Michael Mulcahy is a San José native, third-generation resident, entrepreneur, arts advocate, and neighborhood champion who has represented District 6 on the San José City Council since January 2025. He won the November 2024 general election, defeating labor-backed candidate Olivia Navarro, and his current term runs through December 31, 2028.
Born and raised in District 6, Mulcahy attended Bellarmine College Preparatory before going on to San José State University and ultimately graduating from the University of Southern California. His roots in the district run generations deep — his family has owned property in the Willow Glen area since the 1940s, when his relatives operated the Sun Garden tomato cannery on Monterey Road. That cannery was later redeveloped by the family into the Sun Garden shopping center, a project emblematic of Mulcahy's lifelong investment in the neighborhood's evolution.
Before entering politics, Mulcahy built a varied and impressive career that spanned nonprofit arts leadership, real estate development, and civic institution-building. Prior to joining his family firm in 2001, he served as Executive Director of Children's Musical Theater San José, at the time the largest youth theater company in the United States. There, he oversaw operations, finances, fundraising, and strategic planning, helping grow the organization into one of Silicon Valley's most effective programs for youth and families. His passion for the performing arts is personal as well as professional — he is a lifelong musical theater performer himself and has long argued for the importance of the arts in cultivating community, connection, and a sense of shared identity.
Since 2001, Mulcahy has served as Managing Partner of SDS NexGen Partners, a family-owned real estate investment and asset management firm. His efforts have included the rehabilitation of the Garden Theater and other key properties along Lincoln Avenue in Willow Glen, supporting local entrepreneurs, creating hundreds of jobs, and preserving a part of San José's heritage. He also holds ownership stakes in several Willow Glen restaurants, including The Table and Lamella Tavern, giving him direct experience in the challenges facing small business owners navigating San José's permitting and regulatory environment.
Beyond his business career, Mulcahy has been a prolific civic volunteer. He served as a founding board member of Team San José, partnering business, arts, government, and labor to generate tourism and high-wage jobs. He served on the Hillbrook School Board for 12 years, the Heritage Bank Advisory Board, and the San José Downtown Development Strategy Task Force. He co-chaired the Baseball San José effort alongside former Mayor Susan Hammer, advocating for bringing the Oakland A's to a new stadium in downtown San José. He is also a Senior Fellow and past board member of the American Leadership Forum.
Mulcahy previously ran for San José mayor in 2006, finishing fifth in a field of ten candidates — an experience he says gave him valuable perspective and deepened his engagement with city issues.
In office, Mulcahy has aligned closely with Mayor Matt Mahan on public safety and homelessness, earning the sole endorsement of San José police officers during his campaign. His District 6 encompasses Willow Glen, Santana Row, The Alameda, and parts of downtown — among the city's most commercially and culturally vibrant corridors — and he has made neighborhood preservation, small business vitality, and aggressive but compassionate homelessness solutions his central priorities. He serves on the Public Safety, Finance & Strategic Support Committee and the Community and Economic Development Committee. He and his wife Kimberly, a community advocate and former budget and policy analyst for former Mayor Susan Hammer, have raised their three daughters — Claire, Ella, and Camille — in Willow Glen.
