Neighborhood leaders in embattled San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres’ district plan to initiate a recall as he continues to defy mounting pressure to resign amid a criminal probe into sexual misconduct involving minors.
Despite Torres’ proclaimed innocence and a desire to remain in office, graphic messages he sent referencing children and his notable absence from public proceedings — missing every City Council, board, and commission meeting since news of the investigation broke — have inflamed politicians, business organizations, and several neighborhood associations to the point where they believe he can no longer serve his constituents effectively.
“Enough is enough,” said District 3 resident Matthew Quevedo, who has helped organize the recall. “We cannot wait any longer for someone who lacks moral judgment to do what is right for the community and step down. After talking with neighbors, parents, students and small business owners, it’s clear that the community stands behind a recall. Since Omar Torres was elected by a vote of the people, it’s now up to the people to remove him.”
While Quevedo serves as San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s deputy chief of staff, his participation in the recall effort is in a personal capacity.
Torres, 43, has served District 3 for nearly two years after defeating Irene Smith in the 2022 General Election by winning 65% of the vote. He campaigned as an advocate for youth and families, often speaking about his tough upbringing in the Guadalupe-Washington neighborhood and how a drive-by shooting near an elementary school while he was a teen spurred him to become more active in his community.
However, a police investigation, which initially began when Torres reported that he was a victim of extortion, turned its focus to him after authorities found sexually explicit text messages Torres allegedly sent to a now 21-year-old Chicago man that referenced minors.
The messages Torres allegedly sent led police to believe he could face criminal exposure for copulation of a minor — a felony — and showing abnormal interest in a child. In the unsealed search warrant affidavit, police also found that Torres asked the man: “U got any homies under 18.” Torres’ legal representation said the messages represented “outrageous fantasy and role play” and not real-world action, but some residents balked at that explanation, saying that even if it were true, his words made him unfit for office.
“If you thought this was all wholesome and harmless, you wouldn’t have let anyone blackmail you over it,” resident Kathryn Hedges wrote in an email to the City Council calling for Torres to resign. “Your excuse that you fell into some kind of honey pot trap and didn’t know how to stop texting gross sexual things without it being awkward is so ridiculous that it’s either a lie or you’re too dense to be an elected official.”
After calling for Torres’ resignation, Mahan took the first concrete step in filling the leadership and services void Torres has caused in District 3 by vowing to dedicate more resources and attention to its residents to ensure their well-being. City leaders also recently voted to strip Torres of his committee assignments.
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But frustrations have mounted for residents and local officials this week because of the lack of substantive action the city can take to push Torres out. A review of the charter by the city attorney’s office found that reasons for automatic vacancies included but were not limited to insanity, leaving the state for 60 days, a recall, a felony conviction and missing five consecutive council meetings.
After Torres requested an excused absence for the city’s Oct. 8 meeting because of an undisclosed illness, District 7 Bien Doan unsuccessfully asked his colleagues on the dais to deny it, calling the medical excuse a ploy to draw out the situation as long as possible. Doan’s premonition proved correct as Torres then asked for a 30-day medical leave — citing the investigation’s impacts to his mental health — to excuse three more absences, a request the city’s rules committee ignored and declined to put on the City Council’s next agenda in the latest round of political gamesmanship.
“Yesterday, I saw a memo written by Torres asking for three more excused absences and that he intends to come back to his seat as if everything is OK,” Doan told The Mercury News Thursday. “Well, everything is not OK. I believe our city charter needs to be changed to better handle situations like this, including the creation of a mandatory administrative leave policy if a councilmember finds themself as the subject of a felony criminal investigation. Additionally, I am researching every avenue possible to begin proceedings to remove Councilmember Torres from office as I am empowered to do under our city charter.”
Generally speaking, to initiate a recall of a local official, petitioners need to prepare a notice of intent and collect at least 30 signatures in jurisdictions between 1,000 and 100,000 registered voters and at least 50 signatures for areas exceeding 100,000. The notice must then be sent to the respondent, who will have seven days to respond to the recall before petitioners can prepare a recall petition and collect the requisite signatures to place the recall on an upcoming ballot.
This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
