Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo today made the formal announcement of his candidacy for the 16th congressional district, eight days after he filed his initial statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.

“Congress must act faster to address crime, confront homelessness, and lower the cost of living,” Liccardo said in a prepared statement released by his campaign..

The Liccardo campaign began fundraising last weekend, but his campaign has declined thus far to discuss the status of those efforts.

Marine Corps vet and tech entrepreneur Peter Dixon. Campaign photo.

Another Democrat, tech security entrepreneur Peter DIxon of Portola Valley, who filed his FEC candidate statement on Thursday, also has begun fundraising, and his campaign eagerly reported today that he had raised $350,000 in the first 24 hours.

Also yesterday, Palo Alto Council member Julie Lythcott-Haims became the seventh Democrat – and first woman – to announce as a candidate for the seat held for 16 terms by Rep. Anna Eshoo. Eshoo announced her decision to retire three weeks ago.

Julie Lythcott-Haimes, Palo Alto City Council member. Campaign photo.

Lythcott-Haims, first elected to the Palo Alto City Council last year, had not yet filed paperwork with the FEC as of noon today. Today’s filing deadline was extended until Dec. 13, because there is no incumbent seeking re-election.

Lythcott-Haims is a best-selling author of parenting books and a TED speaker, a former corporate lawyer and Stanford University professor and dean, who describes herself as queer and bisexual. Her campaign website says Lythcott-Haims, an African-American born in Nigeria, has “dedicated her career to advocating for youth, for marginalized communities and for working people.”

Dixon is a former Marine Corp officer and Afghanistan combat veteran who worked in the Pentagon and then in the State Department in the Obama administration before co-founding a cyber security firm, Second Front Systems, based in Arlington,Va.with contracts with the U.S. government.

Dixon’s campaign website says the Portola Valley native and Menlo School and University of North Carolina graduate “seeks to serve his country once again by fighting for working families and delivering solutions and resources for the biggest challenges facing residents—from healthcare, reproductive rights, and education to housing and immigration.”

Dixon also is an associate with the National Security Institute of the Anthony Scalia Law School of George Mason University.

Other Democrats in the March 5 primary who have filed candidate papers for the 16th District are: Assemblymember Evan Low, County Supervisor Joe Simitian, Saratoga Councilmember Rishi Kumar and Stanford graduate student Joby Bernstein.