Michael Tubbs

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Even though Tuesday night didn’t give us the history-making moment we were all expecting, for Stockton Calif., City Councilman Michael Tubbs, election night was doubly historic. Not only did he become the city’s first black mayor, but he also becomes the youngest mayor in the city’s history, according to the Stockton Record.


“I’m tired of talking about where we’ve been. I’m more interested in talking about where we’re going. We have to mature as a community and start demanding solutions,” Tubbs told the audience at his victory party Tuesday night.

Tubbs defeated embattled incumbent Anthony Silva, 41, who recently became embroiled in scandal after he was arrested at his youth camp and accused of giving alcohol to minors and recording them playing strip poker.


Tubbs, a Stanford grad who interned at Google and the White House, decided to go back to his hometown to help make a difference after his cousin was killed at a Halloween party in 2010, according to Complex. For the past three years, he’s served on the City Council, working to bring health clinics to his district and improve the relationship between the community and the police.

“It’s a very important milestone, in particular someone as bright and energetic and with the ability to gather and garner resources around the state and country,” said Bobby Bivens, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, according to the Record. “I’m looking forward to some more positive things happening here in the city.”

Read more at the Stockton Record and Complex.