Matt Mahan is the 66th Mayor of San José. San José, the Capital of Silicon Valley, is the largest city in Northern California with nearly 1 million residents and leads the nation in patents per capita. The city is home to an exceptionally diverse community, over 40% of which is foreign born, and some of the world’s leading technology companies, including Cisco, Adobe, Zoom, PayPal and Cadence. 

First elected to the San José City Council in 2020, Matt led the charge for greater transparency and accountability at City Hall, proposed innovative solutions to homelessness and advocated for mental health reform. After just two years in office, Matt was elected Mayor in a major political upset in 2022, and was resoundingly reelected to his first full, four-year term with 87% of the vote in 2024. As Mayor, he has focused city government on economic opportunity and the basic quality of life issues that impact residents every day. 

Prior to his political career, Matt was an entrepreneur who built two of the country’s leading civic tech startups. The first, Causes, was an early Facebook application that enabled over 180 million people in over 150 countries to support nonprofits, volunteer in their communities, and pursue issue advocacy. Over the course of five years, Matt worked his way up from Director of Business Development to COO and eventually CEO. Matt went on to co-found and lead as CEO a startup called Brigade, which was the world’s first voter network: a nonpartisan platform for voters to discuss issues, advocate to their elected officials, and vote for candidates who reflect their values. 

Even as a business leader, Matt was deeply involved in the community. He has served on a number of civic and community boards, including the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, City of San José’s Clean Energy Advisory Commission, and the Almaden Valley Community Association. Matt is also a former public school teacher through the Teach for America program, worked in economic development in Bolivia via a Michael C. Rockefeller fellowship, and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 2005. He lives in San José with his wife, Silvia, and their two young children, Nina and Luke.