STOCKTON, Calif. — Former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs has announced a new leadership role: that of Special Advisor for Economic Mobility and Opportunity to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the State of California.
Tubbs would effectively follow up on his work as mayor of Stockton, where he helped implement the country's first city-led guaranteed universal basic income experiment.
The announcement on Thursday comes directly after the results of that experiment showed that participants largely spent the guaranteed income on food, and that having the extra income led to increased full-time employment and productivity combined with decreased stress and depression.
"As Mayor of Stockton, Michael Tubbs proved himself as a leader who cares deeply about his community and economic fairness," Gov. Newsom said in a statement. "From implementing the first mayor-led guaranteed income pilot to launching the Stockton Scholars program to invest in his city's youth, Tubbs expanded opportunity and hope in his hometown."
According to a press release, Tubbs will not be compensated for his role in Newsom's administration, nor will he be a state employee. Instead, he will serve as an ex-officio member on the Governor's Council of Economic Advisors.
In a statement to ABC10, Tubbs said that his new role would include making policy recommendations focused on fighting poverty and increasing opportunity. He will also help with COVID-19 relief.
"And as we look toward what a new social contract in a post-COVID California must include and how it will account for centuries-long racial disparities and barriers within our economic and political systems, we will focus on solutions based in racial justice and equity," Tubbs said.
Tubbs also said that, as California is his home, he was excited to start a new chapter in public service in his home state. He will continue to serve as Chair of both the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income and the Reinvent Stockton Foundation.
