San Jose Mayor and City Council Strip Omar Torres of Official Appointments, Effective Immediately
After missing all public meetings for two weeks, councilmembers’ committee assignments and other appointments have been revoked and assigned to other members of the Council
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2024
Media Contact:
Tasha Dean, Chief Communications Officer, Office of Mayor Matt Mahan; [email protected]
SAN JOSÉ, CA - Today, the City Council unanimously voted to remove District Three Councilmember Omar Torres from all Council-assigned appointments, approving a memo put forward by Mayor Mahan. Since news of a police investigation into the Councilmember surfaced earlier this month, Torres has repeatedly missed multiple meetings across various committees, commissions and boards — prompting the community to question whether they’re being effectively represented.
“Omar Torres is holding his seat hostage and taking away the right to representation from 100,000 residents of San Jose even after the entire council has called for his resignation. While we don’t have the tools we need to fully remove him from office as the community has asked us to do, we can and have stripped him from all committees, boards and commissions,” said Mayor Matt Mahan.
Mayor Mahan continued, “I am looking forward to the day when we have a District 3 leader who is worthy of the trust and respect of the community.”
This action by the Council went into effect immediately after the vote at City Council on Tuesday, October 22nd and impacts the following committees & appointments — new liaisons and updated members are as follows:
Public Safety, Finance, & Strategy Support: Jimenez, Doan, Cohen, Kamei and Batra
Community & Economic Development: Foley, Jimenez, Ortiz, Kamei and Batra
Neighborhood Services & Education: Davis, Ortiz, Doan, Batra and Candelas
Arts Commission: Councilmember Pam Foley
Downtown Parking Board: Councilmember Dev Davis
Library and Education Commission: Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei
A letter from the Library Commission in support of this action can be found here.
San José Youth Empowerment Alliance: Councilmember Domingo Candelas
Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency Governing Board: Councilmember Sergio Jimenez
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board: Councilmember David Cohen
Santa Clara VTA Policy Advisory Board – Diridon Station: Councilmember David Cohen
Silicon Valley Regional Interoperability Project: Councilmember Arjun Batra
Team San José/Convention and Visitors Bureau: Councilmember Pam Foley
Schools and City Collaborative: Councilmember Domingo Candelas
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About the City of San José
With nearly one million residents, San José is the largest city in the Bay Area and one of the nation's most diverse and creative. San José’s transformation into a global innovation center in the heart of Silicon Valley has resulted in the world's greatest concentration of technology talent and development.