Mayor\u2019s Office officials contend the new city-backed<\/a>\u00a0accounts<\/a> have helped clarify the lines of official communication, but critics aren\u2019t satisfied. They maintain years of mixed messaging have undermined the guardrails that typically separate government business from campaign activity \u2014 and in the process, potentially violated election laws.<\/p>\n Two City Hall staffers \u2014 who do not work for the mayor and asked not to be named for fear of retaliation \u2014 allege over the years Mahan has assigned employees in his office to work on his private social media accounts. But even as the accounts have functioned as quasi-official platforms, Mahan has used them to advance his political goals, including the promotion of his policy agenda to a statewide audience<\/a>.<\/p>\n The staffers provided no indication the employees contributed directly to any campaign-related posts. Still, they argue the use of city resources to support any personal social media account is inappropriate, especially given the accounts are now being used for campaign purposes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe public is paying for the development and manicuring of this private channel of communication,\u201d one of the staffers told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201c(Mahan) is running a \u2018Back to Basics\u2019 campaign, and the campaign should be paying attention to the basics of campaign finance law.\u201d<\/p>\n Seamus Gann, spokesperson for Mahan\u2019s office, said the mayor\u2019s social media practices have remained well within legal bounds.<\/p>\n \u201cConsistent with state law and guidance from the City Attorney\u2019s Office, elected officials are permitted to share both personal and official updates on personal social media accounts,\u201d Gann told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Gann\u00a0did not address questions about the claims concerning city staff time.<\/p>\n Mahan\u2019s personal X and Instagram accounts, both of which have roughly 20,000 followers, often turn out multiple posts a day. Those posts run the gamut from updates<\/a> on city<\/a> policies<\/a>, to responses to high profile crimes<\/a>, to polished videos of Mahan lending a hand at city trash cleanup events<\/a>.<\/p>\n More recently, the channels have been featuring posts promoting Mahan\u2019s<\/a> \u201cBack to Basics<\/a>\u201d policy agenda<\/a>, focused on improving quality of life issues like affordability and public safety. Following his Jan. 29 gubernatorial announcement<\/a>, the channel has become a regular platform<\/a> for explicit campaign messages<\/a>.<\/p>\n Days after the announcement, the San Jose Office of Employee Relations issued an advisory to city employees on Feb. 4 reminding them of legal restrictions on the use of city resources for political campaigns. Mahan launched his city-backed Instagram and X accounts days later. He also launched separate<\/a> campaign accounts<\/a> around the same time.<\/p>\n The timing of the advisory letter, so soon after the launch of the mayor\u2019s election bid, raised eyebrows in City Hall. However, a spokesperson for the City Manager\u2019s Office told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight such policy reminders are standard practice during election years.<\/p>\n Mahan\u2019s critics argue even now that he has launched city-backed X and Instagram accounts, San Jose has still come out behind in the bargain. While Mahan\u2019s campaign will reap the rewards of the impressive follower count his personal channels have built, the city accounts are starting from scratch.<\/p>\n Given such campaign benefits, Mahan\u2019s critics argue the alleged use of staff time could amount to a violation of California laws prohibiting the use of city resources for election purposes.<\/p>\n However, after reviewing the accusations of wrongdoing, Caitlin Robinett Jachimowicz \u2014 an election law expert who serves as an administrator at Santa Clara University School of Law \u2014 voiced skepticism that any legal violation has taken place. She noted that laws governing social media use by elected officials are still evolving, and none obviously apply to this situation.<\/p>\n \u201cUnless (staff members) are posting about the campaign, you would have to determine that the account itself is city property,\u201d Jachimowicz told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cEven though his followers grew during this time, I think that\u2019s a stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n This is not the first election cycle where the mayor\u2019s social media practices have drawn scrutiny. During his 2021 campaign for mayor<\/a>, San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight reported Mahan used his Facebook account<\/a> to promote both city and campaign-related content.<\/p>\n Since then, city rules governing social media use<\/a> for elected officials have undergone a major overhaul<\/a> following a 2023 controversy. After losing her reelection bid, former District 7 Councilmember Maya Esparza refused to turn her office\u2019s social media accounts over to her successor, Councilmember Bien Doan.<\/p>\n The new policy<\/a>, enacted at the start of this year, mandates that all city business communications must originate from a city-backed account.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, separate rules prohibit posting links to campaign-related materials on city-backed websites or social media accounts. As of Monday, the website for the mayor\u2019s office<\/a>, which is not hosted on the San Jose government website, includes links to social media accounts, including Mahan\u2019s personal X and Instagram, that feature numerous campaign-related posts.<\/p>\n Davina Hurt, director of government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, said Mahan\u2019s decision to launch government-backed accounts is a positive step. However, she argued San Jose still must fully account for the public resources that may have gone into any social media accounts used in the campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cIf staff time was used to build or manage the account in an official capacity, the cleaner and more defensible standard would be to create an entirely separate campaign site,\u201d Hurt told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThat includes not carrying over followers that may have been accumulated through publicly funded work.\u201d<\/p>\n Contact Keith Menconi at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a> or @KeithMenconi on X.<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screen-Shot-2026-02-27-at-5.30.31-PM-1024x598.png\")
A post on Mayor Matt Mahan\u2019s Instagram account promoting a campaign kickoff event for his bid for governor.<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screen-Shot-2026-02-27-at-5.33.36-PM-1024x591.png\")
A recent post on Mayor Matt Mahan\u2019s Instagram channel.<\/p>\n![\"Keep](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769027829_854_interactive-184632509590.png\")
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