Residents in San Jose’s District 3 are asking for an election to pick who will replace Omar Torres as their councilmember.
The former San Jose city councilmember recently resigned after he was arrested last week on three counts of sexual assault by force. Residents say they are facing a number of issues in the district.
On Monday night, the district’s Chief of Staff Kiara Kassandra said she wants to assure residents that the office remains open.
“We’re still taking phone calls, we’re still taking emails, we’re still sending newsletters out, we’re still working for the community,” she said.
The District 3 seat has been empty at the last few City Council meetings as Torres has been under investigation for the last several weeks and was arrested for a separate case on Nov. 5. He was formally charged with three felony counts of child molestation.
Kassandra says there are six employees working for the district who are being overseen by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and his office.
“Our focus keeps being the same, helping the community, our District 3 residents, our small businesses, and making sure downtown thrives,” she said.
Luis Mendoza, a small business owner, he’s had this food truck called Mr. Shrimp on 13th Street for the last two years. He says they’ve faced a number of issues in those two years.
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“We’ve dealt with break ins, fighting, homeless, and a lot of stuff," he said.
Mendoza added that he often sees car accidents occur on 13th and Mission streets. He’s hoping for an election where they can choose the next person to represent them instead of the city appointing someone.
“I’m hoping they bring a little more lights, maybe do a speed bump, light, stop sign in the corner,” he said.
There are two memos going through the rules committee this week that have to do with the replacement process for the District 3 seat. Once the memos go through the rules committee, it could show up on the City Council agenda for Nov. 19.
