Well played, black man: California Today: Meet the New Mayor, Age 26

In Stockton, voters elected not only the city’s first black mayor, but also its youngest ever — the 26-year-old Michael Tubbs.

Californians have in the past elected a number of 20-something mayors, but perhaps never in a city the size of Stockton, with a diverse population north of 300,000. (The League of California Cities said it did not track the ages of mayors.)

Mr. Tubbs, a City Council member for the last four years, focused his campaign on renewal in a city that was hammered by the 2008 housing crisis.

“He sort of represents, I think, people’s hopes for the future of Stockton,” said Keith W. Smith, an associate professor of political science at University of the Pacific, which has a campus in Stockton.

Mr. Tubbs, a Democrat, won 70 percent of the vote, a result that was also seen as a repudiation of his rival.

The campaign of the incumbent Mayor Anthony Silva, a Republican, was tainted by reports of improper conduct. The latest was an arrest over accusations that he gave alcohol to minors during a strip poker game. Mr. Silva did not respond to requests for comment.

“So as much as the vote is for Michael Tubbs a lot of the vote is also against Anthony Silva,” Professor Smith said.

Mr. Tubbs was born in south Stockton to a teenage mother and an incarcerated father. He went on to graduate from Stanford and intern at Google and the White House, before going into politics.

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