Happy Wednesday! This week, we’re going to take a closer look at Stockton, CA Mayor Michael Tubbs!
Mayor Michael Tubbs was elected in 2012 as the youngest city council member in Stockton’s history, earning more than 60 percent of the citywide vote; and in 2016 became the youngest mayor in city history, and the youngest mayor of a major American city!
Awards and accolades include: Fortune Magazine‘s “40 under 40” annual ranking of the most influential young people in business; “Top 4 Power Player Under 40” by Black Enterprise Magazine, “Top 25 under 25” by The Root, Reader Digest‘s “50 Things to Love About America“, Martin Luther King Youth of the Year, California Youth Ambassador, captain of the inaugural NAACP National Great Debate Champions.
A first-generation student at Stanford University, Mayor Tubbs was selected as the Founder’s Day Speaker, out of 6,000 undergraduate students – and the first freshman in the 117-year history of the university – to do so. During his time at Stanford he has also co-founded the task-force to end racial profiling in Palo Alto.
His boldest move to date has been to establish SEED – the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration. With a quarter of Stockton residents living below the poverty line, Mayor Tubbs has raised enough private funds (no tax dollars used) to provide approximately 100 Stocktonians with a guaranteed income of $500 per month for 18 months. The income will be unconditional, meaning there are no work requirements and no restrictions on how the money can be spent.
He has spearheaded the creation of “Save Our Stockton“, a group for youth and by youth that lobbies and calls for change on pertinent youth issues in Stockton, CA, and has worked with the Children’s Defense Fund on their California Campaign to End the Cradle to Prison Pipeline.
Keep an eye peeled for an HBO documentary on Mayor Tubbs and his innovative approach to government!
Finally, in other news, Mayor Tubbs and his spouse Anna Malaika Nti-Asare have a personal urban renewal project underway!
Let us know if you’d like to bring Mayor Tubbs to your organization, campus, or conference!
—And that is the story for this week! Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the latest from all of our speakers, scientists and change makers!