Matt Mahan makes bid for mayor’s seat on affordable housing platform

San Jose City Councilmember Matt Mahan announced his campaign to run for mayor of San Jose on Saturday, with a promise to bring a “revolution of common sense.”

At a press conference 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.

Mahan said at the conference:

“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 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.

Mahan said:

“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.” 

Voters can read more about Mahan’s key principles and policy focuses on his campaign site, MahanforSanJose.com.