Photo courtesy of American Community Media (ACoM)
In a briefing with ethnic and community media, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan addressed immigration enforcement, housing, healthcare, artificial intelligence and public safety while presenting himself as a pragmatic Democrat in California’s governor’s race.
SAN JOSE, CA — San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan used a May 7 briefing with ethnic and community media to present himself as a results-focused Democrat shaped by California’s immigrant communities, technology economy and housing crisis as he campaigns for governor ahead of the June 2 primary.
Hosted by American Community Media and moderated by associate editor Pilar Marrero, the discussion placed Mahan before reporters serving many of the immigrant and multilingual communities expected to play a major role in the 2026 election.
Mahan, 43, entered the gubernatorial race in January and is competing in California’s crowded top-two primary to succeed term-limited Governor Gavin Newsom.
Polling reported from the California Democratic Party’s May VOTER Index survey showed Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton at 18 percent, Republican Chad Bianco at 15 percent, Democrat Tom Steyer at 12 percent, Democrat Katie Porter at 9 percent and Mahan at 7 percent, with 13 percent undecided.
Since taking office in 2023, Mahan has governed San Jose, California’s third-largest city and one of the nation’s most diverse metropolitan centers. He repeatedly framed his campaign around affordability, government performance and economic mobility.
“I know what it means for government to work,” Mahan said. “And I know what it means for working families when government’s not working effectively.”
Immigration and ICE
The most pointed exchange centered on immigration enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Asked whether he supported abolishing ICE, Mahan declined to endorse the phrase directly but said the agency requires major reform.
“The idea of abolishing ICE, I think what people really mean by that – it’s somewhat of a symbolic statement,” he said. “We will obviously have some level of enforcement of basic immigration rules and visas.”
Mahan tied the issue to his upbringing in Watsonville, a Central Coast agricultural town where he said many residents were undocumented farmworkers.
“Both parties were complicit and wanted low-cost labor and we had a very porous border,” he said.
He said he supports a pathway to legal status and citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the country while also supporting border security and legal immigration reform.
Mahan highlighted San Jose policies adopted during his administration that require visible identification by law enforcement personnel operating in the city and restrict certain city properties from being used for immigration enforcement staging operations.
Asked whether ICE agents who violate California law should be prosecuted, Mahan responded: “No one’s above the law.”
Healthcare and affordability
Healthcare and cost of living emerged as central themes throughout the briefing.
Mahan acknowledged that California may struggle to absorb the scale of projected federal Medi-Cal reductions tied to H.R. 1.
“The magnitude of the Trump cuts is so great that we won’t be able to fully do that,” he said.
He proposed expanding telehealth access, increasing the role of nurses and nurse practitioners, strengthening healthcare workforce incentives and improving services in underserved regions.
On affordability, Mahan repeatedly returned to housing shortages and development barriers.
“I’m tired of my friends moving away,” he said. “My sisters both moved out of state.”
He argued California’s permitting system, legal exposure and regulatory environment have made housing construction more expensive and slower.
“We don’t build condos in California anymore,” Mahan said. “The number one reason we don’t build condos is construction defect liability.”
Research from the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley has identified construction defect liability as a major factor contributing to declining condominium construction statewide.
Mahan also pointed to San Jose’s efforts to reduce development fees, accelerate permitting and expand temporary shelter programs and safe parking initiatives addressing homelessness.
Artificial intelligence and jobs
Artificial intelligence produced some of the briefing’s longest policy responses.
Mahan argued California must aggressively invest in workforce development, technical education and retraining as AI reshapes the economy.
“The best way to manage technological change is to invest in human capital,” he said.
He cited San Jose’s GovAI Coalition, which he said provides ethical AI frameworks for hundreds of local governments nationwide.
Mahan also said California should tax major technology companies while maintaining the state’s competitiveness.
“In San Jose, we tax them,” he said. “We make them pay the full cost of infrastructure and energy upgrades.”
He proposed directing portions of technology-related tax revenue into workforce development and reskilling programs and suggested California may eventually need to explore policies such as universal basic income if AI-driven unemployment becomes severe.
H-1B workers, reparations and Proposition 36
Mahan also addressed questions involving H-1B visa holders, reparations and public safety.
Responding to concerns involving foreign workers and immigrant professionals, he said California’s strength comes from welcoming and integrating people from around the world.
“They’re contributing,” he said of visa holders. “They’re paying into the tax base. They’re part of the fabric of the community.”
Asked about reparations for Black Californians affected by slavery and institutional racism, Mahan said he understood the philosophical basis for reparations but believes race-specific remedies face major legal and political obstacles.
Instead, he argued California should focus resources on communities experiencing the worst disparities in income, education, infrastructure and public safety outcomes.
Near the end of the briefing, Mahan addressed Proposition 36, the voter-approved criminal justice measure that increased penalties for certain theft and drug crimes while creating treatment-focused court processes for some drug possession offenses.
Mahan said he supports many criminal justice reforms adopted over the past decade but also believes treatment-centered intervention is necessary in addiction-related cases.
Silicon Valley criticism and candidate profile
Mahan also pushed back against criticism that he is overly aligned with Silicon Valley billionaires.
“That has been a very convenient attack for my opponents,” he said.
Political committees supporting Mahan have received backing from prominent technology figures including Google co-founder Sergey Brin and other major tech donors.
Mahan argued that San Jose differs from wealthier Silicon Valley communities and described himself as one of the few candidates with direct experience regulating technology.
Born in San Francisco and raised in Watsonville, Mahan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 2005 with a degree in government focused on social policy and economics. He later joined Causes, a social advocacy platform associated with Facebook, eventually becoming its chief executive.
Before entering politics, Mahan taught English and history through Teach For America at Alum Rock Middle School in San Jose.
He won a San Jose City Council seat in 2020 and was elected mayor in 2022
Because San Jose shifted mayoral elections to align with presidential election cycles, Mahan’s initial mayoral term lasted two years rather than the traditional four. In 2024, he effectively secured re-election during the March primary after winning more than 85 percent of the vote against limited opposition, eliminating the need for a November runoff.
Mahan framed his campaign as an alternative to ideological politics on both the left and right.
“I am not an ideologically rigid person,” he said in his closing remarks. “I believe the best resistance to authoritarianism is results.”
Whether that message can expand his support statewide before the June 2 primary remains one of the major unresolved questions in California’s governor’s race.
Editor’s note: Asian Journal’s California Governor’s Race 2026 series is intended to inform voters and community readers about major candidates, policy positions and campaign developments ahead of the June 2 primary election. Publication of candidate statements or profiles does not constitute an endorsement by Asian Journal.
