Editor’s note: This story was updated early Thursday afternoon since its original publication to include information from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.
(The Center Square) – San José Mayor Matt Mahan, a critic of Gov. Gavin Newsom, announced Thursday he’s running for governor of California.
Mahan, who’s known as a moderate, joins a crowded field for Democrats running in the June 2 primary. Newsom is termed out, but the Democratic governor is widely expected to run for president in 2028.
Mahan, 43, grew up in the California farming town of Watsonville and started his career as a technology entrepreneur. He was elected in 2020 to the San José City Council and was elected mayor two years later.
Mahan said he decided to run for governor after his wife, Silvia, told him, “I think our state needs you.”
“Because she believed I could help our kids. Help San José. And help California,” Mahan said in his announcement Thursday on X.
“We need to stand up for our rights, for our freedoms and for our neighbors. We need to use the tools we have at hand to protect our democracy,” Mahan said. “One tool is the law. The other tool is our results. We have to use both. That’s how we fix California.”
Mahan stressed San José’s success in solving homicides, becoming safer than other big cities and reducing homelessness by nearly one-third.
“And we’re taking on affordability with urgency and honesty – unlocking thousands of housing units in the past couple years,” Mahan said. The mayor previously has pointed to San José turning empty downtown office buildings into housing.
“We’ve broken the housing market in California. Here’s how San José is working to fix it,” Mahan said on Facebook.
Mahan has emphasized the need for a tougher stance on crime. He is a supporter of Proposition 36, which passed with 68.4% of the vote in November 2024 and adds increased sentences for certain theft and drug crimes. It also turned misdemeanors for personal use of illegal drugs in certain cases into “treatment-mandated felonies,” as described by the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Mahan has criticized the state government for failing to enforce Prop. 36, which Newsom opposed.
“Our leaders in Sacramento need to remember — more people voted for Prop 36 than any other ballot initiative last year,” Mahan wrote recently on Facebook.
“But one year into implementation, Prop 36 is not functioning as voters intended. Early data shows significant underuse and wide variation across counties — so even though, for example, places like San Diego are using it properly, their success is threatened because other counties aren’t,” he said.
“We need more dollars — and we need more political courage. We need our Governor Gavin Newsom, our DAs, our judges, and our health systems to prioritize this because lives depend on it,” Mahan said.
The Center Square reached out Thursday to the governor’s office concerning Mahan’s comments.
In response, the governor’s office noted that counties control their budgets and set priorities and that funding for local criminal justice systems comes primarily from each county. The office said local agencies, law enforcement and the county’s presiding judge can work together to determine how money is spent. The office also noted Newsom has funded more than $6 billion for mental health reforms and permanent supportive housing as well as $1.7 billion for public safety, including organized retail theft and prosecution grants.
Besides Mahan, Democrats running for governor are former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter of Orange County, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former state controller Betty Yee and billionaire entrepreneur Tom Steyer, who financed the campaign to pass congressional redistricting in California.
Republican candidates are political commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Under California law, the two candidates with the most votes in the primary, regardless of party affiliation, will face each other in the Nov. 3 general election.
