San Jose residents launch campaign to recall City Councilman Omar Torres

Downtown San Jose residents are launching a recall campaign against City Councilman Omar Torres, claiming they no longer feel represented by him as he continues to evade the public eye.

Torres, who represents downtown districts in District 3, has maintained his innocence even as he shirked his council duties and missed several meetings after police records showed he exchanged lewd text messages in which he fantasized about minors. Now residents want him out and are taking action in a recall effort since he hasn’t resigned himself.

The recall was announced this morning at a press conference outside City Hall held by business owners, downtown residents and Mayor Matt Mahan’s deputy chief of staff Matthew Quevedo – who took a day off to launch the campaign. Residents intend to collect the 250 signatures from District 3 voters needed to send Torres a notice of intent to officially begin the recall, which Quevedo said could happen today since signatures have already been collected. After that, the recall effort needs 12% of the signatures of registered voters in District 3 – 5,289 signatures – to get the recall on the ballot.

Quevedo said he expects to collect those signatures by December, with the goal of getting it back on the ballot early next year. He said it was too early to say how much the campaign would cost, but added that it would be a grassroots effort, such as door knocking.

“We are doing this because enough is enough,” Quevedo said at Friday’s news conference.

He said the decision to initiate a recall came after the mayor’s office spoke with District 3 residents in recent weeks and heard repeated frustrations about their lack of representation at San Jose City Council meetings.

“I heard concerns from neighbors who attended meetings with the council member whose attorney tried to dismiss inappropriate conversations about an 11-year-old child as simply role play and fantasy,” Quevedo told San José Spotlight. “This is simply unacceptable. Decisions are made at City Hall while our neighborhoods have no voice.”

@sanjosespotlight

Downtown San Jose residents are launching a recall campaign against City Councilman Omar Torres, claiming they no longer feel represented by him as he continues to elude the public during a police investigation into alleged child abuse. The recall was announced this morning at a press conference outside City Hall held by downtown business owners and Mayor Matt Mahan’s deputy chief of staff, Matthew Quevedo. Learn more at SanJoseSpotlight.com

♬ Original sound – San Jose Spotlight

Torres’ attorney, Nelson McElmurry, said residents had the right to exercise their recall powers but urged people to withhold judgment pending the outcome of the ongoing criminal investigation.

“I wish everyone – including the public – would show a little more patience as the investigation is still in its relatively early stages. He has maintained his innocence,” McElmurry told San Jose Spotlight.

McElmurry said he had not yet spoken to Torres during the residents’ press conference, but a comment could follow.

Steve Cohen, a 35-year downtown resident, said Torres “convicted himself without being charged and without being tried.”

“He continued to advocate for District 3,” Cohen told San Jose Spotlight. “He has lost the trust of the people of District 3 and the council.”

This came as Torres sought council approval for a 30-day leave of absence that would allow him to continue skipping meetings without being removed from his seat under the bylaws. Council members declined to consider Torres’ request at their next meeting on Oct. 29.

He has already missed two council meetings since the scandal first became public earlier this month, drawing criticism from Mayor Mahan, who accused Torres of holding his council seat “hostage.” But Mahan and a majority of the City Council agreed to excuse Torres’ absence from one of those meetings – angering the public and even some City Hall staff.

San Jose Councilman Bien Doan said Thursday he intends to initiate proceedings to remove Torres under city law.

Doan said the Torres scandal sheds light on needed changes to city charter — including creating a mandatory administrative leave policy in the event a council member is under criminal investigation for a crime. He said he believes the recall is the right thing to do.

“I am exploring every possible avenue to initiate a process to remove Councilmember Torres from office, which I am authorized to do under our city charter,” Doan previously told San Jose Spotlight.
On Wednesday, one of the Bay Area’s largest LGBTQ+ factions broke its silence on the Torres scandal by calling on him to resign.

“With the words that San Jose Councilman Omar Torres admits are his own, he has clearly violated the high standards expected of an elected official and must resign,” the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee wrote in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Torres is entitled to the presumption of innocence with respect to any alleged criminal conduct, but he must now be held accountable for the abhorrent descriptions of acts involving minors in his messages.”

The story was updated on October 25 at 11:43 a.m. The original story was published on October 25 at 9:23 am

Contact Annalize Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalize_ellen on X, formerly known as Twitter. Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X, formerly known as Twitter.