City of San Jose City Council Councilmember Matt Mahan

Until he won the 2022 mayoral race, Matt Mahan was a councilmember in San Jose District 10, which includes Almaden, Blossom Hill, Santa Teresa, and Vista Park. According to his campaign site, Mahan was raised by working-class parents (a schoolteacher and a letter carrier) in the town of Watsonville, where he developed an interest in local politics. That passion stuck with Mahan, who began working with Causes, an early Facebook app that enabled people to raise awareness and funds for their favorite nonprofits, eventually becoming CEO. In 2014, Mahan co-founded Brigade along with a few colleagues. Brigade built the world’s first voter network: nonpartisan peer-to-peer organizing tools that can be found in the Apple and Android app stores. Brigade’s team and intellectual property were recently acquired by Pinterest and Countable, respectively—leaving him free to campaign for City Council.

First elected: Nov. 3, 2020

Alma mater: Harvard University (bachelor’s degree in social studies)

Former public service: Clean Energy Citizen Advisory Commission, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Almaden Valley Community Association, District 10 Leadership Coalition, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, San Jose Rotary

Notable quote: “There’s something incredibly fulfilling about the interpersonal side of local government and being face to face with people and getting to know them really personally, which is something you kind of miss in the tech sector,” Mahan told San Jose Inside.