Let me recount the ways

This leads us to former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, the front-runner in the congressional race, who is not quite on the sidelines in the debate over the recount that might determine whether he runs in November against Assemblymember Evan Low or Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, or both.

In an interview this week, Liccardo flatly denied any direct association with the individuals behind the recount, including Jonathan Padilla, a one-time aide and political supporter, and the attorneys who appear to be funding the recount.

“There has been no communication by me or anyone on my team with Jonathan Padilla or any organization with which he may be working about a recount,” Liccardo said.

Liccardo spoke with Padilla by phone in December, and “we probably spoke briefly at one or two campaign events on or before March 5.” Nothing since.

These past associations prompted Low to assert — without proof — that Liccardo is manipulating the whole thing behind the scenes. Low wants no recount — we do not always get our most fervent wishes. He is understandably furious that it is being done in his name, a weird quirk in the law I was happy not knowing a few short weeks ago.

Low’s ire has allowed Liccardo to swipe at Low for his prior vote in the Assembly in support of legislation that was supposed to clarify the law and encourage recounts.

“While the Low campaign’s allegations about my involvement are false, I do believe that every vote must be counted,” Liccardo said. “That’s why recounts remain essential to a fair and accurate process in close elections.”   

The process of explaining which ballots were counted, which were cured and which remain uncured and uncounted is sufficiently esoteric to cause severe weariness. Liccardo campaign spokesman Orrin Evans said, citing Liccardo by name, that there are 100 ballots that have not been counted — and should be — because they could not be cured by the state election deadline.

This would turn the recount into a new count. Mark Church, chief elections officer for San Mateo County, said he is “not authorized” to add previously uncounted ballots to the recount.

As for the politics of all this, the people who are helping Liccardo are experienced political players. They need no coaching to act on behalf of someone they already support and even have helped more directly in the past. They needed no overt sign from Liccardo to act independently. They have been around.

It is a reality of the political environment in which we are operating. Independent political activity is narrowly defined as the absence of direct contact and/or consultation with the candidate and the campaign. But anyone can look at a website, and download photos, endorsement lists and even detailed polling data on voter preferences and attitudes.

It is no accident that Liccardo this week issued data from a new poll that shows him leading in the race, once voters are given details on all three candidates.

So, you can be suspicious — even cynical — about the way the recount has unfolded. But you should not be shocked, shocked that the fairly simple matter of counting ballots can become so thoroughly politicized. If a candidate and campaign advisors are not looking for the advantage to be had in this, they are in the wrong line of work.

Meanwhile, Liccardo is the only one who is guaranteed to be on the November ballot, which means he can begin raising money for the general election.

Low continues to send out angrily worded news releases.

And Simitian, the only candidate who has not commented publicly on the recount, said that, like a lot of voters, he is just going about his business until provided some certainty.

Waiting “is a challenge, there’s no doubt about that. But our campaign is using the time to look to November,” Simitian said.

He confirmed that he posted an ad on LinkedIn seeking a campaign manager, replacing a county aide who was pressed into service during the tight primary timeline. The job  “is a rare opportunity to take the helm of a high-profile, competitive Congressional campaign in California’s Silicon Valley.” It is full-time, and pays $8,000-$12,000 a month. But it may be temporary.

Mark Simon is a veteran journalist, whose career included 15 years as an executive at SamTrans and Caltrain. He can be reached at marksimon@smdailyjournal.com.