Michael Tubbs is the first African American Mayor of Stockton, California, and the youngest mayor in American history of a city of more than 100,000 people. Born and raised in Stockton, Tubbs was raised by his mother, with an incarcerated father and without financial security. He earned a scholarship to attend Stanford University, and, following internships at Google and in the Obama White House, Tubbs returned to Stockton to work as a City Council member in the district where he was raised. Since being elected Mayor in 2016, Tubbs has worked to reinvent Stockton from a city that filed for bankruptcy in 2012 to a community of opportunity for everyone. Tubbs’ mayoralty focuses on violent crime, economic development, collective impact strategies, and improved education. This fall, Stockton will be the first city in America to implement a universal basic income pilot program.
Dan Pfeiffer is President Barack Obama’s former communications director and current co-host of the popular political podcast, Pod Save America. He is the author of Yes We (Still) Can: Politics in the Age of Obama, Twitter, and Trump.