STOCKTON — Though his Election Day victory is already nearly two months in the past, Michael Tubbs did not officially become Stockton’s mayor until the precise moment that Saturday night turned into Sunday morning and 2016 formally and finally receded into the past.    

At 26, Tubbs is the first black mayor in 300,000-resident Stockton’s history. He also may be the youngest mayor ever in a city in the United States with a population exceeding 100,000.

Though the U.S. Conference of Mayors could not provide definitive verification, Wikipedia reports that Luke Ravenstahl was 26 years, 208 days old when he became the mayor of Pittsburgh (304,391) in 2006.

Tubbs is about two months younger now than Ravenstahl was then. He defeated incumbent Anthony Silva by a margin of 70.6 percent to 29.4 percent on Nov. 8.

It’s been a dizzying ride. Tubbs has ascended to Stockton’s top elective office after four years on the City Council, less than a decade after graduating from Franklin High School, and with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University highlighting his crowded résumé.

Tubbs sat for an interview Wednesday with The Record. Following is a condensed version.


Question: It’s been awhile since the election. What does it feel like for this moment to finally arrive?

Answer: It’s such an incredible honor. Growing up in Nightingale or Lewis Park or Towne Homes, when survival is the focus, it’s really hard to dream, “I could be the mayor of this city one day.”

It’s incredibly humbling. It’s a huge opportunity. I tell people all the time there’s nothing like serving where you’re from. There’s a little bit of an urgency, and it’s real personal for me.

Q: How did serving on the City Council help to prepare you?

A: You can’t do anything by yourself. You can lead, but you have to lead with people. If no one is behind you, you’re not really leading.

No. 2, government can’t do everything, but that can’t be an excuse for government to do nothing.

Q: You’ve set a list of priorities you plan to focus on from the start. The first has to do with some of the city’s so-called “hot zone” crime areas. What approach do you think will be most effective in easing the problems in the most troubled neighborhoods?

A: Thus far the response to these communities has been more cops, more law enforcement. There’s definitely a role for law enforcement.

But these communities don’t just have high crime. They have high poverty, high unemployment, they’re high in things that are not good and they’re low in things that are good.

Crime is at the top of the mind for everyone in Stockton. To really get at our crime issues and to change our image, it’s going to start with really investing in these communities. If you help the worst, you’ve really found something that scales for everybody.

Q: Stockton is less than two years removed from bankruptcy. Money is tight. What can be done in an atmosphere of fiscal restraint?

A: Oftentimes, because the problems are huge, people assume money is the only answer. There’s definitely a role for resources. But I’ve found that if we reprioritize, recalculate and just collectively … do what we’re already doing better, it can have huge benefits, and then we have a stronger case for asking for more resources.

Q: You are planning hot-zone town halls, possibly starting as soon as February. What will those look like?

A: A town hall will either be a culmination of a monthlong or weeklong relationship-building process with door knocking or community assessments, or be a kickoff for (the relationship-building process).

They’ll be regularly and routinely scheduled so they are not just a one-time deal. … It would have to be, probably quarterly … definitely consistent, talking and convening with community leaders in the area, concerned parties, but also the residents there so they know that the mayor and the city care.

Q: Another focus for you is to work with the City Attorney’s Office to go after the worst slumlords and the most blighted properties in the city. Can you provide some detail on this idea?

A: If people can identify the 10 worst slumlords and the 10 worst properties and they’ve been that way for 50 years and nothing changes, that suggests something needs to be done.

We should absolutely start with a conversation: This is no longer an acceptable way to run your business in this city. Do you need help? How can we help you?

If that doesn’t work, I think we have to exhaust every tool we have at our disposal to improve the quality of life for the residents but also to improve the image of our city. People should know that to do business in Stockton it’s great, but it’s a privilege.

Q: How does the new library and recreation sales tax factor into this work?

A: It will be a wasted opportunity if we’re not strategic with tying this new revenue to our pressing needs and goals.

If economic development is an issue, if workforce development is an issue, let’s make sure we use some of this Measure M money so kids and adults are able to gain skills in our libraries and in our rec centers.

If crime is an issue, let’s make sure we’re leveraging Measure M dollars … to invest in these underserved hot-zone areas.

Q: Your predecessor spoke often of the need to increase the powers of Stockton’s mayor. That hasn’t happened. Can a mayor lead in the absence of a strong-mayor system?

A: Just because Stockton isn’t a strong-mayor city doesn’t mean you can’t be a strong leader. It takes longer. It’s a lot more difficult. You can’t just say something and it happens. But what I’ve learned as a city councilperson is that people do respond to leadership.

There’s limitations to the power of the office formally. But there’s not a limitation to what we can do to make Stockton better. I’m not too worried about that.

The mayor for sure can’t do everything. But there’s a lot I can do. I’ll be working hard in the governing structure we have. We’ll all work within the confines of government.

Q: What are some of the keys to spurring economic development?

A: We have so many entrepreneurs in this city, a lot of them who are immigrants, a lot of them who may not be as comfortable with the language or who maybe are doing things from their houses or flea markets who, if they were given some tools and some resources to make those businesses come online, we could be collecting tax revenue and they could expand.

A big part of Stockton’s economic development strategy has to be, “How do we help existing small businesses expand?”

Q: The city is using a “carrot-and-stick” approach in dealing with some of those most at-risk of criminal involvement. Those who make progress are supposed to be rewarded. Those who backslide are to be punished. How can this approach be refined?

A: When we speak about “message legitimacy” … if the police chief or the U.S. attorney says, “I’m going to give you jail time with gang enhancements,” they mean it. That’s a legitimate message.

But on the other side, when they talk about opportunity — workforce development, tattoo removal, training, housing — I’m not sure that message is as legitimate. I’m not sure that every time someone asks for a service, they get it. That kind of undermines what we’re trying to do.

Q: The council recently unanimously approved allocating nearly $3 million in federal affordable-housing money to projects downtown and near downtown. None went to projects south of the Crosstown Freeway. Some in the affordable-housing community wondered why the south side was left out. How do you explain this decision?

A: Before the (council) meeting, I had similar questions. Last year in (the council’s) strategic planning session, we said downtown Stockton was a priority and we signaled to staff that whenever there were grant or funding opportunities, to align those with council priorities.

Stockton is a city with a lot of needs. We can’t solve all of those at once. But because there’s already been a lot of work and investment done in downtown, it makes sense, when we can, without neglecting other parts, to steer money that way so we can make the project happen.

Q: Are you excited to finally be able to start?

A: Yeah, I’m tired of talking about it. I just want to get to work. I want to spend the next four years waking up every day figuring out how to make Stockton better.

Stockton’s best days are truly ahead. There’s a lot to be hopeful for. But the hope can’t be a hope of inactivity. It’s going to require people working and thinking and helping.
