He’s a popular Democratic mayor who’s been credited with helping turn around his large Bay Area city. He’s well-liked within deep-pocketed tech and business circles. He’s a married father of two who plays up his regular-guy bona fides on social media (opens in new tab). And now he’s taking the next leap into higher office.
No, we’re not talking about Daniel Lurie.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is running for governor, he confirmed in an interview with The Standard. The long-expected move adds an outspoken critic of Sacramento to an already bursting slate of candidates racing to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom this November.
“I think the state’s at an inflection point,” Mahan said Wednesday while standing on the Embarcadero. “As mayor of a big city, one of the largest cities in the state, I’m closer to the problems we face and the solutions to those problems. The past three years that I’ve been mayor have become a model for how we start to move the needle on issues that many people have thought were intractable.”
Mahan’s entry is a major shakeup to the gubernatorial race. According to polling (opens in new tab), no candidate has established themselves as a frontrunner to replace Newsom, who oversees a state with the world’s fourth-largest economy and has become a symbol of resistance during President Donald Trump’s second term.
Mahan has been a frequent critic of Newsom on criminal justice and other issues.
| Source: Rich Pedroncelli/AP
Mahan, 43, will undoubtedly face questions over why he is worthy of taking on one of the most important governorships in the nation. A relative newcomer to politics, Mahan began his professional life as a teacher before moving into tech. He entered elected office as a San Jose councilmember in 2020, then clinched an upset win for mayor in 2022 against a longtime South Bay politician.
In the governor’s race, he faces a field teeming with Democratic politicians who have decades of combined experience, including Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Rep. Katie Porter, former Biden cabinet member Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former state Controller Betty Yee, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.
Other contenders include Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer — who is likely to throw big bucks into the race — and Republican Fox News contributor Steve Hilton.
But Mahan does have some aces to play: He has won the ardor of some of California’s technology crowd, including Y Combinator leader Garry Tan (opens in new tab) and entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley (opens in new tab). That cohort alone could provide the millions needed to propel him to Sacramento. He has also carved out a moderate, party-bucking lane on homelessness and criminal justice that a large swath of voters might find appealing, as Democrats continue their soul-searching after the 2024 election. And in a political environment where bucking the status quo is in vogue, Mahan has been quick to criticize the state’s leadership, which could excite both disaffected voters and well-heeled donors.
Though Mahan’s closeness to tech should bolster his coffers, some have questioned how effective he will be in raising campaign funds. “Fundraising will be a major challenge for him if he runs,” Terry Christensen, professor emeritus at San Jose State University, recently told San Jose Spotlight (opens in new tab). “It takes a lot of money to be a serious statewide candidate.”
As mayor, Mahan has pushed for stricter rules on unsheltered homelessness, is an advocate for interim shelter sites, and often rails against state regulations he says stymie housing production. He is considered an ally to business interests, and, like San Francisco’s mayor, has largely stayed out of national political conversations. He has instead argued that his energy should be spent on combating local issues. His term in San Jose runs until 2028, after he handily won reelection in 2024.
Mahan began his career as a teacher before shifting to tech. | Source: MediaNews Group via Getty Images
On social media, he has portrayed himself as a neighborhood enthusiast, regularly sharing videos of him picking up trash. He has simultaneously cast himself as a tough-on-crime politician, posting mugshots (opens in new tab) of suspects, a practice that has fallen out of favor among Democratic leaders.
In 2024, Mahan supported Proposition 36, a successful ballot initiative that stiffened penalties for theft and drug crimes. The measure was opposed by Newsom, creating a lasting fissure between the two elected officials that for months has fueled rumors that Mahan was testing the waters for a run for governor.
Last year, Mahan’s critiques of leadership in Sacramento intensified, as he pushed back on Newsom’s call for a special legislative session (opens in new tab) to fight Trump and called out the governor over his social media tactics, among other dustups (opens in new tab).
Asked what his signature policies would be as governor, Mahan said he’d like to introduce a plan for more shelter and treatment beds, describing a framework in which cities that don’t want to build capacity would have to pay those that do.
“If Los Altos Hills doesn’t want to build the 3.5 units of shelter or treatment that they’re allocated, we could set up a credit system where they pay San Jose to have those beds,” he said. “But we’re going to need to create a fair-share framework that gets everyone to adopt cost-effective solutions to homelessness and behavioral health issues, and create some accountability.”
Mahan said he would also like to make sure Prop. 36’s rules are implemented across the state, pointing to San Diego as a locality that has successfully done so.
The San Jose mayor has attracted praise from some in the tech industry. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Standard
“We shouldn’t rely on a charismatic leader in each individual county to figure it out,” he said. “The state should be leading the way on implementation, because 70% of Californians agreed with the premise that people ought to be held accountable for getting treatment when their addiction is harming the broader community.”
The son of a schoolteacher and mailman, Mahan grew up in Watsonville, an agricultural town in Santa Cruz County. He received a scholarship to Bellarmine College Prep, a prestigious all-boys Catholic high school in San Jose, whose alumni include Rep. Sam Liccardo, Mahan’s predecessor as mayor.
As a student at Harvard University, Mahan met Mark Zuckerberg, who persuaded him over dinner (opens in new tab) to skip law school and instead pursue a career in tech. After a stint as a high school teacher until 2008, Mahan joined Causes, a startup that raised awareness about nonprofits. In 2014, Mahan cofounded Brigade, a startup that acquired Causes (opens in new tab) and received funding from Ron Conway, Marc Benioff, and Sean Parker. Brigade wound down in 2019 (opens in new tab); its engineering team was hired by Pinterest, while its technology and data were sold to another firm.
Mahan, however, moved on to public service, winning a seat on the San Jose City Council, representing southwestern neighborhoods.
He rapidly climbed the ranks of San Jose politics, challenging labor-backed candidate Cindy Chavez in the 2022 mayor’s race. Mahan eked out a surprising win in a race decided by fewer than 10,000 votes.
Whether he will be able to repeat the triumph in the June primary is now one of the biggest questions in California politics.