Michael Tubbs

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Michael Tubbs
Nonpartisan
Prior offices
Mayor of Stockton
Years in office: 2017 - 2020
Successor: Kevin Lincoln II (Nonpartisan)

Stockton City Council District 6
Years in office: 2013 - 2017

Elections and appointments
Last election
June 2, 2026
Education
High school
Franklin High School
Bachelor's
Stanford University
Graduate
Stanford University
Contact

Michael Tubbs was the Mayor of Stockton in California. He assumed office in 2017. He left office on December 31, 2020.

Tubbs (Democratic Party) ran for election for Lieutenant Governor of California. He lost in the primary on June 2, 2026.

Tubbs completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Michael Tubbs earned a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a graduate degree from Stanford University. He has been affiliated with Mayors for Guaranteed Income and End Poverty in California.[1]

Elections

2026

See also: California lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026

California lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (June 2 top-two primary)

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Lieutenant Governor of California

Fiona Ma and Gloria J. Romero are running in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of California on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma (D) Candidate Connection
Image of Gloria J. Romero
Gloria J. Romero (R) Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Lieutenant Governor of California

The following candidates ran in the primary for Lieutenant Governor of California on June 2, 2026.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma (D) Candidate Connection
 
19.1
 
1,631,935
Image of Gloria J. Romero
Gloria J. Romero (R) Candidate Connection
 
17.8
 
1,521,181
Image of Josh Fryday
Josh Fryday (D) Candidate Connection
 
14.7
 
1,256,824
Image of Michael Tubbs
Michael Tubbs (D) Candidate Connection
 
13.3
 
1,132,160
Image of Oliver Ma
Oliver Ma (D) Candidate Connection
 
7.3
 
621,147
Image of David Collenberg
David Collenberg (R) Candidate Connection
 
7.0
 
594,336
Image of David Fennell
David Fennell (R)
 
6.1
 
521,455
Image of Skip Shelton
Skip Shelton (R)
 
4.0
 
345,324
Image of Janelle Kellman
Janelle Kellman (D) Candidate Connection
 
3.6
 
311,237
Image of Ebie Lynch
Ebie Lynch (R) Candidate Connection
 
1.8
 
156,714
Image of Tim Myers
Tim Myers (D)
 
1.6
 
132,564
Image of Alice Stek
Alice Stek (Peace and Freedom Party) Candidate Connection
 
1.5
 
125,100
Image of Jeyson Lopez
Jeyson Lopez (D) Candidate Connection
 
1.1
 
94,058
Image of Abdur Sikder
Abdur Sikder (D) Candidate Connection
 
0.6
 
51,620
Image of Sean Collinson
Sean Collinson (No party preference) Candidate Connection
 
0.3
 
24,927
Rakesh Christian (No party preference)
 
0.2
 
12,870
Image of James Cameron
James Cameron (R) (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
0.0
 
45
Image of Mushtaq Tahirkheli
Mushtaq Tahirkheli (D) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
7

Total votes: 8,533,504
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Tubbs received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Tubbs's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

2020

See also: Mayoral election in Stockton, California (2020)

General election

General election for Mayor of Stockton

Kevin Lincoln II defeated incumbent Michael Tubbs in the general election for Mayor of Stockton on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kevin Lincoln II
Kevin Lincoln II (Nonpartisan)
 
56.4
 
57,276
Image of Michael Tubbs
Michael Tubbs (Nonpartisan)
 
43.6
 
44,206

Total votes: 101,482
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Stockton

The following candidates ran in the primary for Mayor of Stockton on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Michael Tubbs
Michael Tubbs (Nonpartisan)
 
41.5
 
21,016
Image of Kevin Lincoln II
Kevin Lincoln II (Nonpartisan)
 
21.6
 
10,927
William Smith (Nonpartisan)
 
11.2
 
5,679
Motecuzoma Sánchez (Nonpartisan)
 
10.9
 
5,523
Image of Shoua Lo
Shoua Lo (Nonpartisan)
 
5.5
 
2,773
Ralph White (Nonpartisan)
 
4.3
 
2,179
Shelly Hollis (Nonpartisan)
 
3.4
 
1,698
Andrew Johnson (Nonpartisan)
 
1.3
 
674
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
136

Total votes: 50,605
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2016

Obama endorsement
Obama template image.jpg
During the 2016 election cycle Tubbs was one of the candidates endorsed by President Barack Obama

Full list of Obama's 2016 endorsements
Michael Tubbs defeated incumbent Anthony Silva in the Stockton mayoral general election.[2]
Mayor of Stockton, Nonpartisan General Election, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Michael Tubbs 70.57% 56,165
Anthony Silva Incumbent 29.43% 23,426
Total Votes 79,591
Source: San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, "Election Results," accessed November 9, 2016
The following candidates ran in the Stockton mayoral primary election.[2]
Mayor of Stockton, Nonpartisan Primary Election, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Michael Tubbs 33.55% 9,700
Green check mark transparent.png Anthony Silva Incumbent 26.02% 7,521
Carlos Villapudua 23.81% 6,884
Tony Mannor 4.75% 1,374
Jimmy Rishwain 4.38% 1,265
Gary Malloy 4.23% 1,223
Sean Murray 2.39% 690
Emiliano Benito Adams 0.67% 193
Write-in votes 0.2% 59
Total Votes 28,909
Source: San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, "Election Results," accessed June 8, 2016

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Michael Tubbs completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Tubbs' responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

In 2016, I was elected Mayor of Stockton at the age of 26, becoming the youngest Mayor of any major city in American history. Under my leadership, Stockton saw a 40% drop in homicides in 2018 and 2019 and led the state of California in the decline of officer involved shootings in 2019. Because of initiatives, investments, and work I spearheaded, Stockton’s unemployment rate dropped from around 15% in 2012 to near a record low at around 5.7% in 2019. By the end of my term, Stockton was named the second most fiscally healthy city in California.

As Mayor, I raised over $20 million dollars to create the Stockton Scholars, a universal scholarship and mentorship program for Stockton students. Additionally, I piloted the first mayor-led guaranteed income pilot in the country.

Since leaving office, I have served as the Special Advisor for Economic Mobility to California Governor Gavin Newsom; the founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income; and the founder of End Poverty in California (EPIC).
  • Supporting a Marshall Plan level approach to building housing in California including blocking unfettered private equity consolidation of residential real estate.
  • Expanding economic opportunity through expansion of guaranteed income programs, vocational training at community colleges, and exploring ways to ensure wealth generated from AI is shared broadly to unlock economic opportunity in all communities.
  • Expanding educational opportunity through building more student and workforce housing and lowering the cost of higher education
I’ve championed guaranteed basic income pilots throughout the state to keep people in their homes because that is more humane and affordable than transitioning them out of homelessness. Our trial projects in Stockton and those of other cities demonstrate the powerful impact even a modest additional income can have on working families. Nothing is more impactful than helping struggling Californians access additional income and empower them to improve their lives.
A good elected official needs to understand first-hand the struggle facing many Californians. I was raised by three strong women – my mother, my grandmother, and my aunt. As my mother navigated life from teen pregnancy to affording a home at the age of 26, she inspired me to pursue public service.

California is the 4th largest economy in the world, but for who? Far too often, it’s not working for everyday people who need affordable housing and groceries. Sacramento is not producing results for the average Californian and that’s a huge reason why I decided to step into the race.

Today, as a father of three young children, I see California’s future through their eyes. I know firsthand how the statewide decisions we make in the next few years are going to shape California for decades to come.

I’m running for LG to build a California future that sets the example for how government can work for everyone. This state should lead the nation not by talking about problems, but solving them.

I’m running for LG to build a California future that sets the example for how government can work for everyone. This state should lead the nation not by talking about problems, but solving them.
As Lieutenant Governor, I would prioritize my positions on the Board of Regents of the UCs, CSUs, and California Community Colleges. As the state’s higher education czar so to speak, we can focus on building affordable opportunities for students across the board. Right now, many students in our public universities experience food insecurity and housing insecurity. The stats are harrowing: 50% of California college students have experienced food insecurity and 28% of students actively skipped meals because of the inability to afford them. There are students graduating while living in their cars and unaware that they can benefit from systems like CalFresh.

After talking with current students in the UC system, I know there are ways we can fix this. Firstly, we can connect financial aid systems at public colleges and universities to CalFresh. We can alert folks from lower income backgrounds of their eligibility for CalFresh and make it easier for folks to enroll. Secondly, we must build more affordable housing on these campuses. These universities and colleges have a very unique right to build, which means we can––and should––greenlight affordable housing for students, faculty, and staff to tackle the housing crises hitting these campuses.
In many ways, our society sets up people from backgrounds like mine for failure — namely prison or premature death.

My father is in prison. My cousin, Donnell, was shot and killed when I was in college. Their stories made me want to defy the odds and not succumb to the fate society said was in store for me. They also propelled me to look deeper and to commit my life to challenging and solving these inequities. In a more just system, overcoming poverty wouldn’t be a Herculean task. Talent is universal, we just have yet to ensure that opportunity and resources are universal as well.

But I confronted these obstacles and more in my journey from the south side of Stockton, California to Stanford University and, finally, to the Stockton Mayor’s office at age 26. These opportunities must be available to all kids growing up in this state, and that’s been my mission throughout my career in public service.
As Mayor, I raised over $20 million to create the Stockton Scholars, a universal scholarship and mentorship program for Stockton students. Under my leadership, Stockton saw a 40% drop in homicides in 2018 and 2019 and led the state of California in the decline of officer involved shootings in 2019. Because of initiatives, investments, and work I spearheaded, Stockton’s unemployment rate was near a record low at around 5.7% in 2019 – down from around 15% in 2012. It was even named the second most fiscally healthy city in California.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Michael Tubbs did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Tubbs submitted the following candidate statement to the City of Stockton:

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Additional themes

Tubbs' campaign website listed the following themes for 2016:

SAFE STREETS, SECURE NEIGHBORHOODS

  • Continue building better police-community relations by expanding community engagement, further developing a community policing model, and diversify our police and fire departments
  • Further develop a Community Policing model that is based on building trust, identifying specific needs of neighborhoods, and using data to identify where to step in before crime happens
  • Increase the Capacity of the Office of Violence Prevention to partner with the community to provide job opportunities and other supports to those most at-risk for violence
  • Retain our current Police Officers and Firefighters by ensuring they receive competitive benefits that we can afford and the training and support to be successful ambassadors of our city
  • Partner with the Parks and Recreation, the Police Department, Non-Profits and the City to create a Summer Lights Program for youth and families, modeled after Los Angeles’ successful program that saw a reduction in violence over the past 8 years
  • Partner with County to fully implement the Marshall Plan Recommendations to increase the capacity and effectiveness of our criminal justice system

NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION

  • Expand the model of Reinvent South Stockton to the 4 other Hot Spot Areas identified in 2012 to begin to revitalize these areas that have not reached their potential due to high crime rates, few job opportunities, and failing schools
  • Make neighborhoods with the highest unemployment rates into “Job Creation Zones”
  • Target these neighborhoods with tax credits, fee abatement, repayable loans, and workforce investments
  • Work with federal, state, county and city agencies and departments to ensure new opportunities for the hardest hit neighborhoods of Stockton
  • Implement the South Stockton Promise Zone Strategy and rigorously monitor results
  • Advocate for neighborhood master plan development as part of our General Plan
  • Build public-private partnerships and philanthropic support through the creation of a Philanthropic Liason to strengthen the capacity of local non-profits to focus on undeserved neighborhoods, engage the community, secure grant funding and implement housing development, wellness programs, and youth-focused educational opportunities
  • Develop a Cradle-to-College continuum of supports for children focused on parent education, student growth, learning, and achievement starting at birth and expanding at each level of child development

EDUCATION

  • Identify, recruit and enroll low-income 4 year-old children eligible for but not currently enrolled in pre-Kindergarten
  • Work with Stockton businesses, the building trades, and current apprenticeship programs to create job-training pathways for Stockton high school graduates to help them gain practical skills
  • Work in conjunction with our school districts to create pathways to success for all students, with a particular focus of correcting disparities between groups
  • Bring back City programs such as the Youth Leadership Academy and the Youth and Education Action Team to provide positive outlets and learning opportunities for youth
  • Expand City youth job opportunities
  • Create matched savings accounts and/or college savings accounts for every child or our most vulnerable children by partnering with banks and other financial institutions to make an initial deposit into each account, then provide incentives for parents to contribute to the account over time
    • Currently the City of San Francisco contributes an initial $50 for each kindergartner
  • Create a Task Force to recruit companies and individuals to participate in this matching program
  • Champion a city-wide initiative to fund universal preschool for all 4 year-olds to close the achievement gap

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH INNOVATION

  • Establish an Innovation Fund to create new investment in small businesses on the cusp of starting or expanding in Stockton, funded from investors that believe in Stockton’s potential for growth
  • Focus on creating a cluster of innovation around our strong, local assets: UOP, the Port, and Mercy to focus economic growth around transportation, health care, and education
  • Work with the county, the business community, and the philanthropic sector to expand workforce development and training opportunities
  • Support the creation of a small business network that brings entrepreneurs together to offer business training, workshops, and better collaboration between businesses on the local level

A HOUSING FIRST MODEL FOCUSED ON ENDING HOMELESSNESS

  • Create a staff position focused on homelessness to serve the community and coordinate County and Public Safety Efforts
  • Use Proposition 63 funds as bond collateral to create a Homeless Housing Trust Fund to develop a real housing first model in Stockton
  • San Diego, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles County are already moving on the Housing First model to get residents off the street and into supportive, permanent housing
  • Change city zoning laws to allow for the creation of tiny houses and micro apartments
    • San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle have passed ordinance changes allowing for smaller square feet housing options

ENGAGING OUR COMMUNITY

  • Provide residents more information online and through social media to allow increased access, more transparency in decision making, and build trust
  • Develop a participatory budget process citywide, where community members define spending priorities through an application, discussion, and a voting model
  • Start a Community Roundtable that provides community organizations and non-profits a platform to discuss their goals, needs, and vision for Stockton regularly that culminates each year with the State of the City
  • Turn vacant lots into community gardens that provide opportunities for urban farming and establish public spaces where community members interact and build community
  • Hold quarterly city-wide Town Halls and regular mayoral office hours to update residents on the progress of the city
  • Bring back our best and brightest through the creation of a fellowship that will allow students and recent graduates who have left Stockton for college to come back and contribute to their community
  • Create a Millennial Taskforce tasked with identifying ways and implementing solutions to help the city address the brain drain[3]
—Michael Tubbs (2016)[4]

Campaign finance summary

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.

Noteworthy events

Events and activity following the death of George Floyd

See also: Events following the death of George Floyd and responses in select cities from May 29-31, 2020

Tubbs was mayor of Stockton during the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, when events and activity took place in cities across the U.S. following the death of George Floyd. Events in Stockton, California, began on Sunday, May 31, 2020.[5] Before the demonstrations, Mayor Michael Tubbs (D) and other city officials hosted a virtual community town hall on policing and community relations.[6] No curfews were issued. The national guard was not deployed.

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Notable candidate endorsements by Michael Tubbs
EndorseeElectionStageOutcome
Lateefah Simon  source  (D) U.S. House California District 12 (2024) PrimaryWon General
Barbara Lee  source  (D) U.S. Senate California (2024) PrimaryLost Primary
Michael Bloomberg  source President of the United States (2020) Withdrew in Convention

See also


External links

Footnotes