Meet Michael
Michael’s journey – from growing up in poverty to transforming Stockton as the city’s youngest mayor – has been driven by a devotion to service. Michael is running for Lieutenant Governor to continue that service and build a better California for generations to come.
A Personal Journey Rooted in Resilience and Faith
Michael Tubbs’ journey began in South Stockton. Michael’s mother gave birth to him when she was 16 years old, and Michael’s father has been incarcerated his entire life. Michael was raised by three forceful women – his mother, aunt, and grandmother. Despite the odds, Michael’s family and faith community instilled in him the values of resilience and service. That foundation paved a path from poverty in South Stockton to the classrooms of Stanford.
Inspired by Tupac’s poem The Rose That Grew From Concrete, Michael recognizes that his journey – one person beating the structural odds – isn’t a marker of success, and that all people deserve an opportunity to live out their dreams.
Transforming Stockton and Leading with Vision
As Michael approached graduation at Stanford, his heart pulled him back to Stockton and into a career of service. He returned home to teach at a public school and educate young people who came from circumstances like his. Michael was elected to the Stockton city council at age 21 and mayor at age 26, becoming the youngest mayor of any major city in American history.
As mayor, Michael was lauded for his leadership and innovation. He created belief and momentum in a city that had declared bankruptcy, was an epicenter of the foreclosure crisis, and had one of the highest murder rates in the country.
By championing new jobs and making a green economy, Michael was able to move Stockton forward economically. Under his stewardship, Stockton was named the second-most fiscally healthy city in California and one of the most fiscally healthy cities in the nation. Because of initiatives, investments, and work spearheaded by Michael, Stockton’s unemployment rate was near a record low at around 5.7% in 2019 – down from around 15% in 2012.
Michael’s accomplishments in office also include:
- Raising more than $20 million to create the Stockton Scholars, a scholarship and mentorship program for Stockton students
- Creating a guaranteed basic income project that demonstrated the power of economic agency and has now been adopted by 150+ mayors across the United States
- Spearheading a Stockton Green New Deal to mobilize a diverse coalition to address environmental injustices
- Working with the police chief to reduce homicides by as much as 40% and led the state in the decline of officer-involved shootings
- Supporting businesses throughout the city and working with new groups like Main Street Launch, a non-profit supporting the growth of small businesses new to the city
Michael has continued this work since leaving the Stockton mayor’s office in his roles as Special Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom for Economic Mobility and founder of End Poverty in California (EPIC) and Mayors for a Guaranteed Income.
A Bold Vision for California’s Future
Now raising three children with his partner, Anna, Michael sees California’s future through their eyes.
Michael is running to be California’s next lieutenant governor to build a California future that sets the example for how government can work for everyone; that leads the nation in not just talking about problems, but solving them.
It’s a future where:
- Education – whether vocational programs or college – is accessible to all without crippling debt
- One job is enough to pay for the basic necessities of life
- Water is safe to drink and air is safe to breath whether you live along the coast or in the Central Valley
- We build enough housing so people can afford to live here
- We end poverty and keep people from becoming homeless through a guaranteed basic income
Michael is asking Californians to join him in building the future; to choose action over apathy; and together, write California’s next chapter.
