Downtown San Jose residents are launching a recall campaign against Councilmember Omar Torres, claiming they no longer feel represented by him as he continues to evade the public eye.
Torres, who represents the downtown neighborhoods of District 3, has maintained his innocence despite dodging his council responsibilities and missing multiple meetings after police filings showed he exchanged lewd text messages that fantasized about minors. Now, residents want him out and are taking action through a recall campaign since he hasn’t stepped down himself.
The recall was announced this morning at a news conference outside City Hall, held by downtown business owners, residents and Mayor Matt Mahan’s Deputy Chief of Staff Matthew Quevedo — who took a day off to launch the campaign. Residents intend to gather the 250 signatures from District 3 voters needed to serve Torres a notice of intent to officially begin the recall, which Quevedo said could happen today with signatures already being collected. After that, the recall campaign needs 12% of registered voters’ signatures in District 3 — 5,289 signatures — to get the recall on the ballot.
Quevedo said he expects to gather those signatures by December, aiming to get a recall on the ballot early next year. He said it’s too early to know how much the campaign will cost, but added it will be a grassroots effort through things such as door knocking…