How Matt Mahan Thinks He Can Save California

Matt, welcome to All-In. You kind of appeared late in the race—who are you, and how did you end up running for governor of California?

I grew up in Watsonville in a working-class family, earned a work-study scholarship, commuted hours to school, taught through Teach For America, then built civic-tech platforms like Causes and Brigade before winning a city council seat by knocking on ten thousand doors. I’m running because California keeps spending more and getting less, and I want to restore accountability and outcomes.

How did California get so dysfunctional, and where did the high‑speed rail money actually go?

State spending is up roughly seventy‑five percent with flat or worse results, and rail money was bled into consultants, lawsuits, and fees under a process-heavy system like CEQA. Fraud is real—think tens of billions in bogus unemployment claims—but the bigger problem is waste and incentives, which we beat in San Jose by cutting process to lower crime, reduce street homelessness by about a third, and restart housing without raising taxes.

The legislature passes a flood of bills—what’s your veto philosophy and accountability plan?

I’d veto more bills that pile on cost and process, publish clear goals, audit hard, and fund what delivers on housing, energy, schools, and safety instead of performative lawmaking.

Voters hear promises to do more—can you win by arguing government should often do less?

Yes—stop digging, set public targets, and prove results beat the revenue‑first reflex that dominates Sacramento.

How do unions and other organized interests shape this dysfunction?

Well‑funded lobbies—public‑sector unions included—defend the status quo, but the real failure is politicians who cave instead of balancing interests and delivering for kids, workers, and public safety.

Why are we worst-in-nation on poverty and homelessness?

Good intentions without course correction left us with a broken housing market and untreated addiction and mental illness—about fifty thousand people died on our streets in a decade—so we built two thousand low‑barrier cabin beds at about eighty five thousand dollars each instead of million‑dollar units and cut unsheltered homelessness by roughly one‑third.

What’s the true driver of housing costs?

It’s supply and build‑costs strangled by zoning, fees, codes, litigation, and condo liability that erased the starter‑home rung.

So this is really a regulation problem?

Yes—safetyism and process creep—so I use public dashboards to set targets, speed permits, and cut fees.

What will you measure on housing if you’re governor?

Build more homes at lower cost per square foot, align permits with job growth—about one home for every two jobs—and use modular to trim costs by roughly a third and cut timelines in half.

Can you act quickly without the legislature?

I’ll wield the budget, veto, executive orders, and three thousand appointments to reset incentives while building a pragmatic coalition to change laws.

What’s your approach to drugs, treatment, and public order?

Intervene in public drug use, expand treatment and beds, allow involuntary care after repeated refusal and harm, and back Prop 36 so a third offense triggers treatment or jail.

Energy prices keep spiking—what went wrong, and what about the gas tax?

Our rules chased refineries out and raised emissions, so invest in grid innovation and pay EV owners to charge midday; suspend the seventy‑cents‑a‑gallon tax now, fund roads from the swollen general fund, and move to a fair user fee as EVs spread.

Home insurers have fled—how do we fix the market?

Let insurers price risk with granular mitigation discounts, rein in high‑risk building, have the state manage vegetation, and create a task force to rebuild a solvent market.

Pensions are underfunded and the budget is bloated—what’s the plan?

Follow San Jose’s model—new tiers, realistic returns, better managers, and shared risk—to pay down old debt on a twenty‑year glide path, and shift the state to zero‑based budgeting instead of automatic program and headcount growth.

Should California adopt single‑payer, and do you support a billionaire wealth tax?

A state‑run free system won’t pencil, so cut healthcare costs with price transparency, prevention, and broader nurse‑practitioner care, and reject a wealth tax that chases people out while closing loopholes and fixing housing, energy, and schools to restore mobility.

Where do AI and inequality fit into your vision?

We need shared prosperity and upskilling so AI lifts more people, plus schools that teach critical thinking, not rote facts.

Give me your read on Trump, Newsom, and working with Washington.

I oppose Trump’s divisive immigration politics, Iran posture, and broad tariffs and worry about rule‑of‑law backsliding, while giving Newsom credit for some vetoes and ideas but pushing for execution; as governor I’ll both fight and partner with Washington to unlock disaster aid and rebuild faster.

How would you handle ICE and a broader immigration deal?

Protect law‑abiding undocumented residents while deporting violent offenders, secure the border, and offer legal status that may not include voting rights as a compromise both parties can own.

Contrast yourself with Swalwell, Steyer, and Porter, and leave us with your closing thought.

They’re selling more revenue and programs; I’m offering back‑to‑basics priorities, radical transparency, and measured results so Californians finally feel their tax dollars at work, and I appreciate the chance to make that case.

Thanks for coming on, and good luck in the race.

Thanks, I enjoyed it.