Former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs spoke at a keynote event to San Jose State students and staff in the Student Union Ballroom on Wednesday.
The panel was held as part of Transforming Communities: A Movement to Racial Justice, an annual two-week event at SJSU focused on supporting change for communities of color.
Tubbs was joined by California Assemblymember Ash Kalra and Regina Celestin Williams, executive director of Silicon Valley at Home, who were moderators for the panel.
Tubbs was the first African-American mayor of Stockton, as well as its youngest, being elected in 2016 at age 26.
After losing the mayoral race in 2020, he has since been appointed as Special Advisor for Economic Mobility and Opportunity of the Governor of California by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
During his mayoral run, Tubbs piloted a Universal Basic Income program during an 18-month period for a small selection of residents.
Tubbs spoke about the notion that such a program would incentivize people to stop working.
“The vast majority of people in poverty in our country are working,” he said. “The majority of people in poverty who don’t work are in fact children.”
Tubbs said he believes that social programs will help lift struggling families out of poverty.
4.8 million California residents, which accounts for 12.3% of the total state population, live below the poverty line. It has the highest number of people living in poverty of any state in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau,
“We tried to solve poverty by solving for everything else,” Tubbs said. “We tried to solve the issue of poverty by solving for housing, or solving for education, or solving for health care. The simplest way to abolish poverty is direct and guaranteed income.”
He said after losing the 2020 mayoral bid, he founded End Poverty in California, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting impoverished communities through promoting Universal Basic Income.
“I have never seen anyone who's in the ‘pro-poverty’ caucus,” Tubbs said. “I've been trying– no one will say ‘I am for poverty,’ but yet we have so many folks in poverty.”
Jahmal Williams, SJSU director of advocacy for racial justice, was one of the organizers of the event.
“We want to inspire change. We want everybody to know that no matter what area you touch [at SJSU], you have a role to play,” Williams said. “Equity intersects with all of our majors, all of our disciplines, all of our interests.”
The keynote was attended by Interim President Steve Perez, who said he was greatly moved by Tubbs.
“I’m consistently inspired by people that have faced a life of injustice and biases and still choose ‘I'm going to be positive,’ ” Perez said.
When asked about how he remains inspired and enthusiastic, Tubbs said he thinks of his family.
“Every year on my birthday, I think about all the things I did this year, at my age,” Tubbs said. “My dad was in jail, my mom had me at 16 years old, and thinking about how different their life is, that’s something that motivates me.”
At the end of the event, each of the speakers were given the opportunity to answer audience questions and answer final remarks.
Ash Kalra made note that it is important for young people to vote in local elections for matters of equality.
“Please get out there and educate yourself on these issues. Get out and vote and stay registered and show up at the voting center,” said Kalra, who represents the 27th Assembly District that encompasses East San Jose.
