How Matt Mahan Thinks He Can Save California
In a Nutshell
Matt Mahan, San Jose mayor running for California governor, blames the state's crises—skyrocketing spending ($150B more in 6 years) with flat/worsening outcomes, #1 poverty/unemployment/homelessness, unaffordable housing/energy, failing schools, and pension black holes—on misaligned incentives, bureaucracy (e.g., $14B high-speed rail black hole, CEQA lawsuits), union influence, and performative politics lacking accountability. His fixes: veto wasteful bills, enforce zero-based budgeting with public dashboards tracking outcomes (e.g., cut unsheltered homelessness 33% in San Jose without tax hikes), slash regulations/fees to boost housing supply >100K units/year, mandate involuntary treatment for addicts/mentally ill harming communities, reform pensions via defined contributions, innovate energy without killing refineries, and pursue pragmatic immigration (secure borders + legal status sans voting rights). Democrats must prioritize results over revenue hikes or risk MAGA backlash; Mahan offers data-driven governance from his tech/civic background.
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Matt Mahan grew up in Watsonville, California, a farming town where strawberries come from, in a working-class family. Mom was a teacher, dad was a letter carrier. Got into a great college prep high school on a work study scholarship, took buses two hours each way. Worked through high school and college, returned as a public school teacher through Teach for America. Entered tech sector, spent a decade building civic tech tools. Involved with early Facebook app Causes, then started Brigade, like LinkedIn for voters, to connect voters around issues, organize grassroots power, hold elected officials accountable. Company acquired, then ran for San Jose city council, knocked on 10,000 doors.
Residents asked: "If I'm paying $20,000 a year in property taxes, why haven't my local roads been paved in the last 15 years?" State spending increased 75%, $150 billion more this year than six years ago, but outcomes flat or down, not 75% better. Not a money problem in Sacramento, but incentives and structure problem: shoveling money into things that aren't working. High-speed rail: 20 years, $14 billion spent, no product. In startups, people would be fired. Lacks accountability.
Contractors, lawyers, some into building belatedly. Endless process: years of environmental review, litigious environment. Anyone can sue under CEQA, even non-residents. Years of litigation, bureaucracy. Housing: one-time city fees add 20% to project cost. Bureaucratized to paralysis: spend more, get nothing. Taxpayer pays 53% tax rate (federal + temporary California tax for 11 years), 53 cents of every dollar. $14 billion on high-speed rail: no rail. Consultants for environmental reviews, studies, reports, litigation costs, design, right-of-way, community engagement. Vacuumed up into sea of little groups, no grandmaster thief. Fraud: $30 billion in pandemic unemployment claims. Emerging: hundreds/thousands of hospice providers that may not exist. Bigger: waste, inefficiency, growing headcount, programs, nonprofit grants, funding process not outcomes.
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