Michael Tubbs

Michael Derrick Tubbs (born August 2, 1990)[1] is an American politician who is serving as the 79th and current mayor of Stockton, California since 2017. 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. Tubbs was elected mayor in 2016, becoming the youngest mayor in Stockton's history and its first African-American mayor.

Michael Tubbs
79th Mayor of Stockton, California
Assumed office
January 1, 2017
Preceded byAnthony Silva
Member of the Stockton City Council
from the 6th district
In office
January 8, 2013 – January 1, 2017
Preceded byDale Fritchen
Succeeded byJesús Andrade
Personal details
Born
Michael Derrick Tubbs

(1990-08-02) August 2, 1990
Stockton, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Anna Malaika Nti-Asare (2017–present)
Children1
EducationStanford University (BA, MA)
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Tubbs was born in south Stockton and grew up in poverty.[2] 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.[3] Tubbs has a younger brother named Drevonte.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5]

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."[6] During his time at Stanford, he also served as President of the school's NAACP chapter,[7] and interned at the White House.[8]

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[9] and received a $10,000 campaign donation from Oprah Winfrey after meeting her while she toured the Stanford campus.[10]

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.[7] His candidacy was also the subject of a documentary, True Son,[11] which premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival.[12]

Tubbs announced his candidacy for mayor of Stockton on September 2, 2015, running against incumbent Mayor Anthony Silva in the 2016 general election.[13] He was endorsed by President Barack Obama on November 2, 2016, less than a week before the election.[14] 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.[15] His term in office began on January 1, 2017.[7]

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.[16][17]

In December 2019, Tubbs endorsed the Democratic presidential campaign of Michael Bloomberg.[18]

Electoral history

Stockton City Council

Stockton Council District 6 election results, November 6, 2012[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael Tubbs 42,923 61.8
Republican Dale Fritchen (incumbent) 26,541 38.2
Total votes 69,464 100.0

Mayor of Stockton

Stockton Mayoral election results, November 8, 2016[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael Tubbs 41,998 70.6
Republican Anthony Silva (incumbent) 17,486 29.4
Total votes 59,484 100.0

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.[3] After graduating from Stanford in 2014 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and the University of Cambridge with a master's degree 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 the University of Cambridge.[21][22]

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."[23][24] He pled no contest to misdemeanor charges.[25]

On April 14, 2019, Tubbs announced via Twitter that he and his wife were expecting their first child.[26][27] On October 19, 2019, he announced the arrival of a son.[28]

References
  1. "Michael Derrick Tubbs, Born 08/02/1990 in California | CaliforniaBirthIndex.org". www.californiabirthindex.org. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  2. McPhate, Mike (November 18, 2016). "California Today: Meet the New Mayor, Age 26". New York Times.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Reid, Keith (July 15, 2008). "S.J. team wins in NAACP debate". Stockton Record. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  6. "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
  7. "Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs". www.stocktongov.com. City of Stockton, California. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  8. "Michael Tubbs Lands President Obama's Endorsement in Stockton Mayor's Race". CaliforniaCityNews.org. November 3, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  9. "22-year-old Stanford graduate Tubbs wins race for Stockton City Council". Peninsula Press. November 7, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  10. "Oprah gives to young Stockton campaign". CNN. July 6, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  11. Rechtshaffen, Michael (November 6, 2014). "Review: 'True Son' follows power of youthful conviction in politics". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  12. Gordon, Kevin (October 31, 2014), True Son, Nicholas Hatten, Shawn Crary, Lange Luntao, retrieved September 21, 2017
  13. "Tubbs to run for Stockton mayor in 2016". The Record. September 2, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  14. Tubbs Snags Big Endorsement In Stockton Mayor’s Race, CBSSacramento (November 2, 2016) Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  15. "'This is history now': Michael Tubbs becomes city's first black mayor". The Record. November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  16. https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Can-500-a-month-change-a-city-Stockton-tests-14943872.php
  17. "California city fights poverty with guaranteed income". Reuters. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  18. Mascareñas, Xavier (December 11, 2019). "Watch Mike Bloomberg receive endorsement of Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  19. "2012 general election results". Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  20. "2016 general election results". Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  21. University, Stanford (February 13, 2017). "Two Stanford alumni awarded 2017 Gates Cambridge Scholarships | Stanford News". Stanford News. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  22. "Making her own mark: Tubbs' fiancee is world traveler, scholar, mentor". January 21, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  23. "Stockton councilman arrested for DUI with .137 alcohol". KXTV. October 20, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  24. "Tubbs Returns to Stockton City Council after DUI Arrest". KTXL. October 21, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  25. "Councilman Tubbs pleads 'no contest' to DUI charge". The Record. December 15, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  26. @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.
  27. "Stockton Mayor And Wife Make Social Media Baby Announcement". CBS Sacramento. April 14, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  28. @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.
Political offices
Preceded by
Anthony Silva		 Mayor of Stockton
2017–present		 Incumbent
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