposing San Jose’s 2018 Measure B, a pro-sprawl development ballot initiative. Liccardo is also connected to the company through their mutual employment of Jonathan Padilla, who worked on Liccardo’s mayoral campaign in 2014 and lobbied on behalf of the company in 2018.
It leaves out that Low himself has received $16,300 over the past few years directly from Duong. Of that money, $6,600 was donated to Low’s congressional committee in December 2023.
Gil Rubinstein, Liccardo’s campaign spokesperson, pointed out that neither Duong nor his company ever actually donated to Liccardo, but have spent thousands to support Low.
“It is ironic, but unsurprising, that Assemblymember Low is using illegal dollars from Cal Waste Solutions executives, PG&E, big oil and private prisons to smear his opponent,” Rubinstein told San José Spotlight. “Voters deserve a representative who will be honest with them, and follow the law.”
Following the FBI raid, politicians and political candidates across Silicon Valley began getting rid of money they received from California Waste Solutions or the Duong family, either by returning it or donating it to other groups. Low was among them, and his campaign said it donated the $6,600 in June to Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, a nonprofit based in Half Moon Bay that supports the local Latino community.
A spokesperson for Ayudando Latinos A Soñar couldn’t confirm the donation was received and referred San José Spotlight to the CEO, who didn’t respond to requests for comment.
In addition to donations to his congressional campaign committee, Low received a $5,500 donation from Duong in June 2023 to his 2024 Assembly committee. Receipts from his past Assembly committees show Duong also gave $4,200 during Low’s reelection campaign in 2016.
Low’s campaign did not respond to a question on whether the money Duong gave to his Assembly committee was donated.
Lam Nguyen, Low’s deputy campaign manager, called the comparison between Low and Liccardo’s involvement with the company “ridiculous.”
“Liccardo oversaw and was responsible for giving (California Waste Solutions) recycling contracts worth millions. Even today, he has refused to give away the $13,000 in funds the Duongs gave him,” Nguyen told San José Spotlight, referring to the company’s donations to PACs Liccardo supports. “Liccardo needs to answer for his blatant corruption.”
Liccardo doesn’t have the power to return the funds, as he doesn’t control any super PACs and the 2018 committee has been terminated.
Beyond direct donations, California Waste Solutions put $10,000 into a super PAC called Voter Protection Project, which then spent $82,000 to support Low’s candidacy in February. That included digital ads on Facebook and Google, reaching thousands of potential voters.
Representatives from the Voter Protection Project did not respond to requests for comment. The website states it’s one of the nation’s largest voting rights organizations and spends money to support candidates who want to expand and protect voting rights.
Nguyen doubled down on Liccardo’s connections to the recycling company in comparison to Low’s.
“Unlike Evan, Sam Liccardo has refused to give away the donations, and to this day, Liccardo has yet to address any questions regarding (California Waste Solutions) lobbyist Padilla or disclose details about his conversations around their contract,” Nguyen said. “Voters in CD 16 deserve answers.”
Check out San José Spotlight’s Election Guide for more information on voting in Santa Clara County and other candidates and measures on the ballot. The election is Nov. 5.
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at sakura@sanjosespotlight.com or @SakuCannestra on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Editor’s note: California Waste Solutions has donated to San José Spotlight.
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