Michael Tubbs

Michael Derrick Tubbs (born August 2, 1990)[1] is an American politician who served as the 79th mayor of Stockton, California from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of the Stockton City Council from the 6th District from 2013 until 2017.

Michael Tubbs
79th Mayor of Stockton
In office January 1, 2017 – January 1, 2021
Preceded by	Anthony Silva
Succeeded by	Kevin Lincoln
Member of the Stockton City Council from the 6th district
In office January 8, 2013 – January 1, 2017
Preceded by	Dale Fritchen
Succeeded by	Jesús Andrade
Personal details
Born	Michael Derrick Tubbs August 2, 1990 Stockton, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Anna Nti-Asare (2017–present)
Children	1
Education	Stanford University (BA, MA)
Website	Official website

Tubbs was elected mayor in 2016, becoming the youngest mayor in Stockton's history and its first African-American mayor.[2]

In 2020, he lost reelection to Kevin J. Lincoln II.

Early life

Tubbs was born in south Stockton and grew up in poverty.[3] His mother, Racole Dixon, was a teenager at the time of his birth, and his father, also named Michael Tubbs, is serving a life sentence in prison for kidnapping, drug possession, and robbery.[4] Tubbs has a younger brother named Drevonte.[4]

Education

Tubbs attended Hamilton Middle School. In 2007, while a student at Franklin High School, Tubbs won an essay contest sponsored by Alice Walker. His essay about overcoming the mistakes his parents made was published in the San Francisco Chronicle. He criticized his father's "Scapegoat mentality" and praised his mother for overcoming adversity.[5]

Tubbs graduated with the International Baccalaureate diploma from Franklin High School in 2008. That July, Tubbs was a member of a team of three San Joaquin County teenagers who won a national debate competition in Cincinnati sponsored by the NAACP. They advocated for universal health care, and the debate was followed by a speech by the presidential candidate Barack Obama.[6]

He then attended Stanford University on a need-based scholarship, graduating in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity and a Master of Arts in Policy, Leadership and Organization Studies. As an undergraduate, he received a Truman Scholarship, and was the joint winner of the university's Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel award for "distinctive and exceptional contributions to...the quality of student life."[7] During his time at Stanford, he also served as President of the school's NAACP chapter,[8] and interned at the White House.[9]

Political career

Tubbs with Senator Kamala Harris in 2020

Tubbs announced his candidacy for Stockton Council District 6 for the November 6, 2012 general election, running against incumbent Dale Fritchen. He won the primary[10] and received a $10,000 campaign donation from Oprah Winfrey after meeting her while she toured the Stanford campus.[11]

Tubbs went on to win the election, receiving 61.7% of the vote, and took office in January 2013 at the age of 22, making him the youngest councilmember in Stockton history and one of the youngest elected officials in the United States.[8] His candidacy was also the subject of a documentary, True Son,[12] which premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival.[13]

Tubbs announced his candidacy for mayor of Stockton on September 2, 2015, running against incumbent Mayor Anthony Silva in the 2016 general election.[14] He was endorsed by President Barack Obama on November 2, 2016, less than a week before the election.[15] He went on to win the election, receiving 70.6% of the vote and becoming both the city's first black mayor and at 26 the youngest person to hold that office.[16] His term in office began on January 1, 2017.[8]

Tubbs is a proponent of a Universal Basic Income. As part of the privately-funded S.E.E.D. pilot project in Stockton, the city is providing a $500 stipend to selected residents for an 18-month period with “no strings attached," thanks to the Economic Security Project, an advocacy group chaired by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, which provided the first $1 million for the program, and a dozen other Silicon Valley organizations and private donors who funded the rest of its $3 million budget.[17][18] Tubbs helped assemble a national coalition of mayors who support UBI.[19]

During his term, Tubbs also established an intervention program to reduce gun violence, programs to reduce homelessness, and mentorships for at-risk students.[19]

In December 2019, Tubbs endorsed the Democratic presidential campaign of Michael Bloomberg.[20]

During his 2020 reelection campaign, Tubbs was featured in an HBO documentary, Stockton On My Mind.[19] Tubbs lost reelection to a second term as mayor to Republican Kevin Lincoln in the November 3, 2020 election.[21][22] During the campaign, the social media page "The 209 Times", published by an individual who had failed to break into Stockton politics,[19] which has a wide following on Facebook and Instagram, published numerous stories accusing Tubbs of corruption, which local political pundits say were unfounded. Some attributed Tubbs's loss to the influence of those stories, however Tubbs was also opposed by police and firefighters unions.[2]

Personal life

Tubbs and his wife Anna at a League of Women Voters event

In December 2017 Tubbs married Anna Malaika Nti-Asare, whom he met at Stanford University.[4] After graduating from Stanford with a Bachelor of Arts in medical anthropology in 2014 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and from King's College, Cambridge with a Master of Philosophy in multidisciplinary gender studies in 2015, Nti-Asare spent two years teaching at Aspire Langston Hughes Academy in Stockton. She is now a Gates Cambridge Scholar and a PhD student in education at King's College, Cambridge.[23][24][25]

Tubbs was arrested for driving under the influence in 2014. Tubbs apologized for what he called a "poor decision to drive when I should not have."[26][27] He pled no contest to misdemeanor charges.[28]

On April 14, 2019, Tubbs announced via Twitter that he and his wife were expecting their first child.[29][30] On October 19, 2019, he announced the arrival of a son.[31]

Electoral history

2012 Stockton Council district 6 election
Candidate	Primary election[32]		General election[33]
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Michael Tubbs	1,932	56.02	43,092	61.82
Dale Fritchen (incumbent)	1,501	43.52	26,617	38.18
Total	3,449	100	69,709	100

2016 Stockton mayoral election
Candidate	First-round[34]		Runoff[35]
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Michael Tubbs	15,847	33.42	56,165	79.57
Anthony Silva (incumbent)	12,499	26.36	23,426	29.43
Carlos Villapudua	11,425	24.10
Tony Mannor	2,309	4.87
Jimmie M. Rishwain	1,905	4.02
Gary Malloy	1,889	3.98
Sean Murray	1,118	2.36
Emiliano B. Adams	319	0.67
Write-ins	101	0.21
Total	47,412	100	79,591	100

2020 Stockton mayoral election
Candidate	First-round[34]		Runoff[36]
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Kevin J. Lincoln II	10,927	21.59	57,276	56.44
Michael Tubbs (incumbent)	21,016	41.53	44,206	43.56
Bill Smith	5,679	11.22
Motec Patrick Sanchez	5,523	10.91
Shoua Lo	2,773	5.48
Ralph Lee White	2,179	4.31
Shelly Hollins	1,698	3.36
Andrew Lee Johnson	674	1.33
Uncertified write-ins	136	0.27
Total	50,605	100	101,482	100
Voter turnout	42.38%		75.13%

References

1. "Michael Derrick Tubbs, Born 08/02/1990 in California | CaliforniaBirthIndex.org". www.californiabirthindex.org. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
2. "Rising Democratic star Michael Tubbs risks reelection defeat, thanks in part to a Stockton blog". Los Angeles Times. 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
3. McPhate, Mike (November 18, 2016). "California Today: Meet the New Mayor, Age 26". New York Times.
4. Hubert, Cynthia (April 12, 2017). "Michael Tubbs, one of America's youngest mayors, aims to lift his hometown of Stockton". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
5. Tubbs, Michael (November 11, 2007). "Parents' mistakes made me succeed: My father is in prison with a scapegoat mentality, my mother became a model for overcoming obstacles – and I learned about life from both of them". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
6. Reid, Keith (July 15, 2008). "S.J. team wins in NAACP debate". Stockton Record. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
7. "Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Awards: For Outstanding Service to Undergraduate Education". Registrar's Office: Student Affairs. Stanford University. 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017. 2011–2012 ... Michael Tubbs, Senior in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity
8. "Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs". www.stocktongov.com. City of Stockton, California. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
9. "Michael Tubbs Lands President Obama's Endorsement in Stockton Mayor's Race". CaliforniaCityNews.org. November 3, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
10. "22-year-old Stanford graduate Tubbs wins race for Stockton City Council". Peninsula Press. November 7, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
11. "Oprah gives to young Stockton campaign". CNN. July 6, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
12. Rechtshaffen, Michael (November 6, 2014). "Review: 'True Son' follows power of youthful conviction in politics". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
13. Gordon, Kevin (October 31, 2014), True Son, Nicholas Hatten, Shawn Crary, Lange Luntao, retrieved September 21, 2017
14. "Tubbs to run for Stockton mayor in 2016". The Record. September 2, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
15. Tubbs Snags Big Endorsement In Stockton Mayor’s Race, CBSSacramento (November 2, 2016) Retrieved September 21, 2017.
16. "'This is history now': Michael Tubbs becomes city's first black mayor". The Record. November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
17. "Can $500 a month change a city? Stockton tests universal basic income". SFChronicle.com. January 2, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
18. "California city fights poverty with guaranteed income". Reuters. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
19. Siders, David (December 23, 2020). "The Fall of Michael Tubbs". Politico. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
20. Mascareñas, Xavier (December 11, 2019). "Watch Mike Bloomberg receive endorsement of Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
21. "Stockton elects new mayor: Kevin Lincoln". KCRA. November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
22. Beam, Adam (November 17, 2020). "Stockton mayor who pushed guaranteed income isn't reelected". Associated Press. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
23. University, Stanford (February 13, 2017). "Two Stanford alumni awarded 2017 Gates Cambridge Scholarships | Stanford News". Stanford News. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
24. "Making her own mark: Tubbs' fiancee is world traveler, scholar, mentor". January 21, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
25. "Biography". Gates Cambridge. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
26. "Stockton councilman arrested for DUI with .137 alcohol". KXTV. October 20, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
27. "Tubbs Returns to Stockton City Council after DUI Arrest". KTXL. October 21, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
28. "Councilman Tubbs pleads 'no contest' to DUI charge". The Record. December 15, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
29. @MichaelDTubbs (April 14, 2019). "1+1=3. October's Very Own, Baby Tubbs coming October 2019! We are excited for parenthood and thank God for the miracle of conception ❤️. @annas_tea_" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
30. "Stockton Mayor And Wife Make Social Media Baby Announcement". CBS Sacramento. April 14, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
31. @MichaelDTubbs (October 19, 2019). "Est. October 19,2019. 9:04 am. Michael Malakai Tubbs Jr. Mom @annas_tea_ and baby are doing well" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
32. "COUNTY OF SAN JOAQUIN STATEMENT OF VOTES CAST PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ELECTION JUNE 5, 2012". San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
33. "2012 November - Presidential General Election - 2012 November - Presidential General Election - San Joaquin County Open Data". opendata.sjgov.org. San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
34. "San Joaquin County June 7, 2016 OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS". San Joaquin County. July 11, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
35. "SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 8, 2016 OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS". San Joaquin County. December 6, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
36. "COUNTY OF SAN JOAQUIN PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL ELECTION 11/3/2020". San Joaquin County. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.

External links

• Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs - City of Stockton, CA
• KQED radio interview: Stockton’s Fast-Rising Mayor Michael Tubbs