Despite penning guest essays in publications outside San Jose, growing his national profile, and occasionally gracing the halls of the State Capitol, Mayor Matt Mahan insists he is laser-focused on solving the problems of the nation’s 12th-largest city and is not actively seeking higher office—at least, not now.
As he pushes his “Back to Basics” agenda—centered around pillars like ending unsheltered homelessness, building more housing, and improving public safety—Mahan has become frustrated with leadership in Sacramento. He points to what he sees as dysfunction and asserts that, even when voters have sent clear mandates about priorities, the state has not yielded satisfactory outcomes.
This week, Mahan announced he would spearhead the formation of a new coalition of elected officials, particularly mayors across California, hoping to better articulate the type of partnership they expect from Sacramento to deliver results locally.
“We have to define it very clearly and hold the governor, legislature, as well as the gubernatorial candidates aspiring to lead our state, accountable for committing to policy and budget actions that will enable us to do our jobs,” Mahan said in an interview with The Mercury News. “So much of what we do at the city level is bound up in state funding and legislative action and the existing state policies and budget decisions that they make.”
San Jose and its elected leaders already use multiple avenues to lobby for or oppose legislation or policy initiatives. These include the city’s intergovernmental relations team, government organizations like the California League of Cities, and preexisting relationships with statewide leaders—some of whom previously served on the San Jose City Council.
For example, the city sponsored a bill introduced by State Senator Dave Cortese this year, recently signed into law, that allows governments to return abandoned shopping carts directly to retailers and recover retrieval costs.
Mahan is also a member of the California Big City Mayors coalition, a bipartisan group of leaders from the state’s 13 largest cities. He personally advocated for the passing of Proposition 36, even bucking a large portion of his own party and Governor Gavin Newsom in the process.
In his more than two-and-a-half years as mayor, Mahan has honed in on specific focus areas that residents have identified as top priorities. He has learned that the state can either facilitate progress or act as the most significant impediment to achieving those outcomes.
Over the past year, Mahan has clashed with Newsom and state legislators on public safety and homelessness issues on numerous occasions. Along with the Big City Mayors coalition, he was highly critical after unsuccessfully lobbying to restore the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program.
Previously, the state allocated $1 billion per year to the HHAP program before zeroing it out, leaving open—but not guaranteeing—the possibility of $500 million in funding for 2026-2027. Mahan credited the program for success not only in San Jose but also in other large cities that have seen reductions in unsheltered homelessness. He also criticized the state for delays in disbursing previously allocated funds.
Governor Newsom’s October 1 veto of Assemblymember Matt Haney’s drug-free housing bill— which would have allowed local governments to use up to 10% of state homelessness housing funds to support sober living programs—also drew disapproval from Mahan, who advocates for more solutions to untreated addiction on the streets.
Before the veto, Haney argued that the state should support recovery, not stand in the way of it. “People who want recovery shouldn’t have to live next to active drug use,” Haney said. “Sober housing works because it builds a community of accountability, compassion and shared commitment to staying clean.”
A few months ago, the legislature gutted a bill Mahan helped craft with State Senator Catherine Blakespear. The bill would have required cities and counties to assume some state-designated responsibilities and share costs related to the unsheltered homelessness crisis. Mahan proposed that cities take the lead in building shelter, while counties focus on expanding treatment capacity and providing behavioral services.
He stressed that the shelter burden should be borne by all localities, not just large cities.
Even when San Jose and the state have worked together, squabbles have emerged. Following Thursday’s announcement that San Jose and Caltrans had entered into an agreement allowing the city to remove encampments from state-owned land, Newsom’s office framed the news as the state helping to lower unsheltered homelessness.
The governor’s office also noted that it has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to San Jose and Santa Clara County for homelessness solutions.
“I’m glad to see San Jose stepping up with the state to reduce unsheltered homelessness and address encampments in the city,” Newsom said in a statement. “As a former mayor myself, I get how tough local management can be but this is what partnership looks like—the city and state rolling up their sleeves to support this community together.”
Mahan, meanwhile, took to social media to call the announcement misleading. He noted that bureaucracy has slowed progress and the city was “literally taking over the maintenance of state land because they can’t do it.”
Newsom’s press office responded: “There’s no drama here, as much as the mayor seems to want to create one.”
Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Mahan’s new coalition or the group’s intent.
While the city has many tools to lobby the legislature, Mahan said the new coalition is not intended to replace existing efforts but to create a new vehicle for like-minded leaders to present a unified front.
He noted that the Big City Mayors coalition only endorses or advocates for items unanimously supported by all 13 representatives.
“If you want to change the status quo, you’ve got to go organize a coalition of people who see the possibility for a better future and who are willing to hold elected officials accountable for doing things differently,” Mahan said.
A new coalition could also influence the platforms of gubernatorial candidates, who would likely reach out to mayors of the largest cities. Mahan indicated he has already spoken to five candidates in the heavily crowded field.
“This is our moment of leverage as mayors and we need to use it,” Mahan said.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/10/31/san-jose-mayor-building-statewide-coalition-to-advocate-for-back-to-basics-agenda/