San Jose mayor challenges Newsom’s vision for state

The mayor of Northern California’s largest city has sized up Gov. Gavin Newsom more and more in the past year — building his statewide profile as a centrist foil for other Democrats in the process. But when, if ever, will the state be ready for San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan to become governor?

Articulate, young and always camera-ready, Mahan is already building name recognition up and down the state. He publicly ruffled Newsom’s feathers on crime and homelessness in August. Now he appears to be casting doubt on the governor’s attempt to strategize Californian political resistance to another Donald Trump presidency.

In view of TV news cameras last week, Mahan publicly dismissed the political theater of a Trump-focused legislative session that Newsom convened in Sacramento. He instead urged California Democrats to go “back to basics” of what matters to people in the state, such as housing affordability, cost of living, and quality public schools.

But Mahan wasn’t speaking to a Bay Area TV anchor. He was in Southern California, sitting down with FOX LA.

“Listen to ordinary people about the issues that affect their daily lives. Be honest that the policies and programs we have in place are not always delivering the outcomes we need,” Mahan said.

The differences between both Democrats — whose offices declined to comment for this story — didn’t start there.

Political cloud formations

Earlier this year, Mahan campaigned and fundraised for Proposition 36, a voter-approved statewide ballot measure that heightens criminal charges for retail theft and drug crimes. Mahan argues the measure will enhance local courts’ ability to bring people into treatment, reduce crime and erase sidewalk tents. But the measure undermined Newsom’s own legislative efforts tackling the relationship between mental health, drugs, criminal justice and homelessness.

It prompted Newsom — who has criticized Proposition 36 as a draconian return to the war on drugs — to summon a news conference at a Home Depot in San Jose, where he signed a handful of anti-crime bills. Mahan wasn’t in attendance despite supporting those bills.

Some believe the clouds are forming around a bid for higher office — and Mahan knows it. When asked about eyeing the governorship on Dec. 6, his response was immediate.

“I don’t want to run for governor. I want to run San Jose. I love this job. I have the opportunity if the voters decide to do this for eight more years,” Mahan told FOX LA. “I want to make San Jose work and make it a model for the rest of the state, but I am talking about statewide issues and Sacramento a lot because the truth is, we can’t solve it alone in one city. So many of our policies — the funding we have — is all tied together.”

There may be early signs of a statewide electorate receptive to the 42-year-old tech entrepreneur. In recent years, the tech elite has ascended to new political heights. Several tech CEOs, including Sam Altman of Open AI and Elon Musk of X (formerly Twitter), Tesla and SpaceX, have won coveted advisor roles for newly-elected and powerful American leaders this year. But Mahan — who launched several civics-focused tech startups with the likes of Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff — embodies the nexus of tech and politics.

Meanwhile, this year’s election results have shown rightward shifts at the national and regional level, raising questions as to whether the Golden State’s top job is growing more fertile for moderate liberals and center-right candidates.

“It’s certainly a time when a person might see that as a path potentially more viable than five or 10 years ago, if you consider yourself a centrist democrat,” Santa Clara County Democratic Party Chair Bill James told San José Spotlight. “But these things do tend to ebb and flow. The electorate can turn on a dime depending on their instinct about what’s best for them and what’s going on in the world.”

Viable or not?

James said history has shown that statewide office contenders need a “good enough” relationship with the Democratic Party. The ongoing debate about what’s driving the state’s homelessness crisis — mental health and drugs or lack of housing — can be a deciding factor in that relationship. But James said misalignment with the party isn’t a total disqualifier, especially in a top-two primary system where Mahan could take second place with voters holding more conservative views on homelessness and crime.

“But I can’t think of someone successfully doing that on the statewide level. In the end, the more progressive endorsed candidate at that level has won,” James said. “As to the public differences between the mayor and Gov. Newsom — I feel the mayor’s been wrong on every single one of them. I think the governor’s programs and legislation have aligned more with what the Democratic Party positions are and that’s why the Democratic Party has supported him.”

State Sen. Dave Cortese, a former San Jose councilmember and Santa Clara County supervisor, said gubernatorial prospects make sense for a big city mayor in places like San Francisco. But not so much in San Jose.

“I think in San Jose, what’s been proven now for 25 years is it’s easier to get elected mayor as a moderate because the concentration of moderate voters in some San Jose districts overshadow less affluent districts,” Cortese told San José Spotlight. “I’m not sure that exact profile runs as well statewide.”

But Cortese agrees with Mahan about the Democratic Party losing touch with voters.

“If I wanted to be most aligned popularly with the voters, I would have endorsed Proposition 36,” Cortese, who opposed the measure alongside the California Democratic Party, said. “To his credit, the mayor called me and talked to me about his position on Proposition 36 before he unveiled his support. He told me somewhat apologetically that he hoped we can agree to disagree with that issue. I agreed that we could without harming our ability to work together on other issues. I think he came away intact.”

Time running out?

Cortese said Mahan is right about the Democratic Party needing to change its platform to focus on issues that matter to Californians, as opposed to a Trump-versus-Newsom philosophy.

“I said it myself. Obviously we need to protect democracy, but we also need to modify our platform as the Democratic Party. This is the time for introspection,” he said.

Larry Gerston, San Jose State University political science professor emeritus, said it would be a big jump for Mahan to go from San Jose mayor to governor.

“He may want to run for a lower office, perhaps lieutenant governor. Those are good stepping stones,” Gerston told San José Spotlight. “Now it would be a good time for him to do it because it’s what we call a free ride. He’s not going to lose his post as mayor, which doesn’t expire until 2028, so he runs at no peril.”
Mahan could be the first mayor in San Jose to hold office for 10 years, after voters passed a measure to move the mayoral election to coincide with presidential elections in 2022. Mahan won his first mayoral race, serving for two years, against former Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, before running again in 2024 for a full four-year term.

Cortese wonders if time is of the essence.

“I always viewed the San Jose mayor’s job as a job that could lead to higher office if one did it well, and if the opportunity presented itself sooner rather than later,” Cortese said. “My belief is that once a mayor gets into the latter half of their second term, the shine starts to wear off — especially with the kinds of urban issues we see today.”

This much nearly everyone can agree on: Being mayor of San Jose demands a statewide podium to advocate for the city’s local interests. And in no way does becoming San Jose mayor preclude one from greater political heights.

“I think Matt’s doing a great job as mayor of San Jose,” former Mayor Sam Liccardo, who’s headed to Congress, told San José Spotlight. “I’ll leave it to the pundits to assess his statewide viability. They don’t pay me to play political prognosticator.”

Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X, formerly known as Twitter.