San Jose City Councilmember Matt Mahan has announced his campaign to run for mayor of San Jose, with a promise to bring a “revolution of common sense.”
At a news conference Saturday at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, Mahan said he wants to utilize unused government land to end homelessness in San Jose. Budgeting existing funds and public land could lessen the costs of affordable housing costs, which can rack up costs up to $850,000 per door, he said.
“We have the land, we have the existing funds and we have a growing supply of affordable modular units that could be used to safely house the entire population of San Jose’s homeless residents living on the streets,” Mahan said at the conference.
Mahan said his time working in City Hall showed him the dysfunction of local government, and he hopes to bring a “wake-up call to City Hall” with his previous experience from founding technology platforms for voters.
“All too often, government works for government — with little accountability, built-in inefficiencies and almost no incentive to do better. My campaign is about requiring accountability, efficiency and innovation. It is about demanding a revolution of common sense because we all deserve better,” Mahan said.
Mahan is the third candidate to declare a run for the mayoral post when incumbent Mayor Sam Liccardo is termed out of office next year. City Council members Dev Davis and Raul Peralez announced their candidacies previously.
Voters can visit Mahan’s campaign website to read more about his key principles and policy focuses.