During an interview aired on Friday’s broadcast of “The Issue Is,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan responded to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) calling a special session in the wake of President-Elect Donald Trump’s victory to help Trump-proof the state by stating that “the best resistance, if you want to call it that, is to make California work,” and said that “the Democratic Party in our state needs to get back to basics, listen to ordinary people about the issues that affect their daily lives, be honest that the policies and programs we have in place are not always delivering the outcomes we need.”
Host Elex Michaelson asked, “[T]he first reaction to Trump’s victory from the Governor of the state, Gov. Newsom, was to call a special session. They talked about it as a Trump-proofing of California. You think that’s a wise use of time?”
Mahan answered, “Well, I think that the best resistance, if you want to call it that, is to make California work, prove that what we’re doing here is a model for the country going forward. That’s where we’ve been. For the last 50 years, we were the state that led the way, we innovated, we solved problems, we were the trendsetter. And now we’re reacting. And I don’t — sure, there will be things we can work with the Trump administration on. There may be places we have to push back and there may be some legal battles, but the emphasis should be making our state the most economically vibrant and competitive, having the best public schools, getting everybody housed, controlling cost of living for working families. If we do that, I don’t think we have to worry too much about what Trump does, and I think we will continue to lead the nation forward. But, unfortunately, people aren’t looking to us for leadership anymore, and that’s a problem.”
Later, Mahan added, “I think that the Democratic Party in our state needs to get back to basics, listen to ordinary people about the issues that affect their daily lives, be honest that the policies and programs we have in place are not always delivering the outcomes we need. It’s why I was an early backer of Prop 36.”
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