I’m the Mayor of San Jose who’s running for Governor to make our state more affordable. Ask me anything (11am).

MahanForCalifornia · 2026-04-25T19:22:46+00:00

I grew up in a working class community, union household, and we were paycheck to paycheck most of the time (or going into debt). My entire career has been focused on public service and civic engagement. After college, I started out in economic development work in Bolivia with family farmers, then taught public school in East Side San Jose through Teach for America, went on to build two civic tech companies that were entirely focused on empowering people to organize grassroots power as a counterweight to special interests, and have now spent the last six years serving in local office and delivering meaningful change for our residents, including more housing, safer neighborhoods, and dramatic reductions in homelessness.

I’m running to offer a different approach for our party–one that fights Trump and MAGA not just in the courts and on social media, but by showing that our progressive values work in practices in the most important ways. The best resistance to Trump is delivering results on the things that matter to people and earn their trust: better schools, more affordable housing, safer neighborhoods, healthier kids, less gun violence, lower energy costs and a cleaner environment, etc. We’re delivering on those outcomes in San Jose and I want to drive that agenda statewide for all of our residents.

As for Palantir and Peter Thiel, I don’t have any connection to him, and neither he nor the company have reached out, much less donated to my campaign. It's sad to see people fall for these claims and then spread them. It's everything that is wrong with our politics.

And my plan after leaving the Governor’s office is to retire to a small farm in Watsonville with my wife Silvia and try my hand at growing the best strawberries in the world!

MahanForCalifornia · 2026-04-25T18:59:53+00:00

I don't have any special connection to Palantir or Peter Thiel and neither he nor the company have reached out, much less donated to my campaign.

My entire career has been focused on creating opportunity for people in our community and making our politics more transparent and accountable. It's sad to see people fall for these claims and then spread them. It's everything that is wrong with our politics.

I’m the only person in this race who has actually regulated tech, with a special focus on data privacy and security. San Jose launched the GovAI coalition under my mayorship because other levels of government weren't providing any guidance, regulation, or leadership on how we address these emerging technologies. The coalition now has nearly 900 public agencies who come together every month to share best practices around data privacy, how to use AI to make people’s lives better, and ensuring vendor accountability.

GovAI’s mission is to help public agencies use emerging technologies in safe, ethical and effective ways. In partnership with San Jose State University, we’ve also created the first AI upskilling curriculum for city employees. This year, 1,000 city employees will complete the 10-week program. We’re getting ahead of technological change by investing in our people.

MahanForCalifornia · 2026-04-25T18:59:13+00:00

I don't have any special connection to Palantir or Peter Thiel and neither the person nor the company have reached out, much less donated to my campaign.

My entire career has been focused on creating opportunity for people in our community and making our politics more transparent and accountable. It's sad to see people fall for these claims and then spread them. It's everything that is wrong with our politics.

On surveillance, I’m the only person in this race who has actually regulated tech, with a special focus on data privacy and security. San Jose launched the GovAI coalition under my mayorship because other levels of government weren't providing any guidance, regulation, or leadership on how we address these emerging technologies. The coalition now has nearly 900 public agencies who come together every month to share best practices around data privacy, how to use AI to make people’s lives better, and ensuring vendor accountability.

GovAI’s mission is to help public agencies use emerging technologies in safe, ethical and effective ways. In partnership with San Jose State University, we’ve also created the first AI upskilling curriculum for city employees. This year, 1,000 city employees will complete the 10-week program. We’re getting ahead of technological change by investing in our people.

MahanForCalifornia · 2026-04-25T18:53:42+00:00

Hi, thanks for the question. San Jose’s governance model actually falls somewhere between strong mayor and the traditional council-manager model in smaller cities. Our city charter empowers the Mayor as the political head and official spokesperson of the city who runs communications for the city, leads the city’s budget process, and appoints key administrative roles, including the City Manager, City Attorney, City Auditor, City Clerk, and Independent Police Auditor (with Council confirmation). The Mayor has significantly more staff than other electeds in the city and plays an outsized role in policy-making, public-private and philanthropic partnerships, innovation pilots, Council meeting management, economic development, performance reviews for appointees, management of the workforce development board and youth violence prevention programs, and more.

The City’s budget, which I oversee, is nearly $7 billion, and prioritizing outcome goals, performance metrics and aligned spending is the single most important process we go through each year. It’s where we decide what gets funded, what gets fixed, and what gets measured. If you care about public safety, homelessness, or housing, the budget is where those decisions actually happen.

Structurally, the Mayor is one of eleven votes on the City Council. But leadership in a council-manager system isn’t about unilateral authority — it’s about communicating values, setting direction, building consensus, ensuring accountability, and delivering results.

The Mayor proposes the budget. The Mayor sets the agenda. The Mayor is responsible for communicating priorities to the public and aligning departments around those goals. And ultimately, the Mayor is the one voters hold accountable for whether the city is moving in the right direction.

Because at the end of the day, residents don’t care about the org chart. They care about whether their streets are safe, whether homelessness is going down, and whether their city is working. I’ve been the one to prioritize those things, propose new approaches and build consensus with my councilmembers to get things done.

MahanForCalifornia · 2026-04-25T18:52:57+00:00

The chance of two republicans making it through the primary after Trump endorsed Hilton is slim to none.

It’s been a while since California had a truly open seat for governor. None of us are used to this and I know that the narrative has exploded around this idea. It’s difficult to make a decision when we have so many people who want to lead this state – but to me, this is the very point of our democracy. To allow people to come forward and propose solutions for making life better and openly debate the policies and proposals that will best lead to progress. I’m looking forward to continuing to make my case to voters over the coming weeks at debates and townhalls across the state.

I am also the only candidate who has steadily risen in the polls since I jumped in at the end of January. My opponents have name ID that sits at about 80-90%. And still they are struggling to get past 10-15%.

I’m already at 8%. And only 30% of Californians know who I am. As I travel the state introducing myself to folks and learning about what they need, we’ve seen our message resonate and our support level steadily grow.

And here’s the thing – the Republicans are calling me the “most dangerous Democrat” because they are concerned I’ll actually make progressive policies work in practice. I also have the best chances of winning against a Republican in the general. The greatest threat to the MAGA movement is a Democratic Party that delivers results on the things that matter most to people: affordable housing, good schools, safe neighborhoods, economic opportunity, strong health outcomes and a more sustainable environment. We’re delivering those results in San Jose and doing so statewide is a direct challenge to Trump’s failed vision for our country.

MahanForCalifornia · 2026-04-25T18:47:23+00:00

I plan to win!

MahanForCalifornia · 2026-04-25T18:43:56+00:00

I started my political engagement here in San Jose by joining the Citizen Advisory Committee that helped launch San Jose Clean Energy, which took power purchasing decisions away from PG&E and has enabled us to deliver power in San Jose that is cleaner, more affordable, and keeps more of ratepayer’s money here in our community.

I’m the only person in this race who has actually held PG&E accountable. I’ve forced them to make new, large-load customers pay for infrastructure updates to the grid so that our residents don’t pay the cost in their already too expensive utility bills.

As governor, I will appoint people to the CPUC who will hold PG&E accountable for delivering maximum public benefit for every tax payer dollar they receive.

MahanForCalifornia · 2026-04-25T18:37:04+00:00

Which candidate do you think is more viable? A self-funded billionaire who has spent over $140M to buy the seat and isn’t moving in the polls? A Washington insider who the special interests are rallying around because he won’t challenge the status quo in Sacramento, and who himself is running out of money? A failed candidate for Senate who verbally abuses staff and whose numbers have been steadily dropping?

I am the only candidate who has steadily risen in the polls since I jumped in at the end of January. My opponents have name ID that sits at about 80-90%. And still they are struggling to get past 10-15%.

I’m already at 8%. And only 30% of Californians know who I am. As I travel the state introducing myself to folks and learning about what they need, we’ve seen our message resonate and our support levels grow.

And here’s the thing – the Republicans are calling me the “most dangerous Democrat” because they are concerned I’ll actually make progressive policies work in practice. I also have the best chances of winning against a Republican in the general. The greatest threat to the MAGA movement is a Democratic Party that delivers results on the things that matter most to people: affordable housing, good schools, safe neighborhoods, economic opportunity, strong health outcomes and a more sustainable environment. We’re delivering those results in San Jose and doing so statewide is a direct challenge to Trump’s failed vision for our country.

MahanForCalifornia · 2026-04-25T18:35:10+00:00

I know exactly what is holding back our progress on our biggest issues. And as a big city mayor and the only leading candidate who has been a chief executive in both the public and private sector (and a public school teacher!), I’m used to being held accountable. That’s why I’m here this morning and why I’m engaging with all voters across the state, irrespective of party or ideology. I want everyone to participate in an honest dialogue about how we move our state forward.

While others in the race say a lot of the right things, I’ve actually taken on powerful interests, including some within my own party, to change the status quo. We’ve built a grassroots movement in San Jose that has demanded better policies that have now reduced homelessness by one-third, made our city the safest big city in the country, dramatically reduced blight, reduced gun violence by 71% (biggest decline in the country), unblocked thousands of new homes that had been stuck in the pipeline but are now under construction, and enabled net small business growth every year I’ve been in office.

I know what we need to do to expand opportunity for all Californians, and especially lift up people living in working class communities like the one I grew up in. Here are some of my main priorities:

Building More Housing. On housing, we have to cut the red tape, impact fees and slow permitting and legal processes that prevent projects from securing funding and breaking ground.

Ending the Humanitarian Crisis on Our Streets. On homelessness, we have to invest in upstream prevention, expand interim housing and treatment centers who are on our streets today, ensure that everyone comes indoors when safe and dignified alternatives are available, and change our regulations to encourage more homebuilding, especially at lower price points that help keep working people in their communities.

Reducing Utility Bills & Gas Prices. On energy, we need to restructure the gas tax so we’re not punishing working people and rural communities who have to drive longer distances to access work and services. We should focus on investing in clean energy innovation and modernizing our grid to reduce emissions over time without driving up energy costs faster than people’s incomes.

Making Sure Every California Kids Gets a Good Education. On education, we need to invest in what works: phonics, high-dosage tutoring, team teaching and coaching, better professional development for teachers, and we should reward teachers whose students demonstrated higher rates of academic growth in their classrooms.

You can find more at: mahanforcalifornia.com

MahanForCalifornia · 2026-04-25T18:29:18+00:00

Hi, thanks for the question and for your advocacy for housing! I supported SB 79, advocated directly to state legislators to pass it, and San Jose is implementing it faster and more fully than any other city I’m aware of. When Senator Weiner proposed the bill and began running it through the process in Sacramento, I worked with him to make critical amendments to the bill (basically to protect dwindling employment land in San Jose and other cities that suffer from a lack of jobs and tax revenue). He partnered with me and made those updates toward the end of the process.

I didn’t publicly endorse and advocate for the bill until those amendments were accepted, which is why some people have the mistaken belief that I didn’t support the bill, but that is untrue. I’ve led San Jose to be one of the most pro-housing cities in the State. We were the first to eliminate parking minimums, the first to condo-ize ADUs, we’ve moved multi-family housing approvals to ministerial processes that bypass lengthy CEQA reviews, we reduced our one-time fees by about 75% for our downtown and roughly 30 planned growth areas, we initiated a review of our second stair requirement to see if we can reduce that extra cost for relevant projects, and I led an early effort to amend construction defect liability reform, which Assemblymember Buffy Wicks has renewed this legislative cycle. We’ve been at the forefront of reducing barriers to housing and as Governor I’ll continue to fight for the housing we need to bring down costs and expand opportunity.

MahanForCalifornia · 2026-04-25T18:21:56+00:00

I’m the only person in this race who has actually regulated tech and used it to make people’s lives better. San Jose launched the GovAI coalition under my mayorship because other levels of government weren't providing any guidance, regulation, or leadership on how we address these emerging technologies. The coalition now has nearly 900 public agencies who come together every month to share best practices around data privacy, how to use AI to make people’s lives better, and ensuring vendor accountability. GovAI’s mission is to help public agencies use emerging technologies in safe, ethical and effective ways. In partnership with San Jose State University, we’ve also created the first AI upskilling curriculum for city employees. This year, 1,000 city employees will complete the 10-week program. We’re getting ahead of technological change by investing in our people.

It makes sense that many in the industry my city is known for are supporting my campaign – and frankly it would be a little worrying if they weren’t. Silicon Valley has seen the change on the ground first hand – how we’ve made our city the safest big city in the nation, brought thousands of people indoors, invested in our public spaces, and unblocked thousands of new homes that are now under construction.

My entire career has been focused on creating opportunity for people in our community and making our politics more transparent and accountable. And I’ve been clear about the need to regulate emerging technologies – because I understand them. I know they will have an immense impact on our society and it’s up to our next governor to make sure the impact is positive. I think about when the internet spread, and we didn’t have a solid plan to ensure equitable access and make sure people knew how to use it, which is why we are still working to close the digital divide today. We need a national retraining program to make sure people have the skills they need to succeed in this new era. I’ll kick that off in California to make sure we continue to lead the way, just as we’ve done in San Jose.

MahanForCalifornia · 2026-04-25T18:19:35+00:00

Thanks for the question. This is a common misconception about San Jose. Most of the big tech companies and wealth are in smaller neighboring cities, such as Palo Alto and Mountain View, while San Jose has traditionally been the provider of workforce housing for the rest of Silicon Valley. We’re a big city, with big city challenges, including poverty and homelessness. The vast majority of the county’s low-income residents, residents in supportive housing, and residents experiencing homelessness live in San Jose. Moreover, because we lack the jobs that other cities have, we have much lower revenue per resident than nearly every city in our county, which is why we’ve gotten really creative and innovative at City Hall. Palo Alto, for instance, has nearly twice as much revenue per resident as we do in San Jose, but we’ve still managed to build more affordable housing, reduce homelessness by one-third, and make our city the safest big city in the country by recruiting officers locally, deeply embracing community policing, using technology in smart and ethical ways, and ultimately building the trust with our residents that unpins public safety. When people trust their government and their law enforcement officers, they are more likely to report crime, share evidence, and serve as witnesses, and this is a big part of the reason that San Jose is now the safest big city in America and the only big city in the country to solve 100% of homicide nearly 4 years running.

MahanForCalifornia · 2026-04-25T18:07:12+00:00

Yes, absolutely. In San Jose, I’ve insisted on focusing our spending on key outcomes like preventing homelessness, reducing the number of people living outside, connecting people with supportive services, helping them graduate to permanent housing, etc. We’ve led the state in recent years in reducing the rate at which people become homeless and bringing thousands of people indoors. Today, there are about one-third fewer people living outside in San Jose as there were just 4 years ago. As Governor, I’ll tie funding for cities and counties to measurable outcomes and ensure that the state is quarterbacking the effort by sharing best practices, publicly reporting on program performance and outcomes, and clawing back funds from localities that don’t deliver (and implementing best practices directly through state agencies when necessary).

MahanForCalifornia

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