Sam Liccardo pulls out of televised congressional debate over laryngitis diagnosis — Evan Low’s campaign calls it “extremely suspicious”

A highly-anticipated televised debate between Congressional District 16 candidates Assemblymember Evan Low and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has been rescheduled after Liccardo revealed he has laryngitis, sparking accusations from his opponent’s campaign that he’s lying.

Low and Liccardo, who are running to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo in Congress, were set to battle it out on TV on Wednesday night in a debate hosted by NBC Bay Area, Telemundo 48 and KQED. But shortly before 12:30 p.m., Liccardo announced on his X account that he had to pull out because he lost his voice. Aside from the debate, the former mayor said he had to cancel three meet-and-greets yesterday, as well as other events later this week.

The Bay Area News Group reviewed Liccardo’s medical records and confirmed that a doctor diagnosed him with laryngitis, placed him on vocal rest and prescribed him a medication to treat the condition.

“My doctor has given me medication to help with the laryngitis, and I hope to be back out there in a few days,” Liccardo wrote on X. “My team is working hard to find another time for this important forum — voters deserve to hear what the candidates have to say. NBC tells us that if the Low campaign agrees to another time, we can reschedule, and I fully expect we will — stay tuned.”

Knocking on doors across our community and participating in nearly 100 meet-and-greets and several debates has been the best part of campaigning, but it’s taken its toll on my vocal cords. I’ve unfortunately lost my voice, and had to cancel three meet-and-greets yesterday, and…

— Sam Liccardo (@sliccardo) October 2, 2024

But Low’s campaign isn’t buying the mayor’s excuse.

“It’s extremely suspicious — especially since it comes days after San Jose police and firefighters blasted Liccardo for lying about his record attacking first responders and causing the city to lose 500 cops on the beat,” Lindsey Cobia, Low’s campaign manager, said in a statement. “The President of the San Jose Police Officer Association said it best. ‘There is a reason why every law enforcement organization has not endorsed Sam Liccardo: we don’t trust him.’ Liccardo should prove it.”

The San Jose firefighters and police unions have accused the former mayor of driving first responders out of the city due to the Measure B pension battles. But Liccardo’s campaign said he helped expand the San Jose Police Department by over 200 officers and reduce vacancy rates.

Liccardo and Low have already participated in several other debates in the last few months.