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DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES () — The primary for the California Governor’s race is less than four months away and although San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is well known in Northern California, that’s not the case in Southern California.
Eyewitness News asked Mahan how he plans to address that.
“I’m spending a lot of time down here and I want to shine a spotlight on the things we can do better to hold Sacramento and our cities and counties accountable, for making California work for our middle-class families,” said Mahan. “What we saw today on Skid Row is a multi-decade public policy failure. We’re failing to build the shelter, the treatment capacity that our most vulnerable neighbors need. We’re also failing to enforce against drug dealing and create accountability for people to come indoors.
“We can either allow the person to continue to deteriorate and die on our streets of overdose, as we’ve seen tens of thousands of Californians tragically die form over the last decade,” Mahan continued. “Or say, we’re going to get you into a safe spot where you can detox.”
Eyewitness News followed up and asked Mahan what he says to local leaders in Los Angeles who describe his approach as criminalizing homelessness.
“I don’t buy that at all. It’s an excuse of inaction,” said Mahan.
The 43-year-old Democrat has seen success in his city on homelessness and crime with a one-third reduction in street homelessness. In the first two weeks of his campaign, millions of dollars have poured in from the tech community, which his rivals have criticized.
But, it’s not surprising as San Jose is the largest city in Silicon Valley. Mahan is running against a crowded field of Democrats including Eric Swalwell, Katie Porter, Antonio Villaraigosa, Betty Yee, Xavier Becerra, Tom Steyer, Tony Thurmond, and Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is adding his name to a crowded list of candidates for California governor, saying he’s running “to prove that California can work again – for everyone.”
“I think that the governor has to be again a fighter for our values as well as a fixer of our problems. In San Jose, I’ve shown I can do both. In the long run, fixing our problems is going to be the best resistance imaginable,” said Mahan.
Mahan says California no longer works for middle class families so although he welcomes the support from the tech community, he says he won’t be beholden to them.
If he’s elected, Mahan said, he won’t be afraid to take on President Donald Trump. San Jose has already sued the Trump administration multiple times.
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