Michael Tubbs

Michael Tubbs is the governor’s special advisor for economic mobility, the founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, and the founder of End Poverty in California. In 2016, he was elected mayor of Stockton; he was the city’s first African American mayor and the youngest-ever mayor of a major US city. He piloted the first mayor-led guaranteed-income pilot in the country and also raised over $20 million dollars to create the Stockton Scholars, a universal scholarship and mentorship program for Stockton students. Under his leadership, Stockton saw a 40 percent drop in homicides, led California in the decline of officer-involved shootings, and was named the second most fiscally healthy city in California, as well as one of the most fiscally healthy cities in the nation. He is a fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics and the MIT Media Lab, a member of Fortune’s Top 40 under 40 and Forbes 30 under 30 All Star Alumni, and was named “Most Valuable Mayor” by The Nation. He won a 2019 New Frontier Award from the JFK Library and the 2021 Civic Leadership Award winner from the King Center. Prior to his tenure as mayor, he served as a councilmember for the City of Stockton District 6, a high school educator, and a fellow for the Stanford Design School and the Emerson Collective. He earned a BA in comparative studies in race and ethnicity and an MA in policy, leadership, and organization studies from Stanford University.