SJ mayor pitches tech accountability plan in bid to stand out in California governor's race
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is betting California voters want a Democrat focused less on ideology and more on results - casting himself as the Silicon Valley candidate best positioned to regulate artificial intelligence without stifling innovation.
In a one-on-one interview with ABC7, the gubernatorial candidate unveiled a new AI proposal aimed at preparing workers for technological disruption while requiring fast-growing tech sectors to reinvest in workforce training and public infrastructure.
His proposal includes requiring data centers to cover infrastructure and energy costs tied to AI expansion, creating a workforce-focused "AI Shared Prosperity Fund," restricting cellphone use in schools, requiring human oversight in high-stakes AI decisions and strengthening protections for artists and creators. It would also require human oversight in AI systems used in healthcare, criminal justice, employment, housing and public benefits decisions.
The two-term mayor is trying to position himself as a middle-ground Democrat in a crowded race where he has yet to gain traction.
Watch full interview below
"My view is that as this technological change is happening, we have to make sure that AI and other technologies don't just benefit the big companies that are building and selling this technology, but that it works for the common good," Mahan said.
The plan would also require AI companies to compensate artists and creators for the commercial use of their likeness, voice or work.
It comes as candidates make their final push ahead of California's June 2 primary, with voting already underway and campaigns ramping up advertising and outreach efforts across the state.
Mahan is attempting to carve out a distinct lane in the Democratic field: a pro-housing, tech-friendly mayor arguing California Democrats risk losing public trust if they fail to deliver tangible results on affordability and homelessness.
"Donald Trump thrives when Democrats fail to solve problems," Mahan said. "The best antidote to authoritarianism is delivering results. It's making government work and actually make people's lives better."
Mahan said the AI proposal would direct revenue growth tied to tech companies, robotics firms and data centers toward education, workforce retraining and potentially expanded safety net programs if automation accelerates faster than expected.
"We don't know exactly how this is going to play out," Mahan said. "What we can't do is have people slip through the cracks."
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The San Jose mayor has increasingly leaned on his experience governing in the heart of Silicon Valley, arguing California needs leaders who understand both the opportunities and risks tied to emerging technologies.
Mahan pointed to programs launched in San Jose that provide free AI training and certification programs through the city's public library system, as well as workforce upskilling partnerships with public universities.
He also highlighted efforts to require large data centers and major energy users to contribute to renewable energy and infrastructure investments.
"We've been doing that in San Jose, and I think we need to be doing that across the state of California," Mahan said.
Still, Mahan faces questions over whether a candidate backed by Silicon Valley donors can credibly regulate the industry.
Asked whether tech donors had any role in shaping the proposal, Mahan rejected the idea.
"No. This plan actually comes out of my work in San Jose as a policymaker," he said.
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Mahan also pushed back on concerns that major tech donors could wield influence over his administration if elected, contrasting his approach with what he described as the Trump administration's deregulatory posture toward emerging technologies.
"I'm very explicitly running on the fact that we're going to harness this technology to make people's lives better, which inherently means we have to regulate it," Mahan said.
Alongside his AI proposals, Mahan continues to center his campaign on housing affordability and homelessness - issues he argues California leaders have failed to adequately address.
He pointed to San Jose's expansion of interim housing sites as one example of a locally-tested policy that could scale statewide.
"We've built 2,000 spaces, mostly individual rooms with doors that lock where people can come immediately off our streets and find safety, stability and get connected with services," Mahan said.
But the city has also faced setbacks. This week, San Jose moved to close its only sanctioned tent encampment due to budget cuts, a decision critics argued underscored the limits of the city's homelessness response.
Mahan defended the move, saying city leaders must prioritize programs with the greatest measurable impact.
With less than three weeks until the primary, new polling still places Mahan in the lower tier of the crowded gubernatorial field. But the mayor argued voters are only beginning to engage as ballots arrive.
"We've grown faster in the polls in the last couple of weeks than anybody else," Mahan said. "And when voters get to know who I am, what I've done in San Jose and my vision for the state, we go up."
