“I never wanted to really go into politics,” Valentine said. “I think of it more like jury duty, where you go and do your time and then get out and go on with your life.”
“I’m not using this as a stepping-stone to run for senator or president,” he said. “I’m not really doing it to get any money.”
If elected, he plans to refuse his mayoral salary and tackle numerous issues, outlined on his
Instagram. They include working towards a universal basic income, defunding/abolishing police, decriminalizing drugs and eradicating homelessness through affordable housing.
Citing his own experience
living out of his car, he claims the city’s current efforts to help the housing and homelessness crisis aren’t enough. He’s
made his own plan to tackle the issue, such as making abatements and anti-homeless architecture illegal.