Matt Mahan

Matt Mahan graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in 2001. He earned a bachelor's degree in social studies from Harvard University in 2005.[2]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was raised by working-class parents—a letter-carrier and a school teacher—who instilled

in me the values of hard work and accountability. I attended Bellarmine College Prep on a

work-study scholarship and then graduated from Harvard, where I served as student

body president. After teaching in San José schools through Teach For America and building

tech companies focused on civic engagement, I was elected to the San José City Council in

2020 and then elected as mayor in 2022.

As mayor, I have focused City Hall on core quality-of-life priorities and getting local

government back to basics. We have made measurable progress on improving public

safety, reducing street homelessness, cleaning up our neighborhoods, and accelerating

housing production.

Under this approach, San José has seen a decline in unsheltered homelessness, scaled up

interim and shelter housing at a fraction of traditional costs, and earned recognition as the

safest big city in the nation.

I am running to bring this back-to-basics leadership to California. I live in San José with my

wife and our two young children — and I am fighting every day for all of our families.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Affordability

With accountability and true boldness, we can make California affordable again, starting

with building the housing we can afford by cutting fees and regulations, using surplus

government land, and dramatically lowering the cost of construction.

The number one way we can make California an easier place to live is to dramatically

reduce the cost of homes and rents — which is within our reach if we work smarter and

hold ourselves accountable to results.

We can address our needs for improved health, housing and public education without

asking our people to pay more in taxes. Instead, let’s require government to spend the

money they have now better before they ask us to pay more.Ending Street Homelessness

A great state brings everyone indoors. We can do that by building safe and decent shelter and then requiring that our homeless neighbors use it when available.

Homelessness should not be a choice we accept. It should be a tragedy we end. And we can do more than save billions of tax dollars by ending street homelessness — we will save lives.

A compassionate California should help people who are a danger to themselves and

others by requiring treatment for the drug, alcohol, and mental health conditions that lead

to repeated arrests and trap people on the streets.

It simply isn’t humane to let so many people live and die on our streets or hurt themselves and others.Fixing Our Public Schools

Let’s remember that a better future that lifts more

Californians into the middle class starts with lifting up our public schools. As a former school teacher, I understand the problem isn’t our kids – it is adults who won’t hold our kids, our schools, and our state to the highest academic standards.

Let’s bring back the SAT, bring back the science of reading, and bring back the best public

schools, colleges and universities in the nation.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am personally extremely passionate about bringing accountability to government and

eliminating waste. California is one of the highest taxed states in the nation and

independent analysts have clearly identified billions in fraud and waste. Let’s make

government accountable to results, root out the fraud, and require state, county, and local

governments to do better by working together before we ask hard-pressed taxpayers to

pay even more in taxes.

I believe – and I have seen in my home city of San José – that we can bring all Californians

of good will together to address massive challenges like the cost of housing, energy, our

budget deficit, homelessness and other pressing concerns.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Our campaign just launched and endorsements are still being organized, but I'm very proud to

have immediately won the support of Congressman Sam Liccardo, Senator Catherine Blakespear, Assemblymember Maggy Krell, Supervisor Matt

Dorsey, Councilmembers Michael Mulcahy and George Casey, former Supervisor Dave Pine and scores of others.

Campaign websiteMahan's campaign website stated the following:A Better Future for California Starts with Getting Our Government Back to Basics Join Mayor Matt Mahan’s campaign to make California work for all of us by holding our leaders accountable, putting toxic politics aside, and making sure government at every level is working smarter to solve our problems and uphold our values. Mahan is running to unite Californians around the basic common-sense ideas that build a better future for every family.California is a great place to live but it is getting tougher all the time.With accountability and true boldness, we can make California affordable again, starting with building the housing we can afford by cutting fees and regulations, using surplus government land, and dramatically lowering the cost of construction. The number one way we can make California an easier place to live is to dramatically reduce the cost of homes and rents — which is within our reach if we work smarter and hold ourselves accountable to results.A great state brings everyone indoors. We can do that, as Mahan has worked to do as Mayor, by building safe and decent shelter and then requiring that our homeless neighbors use it when available.Homelessness should not be a choice we accept. It should be a tragedy we end. And we can do more than save billions of tax dollars by ending street homelessness — we will save lives.A compassionate California should help people who are a danger to themselves and others by requiring treatment for the drug, alcohol, and mental health conditions that lead to repeated arrests and trap people on the streets. It simply isn’t humane to let so many people live and die on our streets or hurt themselves and others. The era of mass treatment needs to start now. And with mass treatment we will make our state safer, cleaner, and kinder.We can address our needs for improved health, housing and public education without asking our people to pay more in taxes. Instead, let’s require government to spend the money they have now better before they ask us to pay more.California is one of the highest taxed states in the nation and independent analysts have clearly identified billions in fraud and waste. Let’s make government accountable to results, root out the fraud, and require state, county, and local governments to do better by working together before we ask hard-pressed taxpayers to pay even more in taxes.Let’s remember that a better future that lifts more Californians into the middle class starts with lifting up our public schools. Matt Mahan is a former school teacher who understands the problem isn’t our kids – it is adults who won’t hold our kids, our schools, and our state to the highest academic standards.Let’s bring back the SAT, bring back the science of reading, and bring back the best public schools, colleges and universities in the nation.Fighting for California values means fixing what’s broken. That means delivering outcomes that actually improve people’s lives: more housing people can afford, fewer neighbors living on our streets, and a government that does better with what it has, before asking hard-pressed taxpayers to pay even more.Matt Mahan believes the strongest resistance is results – not just more rhetoric.California needs a fighter, and the best fighter is someone who knows how to fix what’s broken. When we focus on solutions instead of slogans, we don’t just fight back, we move forward.Matt Mahan is the Democratic Mayor of San Jose who has dramatically lowered the level of street homelessness, made his city the safest big city in America, and successfully focused on attracting middle-class jobs.He believes we can bring all Californians of good will together to address massive challenges like the cost of housing, energy, our budget deficit, homelessness and other pressing concerns. His overriding value is to put pragmatic and successful policies first so we can build a better California together.— Matt Mahan's campaign website (April 8, 2026)Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

Matt Mahan did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Matt Mahan did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Matt Mahan did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.