Local politicians don’t always become well known outside of their own circles. But in 2016, Michael Tubbs captured national attention after winning the mayoral race in Stockton, California, about 80 miles east of San Francisco. Despite being known as the most racially diverse city in the United States, Tubbs was Stockton’s first Black mayor, and also its youngest. (He was just 26 when he won the election.)
Even if you’re not from California, it’s still possible you’re familiar with Tubbs’s political legacy. In 2019, he launched the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, a landmark guaranteed income project. Under Tubbs’s leadership, the program randomly picked 125 people to get $500 a month for two years. The money wasn’t earmarked for any particular purpose. People could use it for whatever they needed, and there were no strings attached.
