With the unexpected entrance of San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, the large pool of candidates to step into Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shoes is almost gone — and could be shrinking again.
The continuation of this period has been one of the strangest gubernatorial election processes in modern history where potential candidates have backslidden and dropped out. Until Mahan’s announcement on Thursday, there were eight other Democrats — not counting unnamed empty runners — and two Republicans in the running.
With the list now likely fixed and no note candidates left, things will start to sort themselves out. Voting will be more transparent, political financiers will be responsible and those who are stuck in elections and money will find other ways to be present. They won’t be out before the first top-2 of June, but they will find themselves ignored by sponsors and media.
That would still leave half a dozen Democrats with at least an outside chance of entering the November race by finishing first or second in June.
Back to Mahan.
One of the most interesting things about the mayor of San Jose is that he was a fierce critic of Newsom. So far, billionaire Tom Steyer has been the Democratic Alliance’s only hope for serious criticism of the state’s shortcomings, but he has never linked Newsom to the state’s most obvious problems, such as the housing shortage and high utility bills.
Mahan has been very specific.
Last August, in his commentary for the San Francisco Standard, Mahan praised Newsom for spending more time positioning himself as an enemy of President Donald Trump, rather than dealing with issues in California.
“Gov. Newsom’s supporters say he is ‘breaking the internet’ and ‘owns’ Trump,” Mahan wrote. “But the governor, and every elected official and leader, also needs to come to terms with reality. And the reality is that California has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, at 5.5%, and nearly half of the homeless population in the country. We have the highest energy and housing costs in the continental United States, and, largely because of these high costs, the highest effective poverty rate in the nation.”
In announcing his candidacy, Mahan maintained his separation from the political scene.
“I am jumping in this race because we need a governor who fights for our principles and solves our problems,” he said. “We can fix some of the biggest problems facing California, and I believe that’s because we’re really making progress on homelessness, public safety (and) housing in San Jose.”
Given the state’s chronic budget deficit, one of the many problems for Mahan and other Democratic candidates will be . The latter is included in a pending ballot measure that would impose a 5% tax on California’s nearly $200 million in wealth, mostly on health care programs now facing cuts.
The wealth tax is the holy grail of the left wing of the Democratic Party and is an issue on which Newsom and Mahan agree. Both say it will drive wealthy Californians out of the state, reduce their investment in job-creating businesses and rob the state budget of their annual taxes.
California is a deeply blue state but its Democratic politicians, including those running for governor, are not the same. Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are probably the most entrenched members of the industry, and could face opposition from union leaders.
The outcome of the campaign will be a litmus test of what left-of-center California really is.
Dan Walters is a writer for CalMatters.
