History-Making Former Mayor of Stockton Backs History-Making Campaign  

OAKLAND, CA — Congresswoman and U.S. Senate candidate Barbara Lee today announced the endorsement of former Stockton Mayor and nationally recognized anti-poverty champion Michael Tubbs. 

In 2016, Tubbs became the first African-American ever elected as Mayor of Stockton – the largest city in San Joaquin County –  and was also the youngest Mayor of any major city in American history. Tubbs is also the founder of “Ending Poverty in California (EPIC)”, as well as “Mayors for a Guaranteed Income”, and since his service in Stockton, he has worked as a Special Advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom for Economic Mobility. 

“I’m supporting Congresswoman Barbara Lee because we are living in a time that demands a champion, a fighter – someone who has a long career of receipts earned at the staff level, the state legislative level and as a leading progressive in Congress,” said Tubbs. “I’m proud to stand with Congresswoman Lee – a leader who has always stood for justice, even when it was unpopular, even when it was hard, even when it was by herself. That’s who we need in the Senate and that’s why I’m supporting Barbara Lee.”

“Michael Tubbs is one of our most inspiring young leaders and I am honored to have his trust and support,” said Congresswoman Lee. “The work to lift people out of poverty is as important as ever, and I am running for Senate to ensure we have someone dedicated to representing those families who are squeezed economically by the cost of housing, childcare, and everyday needs. Mayor Tubbs knows that Californians and the American people deserve a progressive leader with a proven track record of results and the legislative experience needed to move our country forward. That’s who I am, and that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

Tubbs joins a growing list of high-profile current and former elected officials from around the state who have endorsed Lee’s campaign for Senate, including five of the eight statewide constitutional officers – Attorney General Rob Bonta, Treasurer Fiona Ma, Controller Malia Cohen, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

Other national and California endorsers of Lee’s campaign include Congressmembers Jamaal Bowman, Sheila Jackson Lee, Steven Horsford, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Troy Carter, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Nikema Williams, Jim Clyburn, Bennie Thompson, Lucy McBath, Terri Sewell, and Gregory Meeks, former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Cedric Richmond, former Georgia General Assembly House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, State Senators Susan Talamantes Eggman, Anna Caballero and Nancy Skinner, Assemblymembers Isaac Bryan, Mia Bonta and Corey Jackson, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, San Bernardino Mayor Helen Tran, Redlands Mayor Eddie Tejeda, Rialto Mayor Deborah Robertson, former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, Palm Desert Mayor Pro Tem Karina Quintanilla, Dolores Huerta, California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus Chair Deepa Sharma, California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus Chair Emeritus Amar Shergill, California Democratic Party LGBTQ Caucus Co-Chair Emeritus Tiffany Woods. A full list of endorsements is available at barbaraleeforCA.com. 

Lee also has the backing of the Alameda County Building and Construction Trades Council, California Legislative Black Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, Feminist Majority PAC, Black Women Organized for Political Action PAC, and Higher Heights for America.

There are currently no Black women serving in the U.S. Senate. Since 1789, when the first Congress met, only two African American women have been in the Senate, serving a total of 10 years.