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Omar Torres was elected to the San Jose City Council in 2022, beating Irene Smith with 66% of the vote. He represents District 3 which encompasses the city’s downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods, including Vendome, Naglee Park and Japantown. According to his campaign, Torres’ priorities as councilmember are eradicating homelessness, restoring public safety, revitalizing downtown businesses, and expanding commerce. He is the first openly gay Latino elected to the San Jose City Council and the first openly gay Latino to serve on any city council in Santa Clara County. Torres was elected to the Board of Education - San Jose, Evergreen Community College District in 2020 as trustee representing area 7.
First elected: November 2022
Twitter bio: Councilmember-Elect, SJC-D3. 4ever Community Organizer. SJCC & SJSU alum. Proudly gay & brown! SJ homegrown!
Alma maters: San Jose State University (2007-2011), San Jose City College (2001-2006)
Other offices held: Board of Education, San Jose Community College Board Trustee (2020-2022), Franklin-McKinley School Board (2014-2018)
Notable quote: “Our campaign is focused on the issues that matter to District 3 voters—public safety, reducing homelessness, support for small business, cleaner neighborhoods. I am looking and moving forward.” (Source: San Jose Spotlight)
San Jose residents want a neighborhood improvement initiative to restart after it sunsetted last June due to lack of funding.
Latino members of the San Jose City Council are calling for more funding for undocumented immigrant protections as the incoming presidential administration threatens to ramp up deportations.
If no candidate receives a majority on April 8, the top two candidates will run against each other in a special runoff election on June 24. The winner will serve the remainder of the term through 2026.
Housing and business developers in San Jose avoid building public improvements by paying fees to the city, but this often leads to infrastructure projects slowing to a crawl.
