Author and Palo Alto City Council member Julie Lythcott-Haims is considering jumping into the race to succeed Rep. Anna Eshoo in the U.S. Congress, this publication has learned.
Lythcott-Haims, who was elected to the Palo Alto City Council in November 2022, said she has been approached by people from across District 16, encouraging her to run.
"I'm honored by their support and desire for bold leadership that advocates for humans from all walks of life to thrive," she said in a statement to this publication. "I've not yet decided, but should I choose to run you can expect an announcement in the coming days."
If she opts to run, she would become the third Palo Alto resident to announce their bids to succeed Eshoo, who has been representing Silicon Valley in Washington, D.C., for the past three decades. Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and Stanford University graduate student Joby Bernstein have also announced their intention to vie for the seat. Simitian, who announced his bid on Wednesday, has already amassed more than $680,000 in campaign contributions.
Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo also filed his paperwork to run for the seat earlier this week, according to the Federal Election Commission. So have former Menlo Park Mayor Peter Ohtaki and Karl Ryan, both Republicans.
State Assembly member Evan Low, a Democrat, has yet to file his papers but is widely expected to run. Assembly member Marc Berman, whose Peninsula district makes up a large portion of the Eshoo’s congressional district, told this publication that he does not plan to challenge for Eshoo’s seat.
"I'm grateful for the outpouring of encouragement from throughout the district encouraging me to run for Congress, but I honestly believe I already have one of the best jobs in public service," Berman said. "I look forward to running for re-election to the Assembly and continuing to serve the residents of the 23rd district."
Comments
Registered user
Crescent Park
on Dec 1, 2023 at 2:33 pm
Registered user
on Dec 1, 2023 at 2:33 pm
This is super exciting news and I hope Julie goes for it! It would be depressing to not have a single woman run for Anna Eshoo's seat. Julie is wicked smart, hard-working, incredibly thoughtful, a fantastic listener, someone who can capture hearts and inspire people of all backgrounds and ages, and she is a woman of color! She changed so many young lives at Stanford during her years as Dean of Freshman students there and she has helped countless parents and young people all over the country through her best-selling wise books and inspirational talks. I have been so impressed with and thankful of her work on our city council and will miss her presence there, but will support her wholeheartedly for any elected office in the country. She is just too good not to share.
Registered user
Downtown North
on Dec 1, 2023 at 6:45 pm
Registered user
on Dec 1, 2023 at 6:45 pm
Oh my!
A college student, and a new Council member for less than a year?
It takes a lot of hubris to think one is qualified to serve in Congress with little or no experience at doing the job of governance.
Experience and knowledge of the actual work matters. Certainly not a job for rank beginners. There shouldn’t be a need to even point this out.
Registered user
Adobe-Meadow
on Dec 1, 2023 at 10:51 pm
Registered user
on Dec 1, 2023 at 10:51 pm
I can't wait to see what she has to say about her qualifications to run for Congress. She is running against a lot of very experienced people who have been through the election process a number of times at different levels. And won.
Gender and racial identity are not qualifications for running or being in Congress. Experience in the job of running a city or state job are the qualifications for running. And past performance on those jobs. This ought to be interesting.
Registered user
Downtown North
on Dec 2, 2023 at 8:31 am
Registered user
on Dec 2, 2023 at 8:31 am
I am absolutely thrilled at this news - though what a loss for our council. I have never volunteered on an individual campaign before, but this one would have me knocking on doors in a heartbeat.
Experience comes in all forms. What JLH brings to the table in terms of professional and personal experience is more valuable to our country right now than what so many career politicians offer. She is one of the smartest people I have met, and when she doesn't understand an issue - she thoroughly researches and talks to experts until she does.
How lucky are we to have her as a pot tial candidate. It isn't "hubris" (per the comment above), it is bravery.
Registered user
Charleston Meadows
on Dec 2, 2023 at 8:58 am
Registered user
on Dec 2, 2023 at 8:58 am
Well, this is what many predicted: An as-brief-as-possible tenure on the PA Council, then off to bigger things for Ms. Lythcott-Haimes. I prefer candidates with experience, like Joe Simitian.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Dec 2, 2023 at 9:53 am
Registered user
on Dec 2, 2023 at 9:53 am
Hmmm, no doubt this thread will soon be flooded with supporters from Ms Lythcott-Haimes email support list. That is fine of course, but when the supporters tout her as the most wonderful thing since sliced bread with a cherry on top, I have my my suspicious doubts. I would much rather hear about what she has done in Palo Alto since being elected, "warts and all" than the type of comments made by commenter 1 and commenter 3 above.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Dec 2, 2023 at 11:56 am
Registered user
on Dec 2, 2023 at 11:56 am
Thank you Local News Junkie. JLH has not paid her dues and clearly is not ready for prime time.
Why was this Comment segment reordered? It appears Dawes, Johnson and perhaps Jong are in support of JLH
and wanted a favorable post to lead the thread. Comment from Downtown North was the original lead. I have never seen the order changed and am a long time supporter of the PAWeekly. Not a good look here and unprofessional.
Moderator comment:
Comments are automatically shown in the order they are received and carry time-stamps. However, comments made by new posters are held for review and approval by a moderator before going live on the site. Once approved, they are automatically placed in the thread based on the time the comment was originally submitted so as not to create confusion by being out of order. This happens frequently in threads with a lot of activity.
Registered user
Barron Park
on Dec 2, 2023 at 12:43 pm
Registered user
on Dec 2, 2023 at 12:43 pm
I’m very excited to see JLH shake up this race. We have several qualified candidates - and the US House is a place that requires energy, enthusiasm, social skills, and smarts. JLH has all of these in spades. Her voice on city council is very important and she’s doing good work here, but I’m eager for the opportunity to keep a woman representing Silicon Valley in DC.
Registered user
Crescent Park
on Dec 2, 2023 at 1:29 pm
Registered user
on Dec 2, 2023 at 1:29 pm
Well, if it gets her inexperience and off our City Council, I would vote for her. Congress already has its insistent tribalisms and will do whatever it does or doesn't do whichever (D) is 'representing' us.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Dec 2, 2023 at 2:09 pm
Registered user
on Dec 2, 2023 at 2:09 pm
@S Underwood makes an interesting point.
When she was campaigning, she explicitly said she wanted to travel the country espousing her social values messages and parenting advice rather than "nitpicking" decisions made by city staff and consultants on local issues.
At the time I remember thinking that a national platform was a better fit for her interests and expertise than serving on CITY council and focusing on local issues
So this could be a win-win for her and Palo Alto.
As always, it will be interesting to see the endorsements and campaign contributors in this race..
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Dec 2, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Registered user
on Dec 2, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Running for Congress, whether she wins or not--and hopefully, frankly, not against an experienced public servant with a proven track record like Simitian--it will get name recognition that could help a win down the road. I'd personally rather see her take Berman's job because I think she could be better at it.
That said, as much as I agree that she's really smart and well meaning, in my experience she's got the same blinders of many people who are gung ho from an ideological perspective, regardless of where on the political spectrum--she really doesn't yet know how to engage constructively with people who disagree with her, to be open to letting people change her mind, or avoid pigeonholing people. I think we used to call it "self righteousness". Worse, I'm sure she would vehemently disagree that she is, and wouldn't be open to understanding why. I'm very sure she thinks every child in the world benefits from her advice and has no space in her brain for understanding where she does harm.
I'm also leery of people who are not, finally--with everything going on in SF especially--taking stock of how unrealistic and counterproductive their ideas about development are in terms of the impact on communities, the environment, and low-income people, and the failure to look at such problems holistically. Laissez faire development has long become for the left what laissez faire economics is for the right--no matter how much evidence accumulates that it doesn't produce the promised benefits and that lots of harm results, they just say we have to double down on it, and never take stock to question their assumptions or actually get the results differently if it touches their ideological sacred cows.
I just don't think she has the temperament (yet) to do a good job at being a public servant for everyone. She's still too quick to judge, not open to questioning her own assumptions and prejudices. I'm not saying she can't learn, just that I don't think she has (yet).
Registered user
College Terrace
on Dec 3, 2023 at 12:27 pm
Registered user
on Dec 3, 2023 at 12:27 pm
@Silver Linings - excellent post. Thank you.
I think we all need to think hard about who we are electing to represent us and lead us, especially when an incumbent is running for reelection or a person who has served is vying for a higher-level seat. Has the state of the [city, county, state] improved as a result of that person's involvement? The State offers a particularly good example of what happens when people vote for Democratic candidates, no matter what. The Dems have been fully in charge of the State of California for years and yet serious problems persist and worsen. If their policies were effective, things should at least be static.
Registered user
Midtown
on Dec 3, 2023 at 3:44 pm
Registered user
on Dec 3, 2023 at 3:44 pm
Wow!!! Ms Lythcott-Haimes is already looking to graduate from our city council? After so much dedication and accomplishment? Hahaha...she is a joke.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Dec 4, 2023 at 9:23 am
Registered user
on Dec 4, 2023 at 9:23 am
@Annette
My criticism above wasn’t meant for a national or even state partisan frame. I have little good to say about the GOP after about Ike. Until the Republican Party comes back from its current extreme, including inability to deal with corruption and devaluing of democracy and that relies so much on lying and propaganda, the Democrats are the only reasonable path forward. Laissez Faire economics and hatred of government (while ironically revering the Constitution that creates the government) have completely usurped fiscal caution and responsibility on the right. They’ve gotten more thuggish and controlling than interested in the value of fair competition anymore, including to themselves and their beliefs.
Democrats used to be more pragmatic and have been and still are better for the economy and pretty much everything else. But Democrats risk throwing all that away and self destructing by their ongoing failure to recognize the problems caused by laissez faire building that were predictable.
Gavin Newsom said he owns some of the problems and yet I see no serious reflection or change in the disastrous developer-deferential approach that made S.F. so vulnerable to being hollowed out suddenly (if not by pandemic, earthquakes, etc).
Affordable housing is important, but it’s not going to be solved as a side effect of laissez faire development, and destroying quality of life in cities for everyone causes way more problems than anyone in Sacramento is even considering. Just as laissez faire economics led to a half century of disinvestment in our nation and income/wealth and power funneling up into a few hands instead of resulting in broad prosperity, laissez faire building does something similar for a few interests while producing the opposite of it’s promises for everyone else.
The evidence of that failure will long outlast any potential epiphanies about it. Democrats shouldn’t think they can keep the public snowed the way the GOP has over laissez faire economics.
Registered user
Crescent Park
on Dec 4, 2023 at 10:26 am
Registered user
on Dec 4, 2023 at 10:26 am
Excellent comments above about Julie's lack of experience. She has not, IMO, seem to accomplished much except promoting herself. fluff.
I'm voting for an experienced person who has risen in the ranks, served his time and been in the trenches doing an excellent job for years.
Joe Simitian has served Palo Alto for decades including being instrumental in saving the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park. Lots of experience and there when you need him.
Will be an interesting race. Don't believe a person is qualified for any job simply because of their gender.
Experience and outcome are more important to me.
Thank you.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Dec 4, 2023 at 11:09 am
Registered user
on Dec 4, 2023 at 11:09 am
If a Congressional candidate's primary qualifications are self-promotion and self-aggrandizement, with no track record of success in civic duty, Lythcott will be perfect!
The fact that she even sees herself as qualified to serve in US Congress after 5 minutes on PA City Council, her first gig, should tell someone all they need to know about her.
With zero experience even volunteering for the City of PA, she snagged (not earned) a City Council seat -- thanks to all the virtue signalers who voted for her based on identity politics instead of actual skills, an ability to build effective working coalitions, and a track record of success in governance. In Lythcott’s first gig on City Council, she's sewn divisiveness and negativity (as predicted) claiming anyone who disagrees with her must be "racist". I'm assuming the same virtue signalers will vote for Lythcott for Congress, instead of Simitian who has decades of successful experience in governing and ethically representing his constituents with their best interests in mind (versus just being a "climber" and shameless self-promoter). Many people admire Simitian, regardless of whether they always agree with his position, based on his decades of civic duty and serving the community (versus Lythcott’s 5 minutes on City Council). Admiration for Lythcott? Nope. Not an ounce.
And perhaps when Lythcott runs for Congress the unflattering stories about her years as a student at Stanford (before she appointed herself as Dean of Students) will finally be revealed.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Dec 4, 2023 at 11:17 am
Registered user
on Dec 4, 2023 at 11:17 am
I'll be supporting Joe Simitian. We could use his legislative experience, statesman-like ability to handle sensitive issues and controversy and build coalitions with diplomacy. He has been a lead on local, state and national stages as a representative and an advocate. Council Member Lythcott-Haims' partial term on City Council is not preparation for Congress.
I like and respect Julie L-H's abilities, but she still has much to learn about process, strategy, and organization before I'll be ready to support her for Congress. She has time to learn. Joe has shown us in spades what he can do. He understands the system and knows how to work it. He brings people together to build constituency bases across divides through compromise. He is a talented, creative problem-solver and a strong leader. We have seen this again and again on issues that are controversial.. This is what we need in Congress right now.
Ms. L-H is seems to be getting more comfortable in her Council role. We will be voting on four of seven CC members in the next election cycle (starting May 2024) : Kou, Tanaka, Burt, Stone's seats are up for grabs. Kou and Tanaka are termed out. They can't run this coming cycle. Depending on who runs, we may get a majority of inexperienced Council Members.. We will need sitting Council Members with some experience at City Hall. We need Council Member Lycott-Haims to finish her first term and to demonstrate ability to create her own solutions to the city's knotty problems. So far, she mostly has been following the lead of others. I want to see her demonstrate leadership on at least one knotty issue--identify a solution, build a coalition, and take it from start to finish. She has gotten up to speed on the budget and policy which had been big gaps in her knowledge. This is important groundwork for BECOMING a good Council Member. She's smart. Now she needs to demonstrate that she can LEAD.
Registered user
Mayfield
on Dec 4, 2023 at 11:36 am
Registered user
on Dec 4, 2023 at 11:36 am
Best news ev'a. Go Julie. I am all in.
Registered user
Duveneck/St. Francis
on Dec 4, 2023 at 4:45 pm
Registered user
on Dec 4, 2023 at 4:45 pm
Experienced person like::Sam Liccardo, former mayor of San Jose. No to Simitian or Lythcott-Haimes
Registered user
College Terrace
on Dec 4, 2023 at 6:41 pm
Registered user
on Dec 4, 2023 at 6:41 pm
@Silver Linings - thanks for the clarification. I disassociated myself from Party affiliation years ago. My point is that voting along party lines "just because" severely narrows the chances of getting a balanced body of government and healthy debate over legislation. We've had a lopsided State government for a long time and I don't see that that has been particularly beneficial. A most serious issue, homelessness, stands out as a particular failure, especially given all the supposedly curative pieces of legislation. That failure rests with the Democrats. But the Republicans have nothing to crow about. When I sit down with my ballot, I look for the best candidates regardless of party. It's a bit shocking that there isn't an abundance of good candidates.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Dec 5, 2023 at 6:28 pm
Registered user
on Dec 5, 2023 at 6:28 pm
JLH did not know that PA has an airport which she divulged at the Daily Post forum during the campaign for city council. What was stunning was when she accused a fellow candidate of being Jim Crow.
This candidate who was attacked is a public servant who has volunteered her service to the community for over sixteen years. JLH may be an expert on helicoptor parenting but she decided to run for council on a whim. Now she is considering a move to the big time. This is a capricious mindset that exemplifies a lack of seriousness. I fail to see how JLH’s pondering a run for congress is news.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Dec 5, 2023 at 9:02 pm
Registered user
on Dec 5, 2023 at 9:02 pm
"With zero experience even volunteering for the City of PA, she snagged (not earned) a City Council seat -- thanks to all the virtue signalers who voted for her based on identity politics instead of actual skills, an ability to build effective working coalitions, and a track record of success in governance. In Lythcott’s first gig on City Council, she's sewn divisiveness and negativity (as predicted) claiming anyone who disagrees with her must be "racist". I'm assuming the same virtue signalers will vote for Lythcott for Congress, instead of Simitian who has decades of successful experience in governing and ethically representing his constituents with their best interests in mind (versus just being a "climber" and shameless self-promoter)."
Yup. Spare me divisive identity politics and sloganeering and give me a problem-solver like Joe Simitian whose office offered the *ONLY* help scheduling vaccines when the county's phone and computer reservation systems were failing during the pandemic..
Re assuming those who disagree with her racist, did she ever apologized to the other candidate? Or to PASZ after she laughably calling them "loudest voice in the room" when she's the top $$$$ beneficiary of the biggest pro-business pro-development lobbyists?
She also repeatedly accused her neighbors of such extreme racism that they were leaving her unwanted messages on her door. Since this didn't sound like typical PA behavior during neighborhood construction, I looked up her address and the problem became obvious: her house was totally out of scale and character for her neighborhood. Further digging found she refused to discuss the situation with the neighbors who were FORCED to leave her notes.
We need problem-solvers who can compromise in DC, not more divisive uninformed sloganeers.
Registered user
Crescent Park
on Dec 11, 2023 at 9:18 am
Registered user
on Dec 11, 2023 at 9:18 am
Honestly, this is disappointing. I voted for JLH for City Council. I wrongly assumed she wanted to have an impact on Palo Alto. Not sure the one year is enough to do so. I didn't vote for her to use this as a stepping stone to congress. Perhaps I am naive.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Dec 12, 2023 at 9:13 am
Registered user
on Dec 12, 2023 at 9:13 am
Hard to know what to think of this. In recent years we have been told that a VP running mate, replacement of deceased senators, etc. would be black women and which black woman was the question. It has obviously sent a message that being black, female, queer, etc. are the most important criteria, with experience and stands on various issues way down the list of priorities.
Nothing against Ms LH, but it does appear she feels those are the necessary qualifications for running for policital office in the present climate. I hope the voters see this for what it is and choose their preferred candidate carefully.