Michael Tubbs, 21, was shocked to receive a check for $10,000 from Oprah Winfrey. Tubbs met Winfrey when she visited Stanford University in April and had the opportunity to chat with her about his plans to run for City Council of his hometown in Stockton, California.
“She looked at me and said, ‘How old are you?'” Tubbs told the Stockton Record. “She kept coming back to Stockton. ‘Tell me about the city.’ I told her about the homicides, how the city is broke[sic] and the disconnect.”
Two weeks after meeting Winfrey, Tubbs, received a check in the mail for $10K signed by Winfrey.
Oprah Winfrey is known for her charitable giving. The media mogul also has made public political statements, such as when she endorsed President Obama in 2008, and again with Newark mayor Cory Booker, but this is her first time supporting an aspiring small-time politician like Tubbs.
Tubbs is a senior at Stanford University. He is the Executive Director of The Phoenix Scholars program, and has interned at Google and the White House, according to the Huffington Post.
Tubbs is running up against the current City Councilman Republican Dale Fritchen, 52. He told Huffington Post that he plans to focus his campaign on the escalating crime rates in Stockton. Fritchen and Tubbs will compete in the primary elections on June 5; they are expected to both advance to the general elections on Nov. 6.
Follow Dominique Z. Scott on Twitter @domscottwrites