Today, San José Mayor Matt Mahan used his campaign X account to lean hard into his Silicon Valley origin story, saying that when he co-founded Brigade and worked at Causes, he helped build tools that later became change.org and GoFundMe and pledging that as governor, he would keep empowering grassroots organizers. The post landed as Mahan works to stand out in a crowded Democratic primary by showcasing his civic-tech résumé. It also drew fast scrutiny because the two platforms he name-checked launched years before Brigade existed.
What He Said And How It Checks Out
In the post on X, Mayor Matt Mahan cast his rise to City Hall as an outgrowth of his civic-tech work, treating Brigade and Causes as the launchpad for his political career. His campaign biography lists him as a co-founder of Brigade and a former executive at Causes, a storyline that has become central to how he introduces himself to voters statewide. (Mahan for California)
When I co-founded Brigade and worked at Causes, we built tools to help people organize grassroots movements. Tools that later became https://t.co/vbtmMceNF7 and gofundme.As Mayor, a grassroots movement of people demanding better elected me. As governor, I will continue to… pic.twitter.com/k7TPgg41tx
— Mayor Matt Mahan (@MattMahanSJ) April 22, 2026
Timeline Problem Over Change.org And GoFundMe
The eye-catching part of the post was Mahan’s claim that his team’s tools later became change.org and GoFundMe. Public timelines do not back that up. Change.org launched in 2007, and GoFundMe traces its start to 2010. Brigade came along later, creating a chronological gap that makes his phrasing, at best, hazy…