After spending $145,000 on a Washington communications consultant to boost his national profile over two years, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo extended her contract again for four months to the tune of $30,000.

Stephanie Craig’s Apeiron Strategies Group was first hired by Liccardo’s office in 2018 and bills the city for placing opinion pieces in major national media outlets under Liccardo’s byline.

One ethics expert told San José Spotlight there’s nothing wrong with paying for this type of press attention.

Last November, the city extended Craig’s $7,500 per month contract through June 2021, increasing her total compensation from $187,000 to $229,000 since the contract began in 2018.

Invoices obtained by San José Spotlight through a public records request show the mayor’s office has leaned heavily on Craig since Oct.

2018 to create a national profile for Liccardo and some of his initiatives.

Last June, Craig billed the city for another opinion piece in the Times, plus an interview the mayor did with the Wall Street Journal and an op-ed that appeared in the Mercury News under Liccardo’s byline.

A longtime advocate for government accountability told San José Spotlight the issue is complicated by the fact that Liccardo stands to benefit personally.

“At the heart of the question is how much the city benefits from the work this communications consultant does for the mayor.

To the extent that a mayor is using city funds to advance the mayor’s interests and not the city’s, that is inappropriate.”.

But John Pelissero, a senior scholar at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University and a political scientist, told San José Spotlight it is not unusual for local governments to outside firms for public relations.

Ann Ravel, a longtime lawyer for local government who ran for a California Senate seat last fall with Liccardo’s endorsement, agreed the benefits of hiring a public relations consultant would be shared between the city and the mayor.

A spokeswoman for Liccardo insisted taxpayers benefit from having a mayor who is more visible on the national stage.

“It’s the tenth largest city in the country with a national profile less prominent than cities a third of its size.

We’re changing the face of journalism by providing an innovative model for delivering independent news to the nation’s 10th largest city.

Why does San Jose need to be in the National Spot Light.

“….and bills the city for placing opinion pieces in major national media outlets under Liccardo’s byline.”.

Bills the city.

An article from San Jose Spotlight that paints Mayor Sam Liccardo in a bad light – what a surprise.

Norman Kline, what type of spotlight does he deserve….take a look around San Jose, the trash, graffitti, homelessness rampant, our budget in shambles, the South San Jose police station still not operational as it was intended (our Taj Mahal to nothingness) paying someone 90K per year to write glorified articles about our community that may or may not help our city.

how many consultants does it take to ruin San Jose.

If it a cost a few hundred thousand dollars of taxpayer money to see him get elected somewhere out of the city of San Jose, it would be money well spent.

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