The mayor of San José, California apologized Tuesday for attending a Thanksgiving party despite telling people to cancel their Thanksgiving plans.
“I apologize for my decision to gather for Thanksgiving with my family, contrary to the rules,” Mayor Sam Liccardo said in a Tweet. “I understand my obligation as a public official to provide exemplary compliance w/ public health orders, & not to ignore them. I commit to do better.”
I apologize for my decision to gather for Thanksgiving with my family, contrary to the rules. I understand my obligation as a public official to provide exemplary compliance w/ public health orders, & not to ignore them. I commit to do better. My statement: pic.twitter.com/LFhX2LCUf3
— Sam Liccardo (@sliccardo) December 1, 2020
Liccardo tweeted Nov. 25 that people should “cancel the big gatherings this year and focus on keeping each other safe.” The next day, NBC Bay Area reported that Liccardo was seen dining with an unknown number of people at his parent’s home in Saratoga. (RELATED: These Governors Told Citizens To Stay Home. Then They Broke Their Own COVID Rules)
The mayor’s staff originally said that Liccardo would be staying home for Thanksgiving, then told NBC Bay Area the day after Thanksgiving that Liccardo was going to his parent’s house and that they had “misspoke.”
“A recent report has raised questions about my family’s Thanksgiving dinner last week,” Liccardo said in a Tuesday statement. He described how “eight of us representing five households sat around three distanced tables in our own family groups on the back patio, and we wore masks when not eating.”
The mayor said that he has a “very large family” and many family members who normally would have celebrated with them did not attend.
“I understand that the state regulations issued on November 13th, limit the number of households at a private gathering to three,” Liccardo continued. “I apologize for my decision to gather contrary to state rules, by attending this Thanksgiving meal with my family.”