San Jose mayor spars with gubernatorial candidates during debate

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan faced his first major test as a contender for California governor Tuesday during a televised debate.

The debate, hosted in San Francisco by KTVU, had Mahan standing shoulder to shoulder with six other candidates — conservative TV news pundit Steve Hilton, billionaire Tom Steyer, former Attorney General Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and former State Controller Betty Yee. Several candidates traded barbs on topics including California’s cost of living, immigration, education, homelessness and contentious climate goals.

Mahan, who announced his candidacy last week, became a primary target for candidates’ jabs over his rising political profile, record on addressing homelessness and favor among Silicon Valley’s centrist and conservative tech elite. But the attacks teed him up for clever responses that roused audience applause on multiple occasions — boosting his share of the limelight on stage and turning the head of at least one post-debate TV news analyst.

“I have to say — sorry to keep picking on Matt — but he just said in an interview that the thing he most admires about Gavin Newsom is his record on homelessness. You’ve got to be kidding, Matt,” Hilton said during the forum.

By this point, Hilton had already blasted Mahan’s positions on housing and being against a statewide billionaire tax.

“He didn’t agree with me about capping taxes on housing. He likes taxes, apparently, unless they’re (for) billionaires,” Hilton said earlier.

Mahan readily hit back.

“I’ll just note that Steve, you came to San Jose just a week ago to see what’s working in San Jose because we’ve been reducing unsheltered homelessness faster than any other city in the state,” he said. “I don’t know what’s changed in the last week — it seems that it’s the fact that I jumped into this race — and frankly that’s exactly wrong with our politics, is that an idea is good one day until the other side (has them).”

In December, as Mahan mulled over a decision to jump in the race, he invited several candidates to tour San Jose’s temporary homeless housing sites in an effort to impress his ideas on the state’s next top leader. At the time, Mahan said he was looking for a change agent governor, before ultimately deciding he fit definition best.

A small group of Mahan supporters gathered for an informal watch party at Pier 402, a restaurant on Race Street in San Jose.

“All these other (candidates) are not change agents,” San Jose resident Terrence Reilly, who helped organize the largely impromptu gathering, told San José Spotlight. “They’re not doing what’s best for California. If (Mahan) could take over the state and frickin whip it, yeah, I think it would be good.”

Mahan touted his experience teaching public school in East San Jose to argue that California’s education problems don’t just stem from lack of investment. Mahan taught from 2006 to 2008 at Alum Rock Middle School through Teach for America.

“There’s also a lack of accountability,” Mahan said. “The truth is we need to have high expectations for our kids. We need to assess their learning and we need to intervene in ways that work: High dosage tutoring, summer programs, youth jobs to build confidence, ensuring every kid has a pathway to participating in our economy and thriving in our society.”

On affordability, Mahan said the “biggest drivers” of California’s crushing cost of living are the obstacles developers face to build housing. He touted recent San Jose City Council votes to boost developer incentives and waive fees for downtown office conversions. On energy bills, Mahan called for data centers to pay the full cost of infrastructure upgrades so it “doesn’t fall on ratepayers.”

Steyer questioned Mahan’s commitment to affordability.

“Right now, the big tech CEOs are terrified about the idea of paying their fair share. Right now, they’re supporting Matt,” Steyer said. “I’m the billionaire who’s going to take on the billionaires for working families.”

Then came Mahan’s final retort of the night.

“I’ve got about three billion reasons not to trust your answer,” Mahan said in an apparent reference to Steyer’s net worth.

Forbes listed Steyer at $2 billion as of Wednesday.

Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.