San José Mayor Matt Mahan Gets To Work

Addressing homelessness and lack of affordable housing critical for newly-appointed mayor

San José swore Matt Mahan in as mayor on Dec. 29 after he beat opponent Cindy Chavez, a Santa Clara County Supervisor, in a tightly contested election in November. 

While Mahan is relatively new to politics, his background in business and socio-political advocacy are fundamental to his plans for his tenure. In 2008, he joined a tech startup and was integral in creating Causes, a technology platform designed to promote civic engagement by allowing users to organize grassroot campaigns. In 2014, Mahan went on to launch Brigade, a voting advocacy platform. For the past two years, he served as a member of the San José City Council from the 10th district.

During his mayoral campaign, he argued that the government should focus on improving the well-being and safety of its citizens and generate tangible results. 

“I don’t believe that politicians should get automatic raises until San José does a better job addressing homelessness, rebuilding our police department and cleaning up our city,” Mahan said in a campaign video from May 2022.   

A sense of urgency is prominent in Mahan’s approach to resolving these pressing issues, along with addressing the affordable housing crisis. The mayor notes that San José lacks sufficient housing supply for people of all incomes. The city council recently extended a policy to give tax breaks to developers building high-rises in an attempt to produce more housing in the downtown area. This housing, however, would not necessarily be reserved for low income earners. 

While some argue that this move neglects the need for affordable housing, Mahan believes that keeping costs down on development is more valuable. Though he concedes that high-priced condos are not widely accessible, he insists that housing must be available to those contributing to the local economy. The need for lower-income housing still remains, and the city plans to produce 24,000 homes for low income earners based on a plan to construct 62,200 housing units from 2023-2031. 
Despite the state’s elimination of 400 redevelopment agencies in 2011, which were designed to help pay for affordable housing projects, Mahan wants to see California commit to funding lower income homes. With a rising homelessness problem throughout the state, efforts by the newly-elected mayor attempt to address the city’s own housing and homelessness crisis.