Matt Mahan
American politician and tech entrepreneur (born 1982)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Matthew William Mahan (/ˈmeɪhæn/ MAY-han) (born November 18, 1982)[1] is an American politician and tech entrepreneur who has served as the mayor of San Jose, California since 2023. Mahan previously served as a member of the San Jose City Council from 2021 to 2023. Mahan was the co-founder and CEO of Brigade Media, a tech company focused on civic engagement.[2][3]
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November 18, 1982
Matt Mahan | |
|---|---|
Mahan in 2026 | |
| 67th Mayor of San Jose | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Sam Liccardo |
| Member of the San Jose City Council from the 10th district | |
| In office January 5, 2021 – January 1, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Johnny Khamis |
| Succeeded by | Arjun Batra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Matthew William Mahan November 18, 1982 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Silvia-Wedad Scandar
(m. 2012) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) |
| Website | Campaign website |
Mahan is running in the 2026 California gubernatorial election.[4]
Early life and education
Mahan's birthplace is unclear. Mahan was raised in Watsonville, California.[5] His father was a letter carrier and his mother was a schoolteacher; he stated that his family lived "paycheck to paycheck" in a working-class community.[6] Raised Catholic, he attended Bellarmine College Preparatory on a low-income scholarship. While in high school, Mahan worked with former state senator Jim Beall and former Santa Clara counsel Ann Ravel.[5]
Mahan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 2005 with a degree in social studies.[7] He served as president of the Harvard Undergraduate Council.[8][9] He also received a Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Fellowship to Bolivia, where he spent the year after graduation working on economic development projects.[7]
Private sector career
Mahan spent a year building irrigation systems in Bolivia and then joined Teach for America where he was matched to Alum Rock Middle School[10] in San Jose and taught seventh and eighth grade English and history from 2006 to 2008.[7]
In 2008, Mahan joined a tech startup led by Sean Parker and Joe Green.[7] Together, they formed Causes, a for-profit civic technology Facebook application.[11] Mahan became CEO and president of Causes in 2013.[7]
In 2014, Mahan launched Brigade with investments from Parker, Ron Conway, Marc Benioff, and others.[11] Brigade was created as a social medium for civic engagement.[3][11] In 2019, Brigade was acquired by Pinterest and its technology was purchased by Countable.[11]
Political career
San Jose City Council
In early 2020, Mahan entered the San Jose City Council District 10 race[10] and was endorsed by Santa Clara county assessor Larry Stone, then-mayor Sam Liccardo, then-vice mayor Chappie Jones, and city council members Lan Diep and Pam Foley.[12] The Business San Jose Chamber Political Action Committee also endorsed him, saying they supported Mahan's plan to spend tax dollars appropriately and reduce tax burdens to encourage business growth in the city and wanted a transparent government.[12] He won the seat with 58% of the vote, succeeding term-limited incumbent Johnny Khamis and took office in January 2021.[13][14] He was elected for a four-year term. Arjun Batra was appointed to fill his vacated seat in 2023, after Mahan was elected mayor.[15]
Mayor of San Jose
Campaigns
In September 2021, Mahan became a candidate for mayor of San Jose. He proposed an accountability dashboard which would track progress on issues like crime and homelessness. He pledged to end automatic raises for politicians and city department heads unless progress is shown.[16][17] Mahan received the endorsement of three former mayors of the city, including Liccardo, who stated that he liked Mahan's commonsense and realistic solutions and disliked Cindy Chavez's campaign of fear politics.[18][19]
In November 2022, he was elected mayor of San Jose, defeating Santa Clara County supervisor Cindy Chavez.[20] That same year, San Jose passed Measure B, which would align mayoral elections with presidential elections. As a result, Mahan's term would be two years, rather than the standard four-year term.[21]
He was re-elected in 2024 with marginal opposition, defeating minor candidate Tyrone Wade with 86.6% of the vote.[22] He was elected for a four-year term.[23]
Tenure
Mahan opposed an August 2023 deal with San Jose's municipal unions that raised employee wages and increased paid parental leave, arguing that the increased cost would lead to a budget deficit and force the city to cut services.[24] The deal did not require his approval to go into effect.[25]
2026 California gubernatorial campaign
On January 29, 2026, Mahan announced his candidacy in the 2026 California gubernatorial election to succeed Democratic incumbent Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited.[26] Six days prior to his announcement, the San José Spotlight published an editorial calling for him not to run, criticizing him for never finishing a term in his elected roles and failing to deliver on promises of change during his tenure.[27] Politico and ABC noted that Mahan's campaign attracted financial support amongst Silicon Valley billionaires, including Google cofounder Sergey Brin, and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale.[28]. He got an endorsement from U.S. representative and his mayoral predecessor Sam Liccardo and praise from Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi, and Founders Fund CMO Mike Solana.[29]
Policy positions
Mahan's political support has included business-aligned groups, while labor organizations have criticized his policies.[30]
Police and public safety
In his first address as mayor,[31] Mahan focused on public safety and outlined efforts to reform San Jose’s booking process in coordination with the county district attorney. He advocated expanding the use of law enforcement technologies, including license plate readers and speed cameras.[32]
In 2023 and 2024, Mahan publicly supported stronger enforcement against drug trafficking while also promoting expanded treatment options.[33] In 2024, he endorsed California Proposition 36, which contrasted from other state Democratic leaders. Mahan has argued that prior reforms had contributed to increases in drug-related deaths, theft, and homelessness.[34]
In October 2024, Mahan and other city council members called for the resignation of councilmember Omar Torres following allegations of child sexual misconduct.[35] After weeks of investigation and pressure from the public, and other members of the local government, Torres stepped down and was subsequently arrested.[citation needed]
Elections and redistricting
In 2025, as California’s Proposition 50 (a measure authorizing temporary legislatively drawn congressional maps) headed to the ballot, Mahan criticized Governor Gavin Newsom’s combative approach to state/national politics and said he would reluctantly support the measure despite concerns about partisan redistricting.[36]
Affordable housing
In 2020, Voters approved Measure E to fund permanent affordable housing through a property transfer tax.[37] In 2022, Mahan decreased the funds made available to affordable housing to prioritize shelter construction, quick-build communities and temporary housing.[38] His administration proposed redirecting portions of Measure E funds toward temporary homeless housing in the 2024–25 budget, prompting debate over the balance between permanent affordable housing and short-term shelter.[39]
Personal life
Mahan married Silvia-Wedad Scandar in 2012.[40] The couple met at Harvard in their freshman year at school.[41] They have two children and live in San Jose's Almaden Valley neighborhood.[42]