San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan announced Thursday that he is running for governor of California, jumping into an already crowded race less than six months before the June primary.<\/p>\n
The 43-year-old Democrat said he decided to run after growing frustrated with what he described as \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d in Sacramento and a field of candidates he said has failed to offer a bold, solutions-driven vision for the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that California can do better,\u201d Mahan said in an interview. \u201cWe\u2019ve proven in San Jose that when we focus on the most important things and hold ourselves accountable for delivering results, we can really make progress for our residents. That\u2019s the spirit we need in Sacramento.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mahan\u2019s announcement comes less than three weeks after he publicly signaled interest in joining the race<\/a>, which remains wide open with no clear front-runner. He becomes the ninth Democrat to enter a contest that has already drawn a crowded and fractured field.<\/p>\n Over the last two months, Mahan has hosted six of the candidates in San Jose<\/a>, taking them on tours of the city\u2019s interim housing communities as he looked for a candidate willing to prioritize faster, more pragmatic responses to homelessness. After those meetings, he said, he concluded that none were offering the approach he was seeking.<\/p>\n As the only current mayor of a big city in the race, Mahan said he\u2019s closer to the issues than most. He points to his \u201cback to basics\u201d agenda, which he credits in helping clear blight from the city, reducing unsheltered homelessness and making San Jose one of the safest big cities in the nation.<\/p>\n Elected to the City Council in 2020 representing Almaden Valley and Blossom Valley, Mahan rose quickly, winning the mayor\u2019s office in 2022 and taking office in 2023. A self-described moderate Democrat, he has frequently broken with his party, emerging as a vocal critic of Gov. Gavin Newsom on crime and homelessness.\n<\/p>\n