Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing mounting public criticism from a fellow elected Democrat in his own state, Politico reported on Tuesday.
Democratic San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has repeatedly rebuked Newsom this year, including lambasting the governor over trolling Republicans online and his approach to California’s drug addiction issues and homelessness crisis, according to Politico. The Democratic mayor’s public critiques of Newsom have greatly vexed some of the governor’s advisers, the outlet reported.
Newsom’s office and Mahan’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Mahan wrote in an Aug. 30 X post that “the way we win the fight for a better California is by solving problems in the real world, not by stooping to [President] Donald Trump’s level online.”
Moreover, Mahan wrote in an Aug. 30 op-ed for The San Francisco Standard that “instead of modeling themselves after a governor focused on these important issues, our politicians are instead watching our governor [Newsom] ‘succeed’ by making a ton of noise online, even sometimes at the expense of our state’s reputation.” He also wrote that while Newsom’s social media strategy “might be a winning strategy for his presidential campaign, it is “a losing one for improving the lives of Californians.”
“We, and every California city, would be doing better if Sacramento was doing more,” Mahan wrote in the op-ed. “Instead of spending so much energy attacking his opponents, the governor and his team should be addressing the high cost of energy, helping hard-pressed families make ends meet and keeping them and their employers from fleeing our state.”
The California governor has also been openly imitating Trump’s style on social media this year, amid mounting rumors that he plans to launch a 2028 White House bid. Mahan told the Los Angeles Times on Oct. 1 that he thinks that Newsom’s social media strategy of trolling Republicans is largely ineffective.
“If we don’t have a politics of solutions and making people’s lives better, I just don’t know where we end up,” Mahan told the LA Times. “It’s politics practiced in bad faith, where we just … tell people things that test well because they sound nice, and then we just blame the other side for being evil, incompetent, corrupt. … It’s just a race to the bottom.”
The San Jose mayor also critiqued Newsom and the California Legislature over a lack of funding for Proposition 36, a law aimed at cracking down on retail theft and drug use, which was passed by 68% of voters in November, KGET reported on Aug. 29.
Mahan clarified to Politico that his “disagreements” with Newsom are “practical” and “not personal” ones.
“My disagreements with the governor are not personal and they’re not particularly political — they are practical,” Mahan told Politico. “I would like to see our governor be laser focused on addressing the basics.”
“I fear a politics that devolves into pure rhetoric, partisan bickering,” Mahan continued.
Bob Salladay, a spokesperson for Newsom, told Politico that “we’re not at war with the mayor, no matter how hard he tries.” Salladay added that “we’re all in this together.”
Some longtime California-based Democratic strategists and allies of Newsom have been expressing frustration with Mahan’s blunt criticism of the governor, the outlet reported.
“If Mahan wants to be the puppy peeing on Newsom’s carpet, bless him,” Garry South, a longtime Democratic strategist who has previously advised Newsom, told Politico. “He’s playing way out of his league.”
One anonymous Newsom adviser told Politico that they think Mahan’s frequent criticisms of Newsom this year are just the San Jose mayor “trying to get attention.”
“He [Mahan] comes from a long line of people who’ve tried to break out of San Jose,” the anonymous adviser said, Politico reported. “He’s trying to get attention by contrasting in a way that alienates base Democrats. Running against Gavin Newsom as a Democrat only makes sense if you plan to become a Republican.”
Steven Maviglio, a veteran Democratic strategist, commended Mahan for voicing a complaint that “Newsom has neglected his job as governor and is totally focused on his presidential ambitions.”
Newsom, who cannot seek reelection in 2026 due to term limits, has greatly expanded his national profile this year, including launching a new podcast, dubbed “This Is Gavin Newsom,” in February. Some recently released polls have notably shown Newsom as the leading candidate in a hypothetical 2028 Democratic presidential primary contest.
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