Former mayor known for guaranteed income programs launches bid for California lieutenant governor

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Michael Tubbs is running for lieutenant governor of California, returning to politics four years after voters in his Central Valley hometown ousted him as one of the country’s youngest mayors following his reboot of guaranteed income programs for the poor that made him a star.

The 2026 campaign, announced Wednesday, offers something of a soft landing spot for Tubbs as it will give him experience running a statewide campaign for an office that gets little public attention and is mostly ceremonial. The main job is to fill in whenever the governor is out of state, and the only real power comes with sitting on the University of California and California State University boards of regents.

However Tubbs sees opportunities in the office similar to those he had during his stint as the mayor of Stockton, where he melded the power of his personal story with ambitious plans for the oft-forgotten city, becoming a a rising figure among state Democrats who were searching for inspiration after Republican Donald Trump was elected president in 2016.

“Oftentimes it’s not about the formal role or statutory authority of a position, but it’s really about the leader in that position… and how they’re able to use that position to get things done and to make it big or to make it meaningful for the people they want to serve,” Tubbs said.

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