Embattled San José Council Member Faces Recall Push Amid Sex Crimes Investigation

A group of downtown San José residents, including a top city staffer, are beginning a campaign to recall Councilmember Omar Torres, who is the subject of a police investigation into alleged sexual misconduct involving a minor.

The residents in Torres’ District 3 said Friday that they are willing to see through a potentially months-long effort to recall him from office but hope the added pressure will force him to resign immediately.

“We are doing this because enough is enough,” Matthew Quevedo, a resident and Mayor Matt Mahan’s deputy chief of staff, said at a news conference in front of City Hall. “We are building a coalition of neighbors, parents and small-business owners to begin this recall process.”

Torres, who has not been formally charged with a crime and denied any wrongdoing, has faced a backlash and calls for his resignation from all of his council colleagues since details of the police investigation emerged this month.

In an affidavit supporting a search warrant and GPS tracking on Torres’ car, police said they are investigating Torres on suspicion of oral copulation of a minor and abnormal interest in children, a felony and a misdemeanor, respectively.

Police first started looking into claims from Torres that he was being extorted by a 21-year-old man from Chicago, Terry Beeks, with whom Torres had an online sexual relationship.

However, the investigation seemed to turn to focus on Torres after police found texts from Torres to Beeks in 2022 describing the genitalia of an 11-year-old boy and writing that he had performed oral sex on a 17-year-old boy while working at a college.

In another text exchange with Beeks about having a sexual encounter, according to the affidavit, Torres asked, “U got any homies under 18.”

Torres’ attorney, Nelson McElmurry, did not deny the authenticity of the texts but previously characterized the conversations as “outrageous fantasy and role play.”

Torres has been largely absent from public view since the investigation into him was first revealed. He has missed City Council meetings, committee meetings, and meetings of other regional boards and commissions he serves on, leading the council to strip him of his assignments this week and reassign those duties to other members.

“I was present at the last City Council meeting because I wanted to ask Omar in person for his resignation. But he was not there,” Melissa Reyes, who owns downtown’s Mesquite & Oak restaurant, said at Friday’s press conference. “We need the representation. And he was nowhere to be found.”

Kevin Morris, co-owner of Spicy Roy’s Caribbean Grill downtown, said the criminal investigation has stopped Torres from participating in neighborhood or business association meetings, frustrating people looking to make progress on issues such as homelessness, public safety and parking.

“We’ve heard repeatedly the frustrations of no representation at council,” said Quevedo, the mayor’s deputy chief of staff. “I’ve heard the concerns of neighbors attending meetings with a council member whose attorney tried to wave off inappropriate conversations about an 11-year-old child as simply role play and fantasy. This is simply unacceptable.”

The City Council also voted this week to approve an excused absence for Torres from its Oct. 8 meeting for illness.

McElmurry has said previously that the council member does not intend to resign, but in a late addition to the council’s rules committee meeting on Wednesday, Torres submitted a memo requesting approval to be excused from the Oct. 22, 29, and Nov. 5 meetings for a 30-day leave of absence, citing the need to protect his health.

“I will be taking a temporary leave of absence from the San José City Council, following my doctor’s recommendation … to focus on my mental health,” Torres wrote. “The allegations made against me have significantly impacted my emotional and mental well-being.”

He said his office would remain “fully operational” as his staff continues to serve residents, adding that he is “committed to returning to my duties.”

The rules committee, however, did not take action on the memo, meaning it will not appear on Tuesday’s agenda to be considered by the full council.

Torres, a first-term council member, is not up for reelection next month, and his current term is set to end in December 2026.

Quevedo, the mayor’s deputy chief of staff, acknowledged that it could take until early 2025 to get a special recall election in place for District 3 residents, but he said he’d rather start this effort now in light of Torres’ declination to resign.

Quevedo also dismissed the idea that his connection to Mahan could color this effort as a political play. He said he took a vacation day from his work in Mahan’s office to help organize Friday’s press conference and was working on the recall effort separately from his work duties.

“I’m a San Joséan first and foremost, I’m a father. I’m a husband. I’m a resident here in the neighborhood. I’ve been doing community advocacy work for the past 15 years,” Quevedo said. “And so this is my civic duty to get involved in this today.”

The group said Friday that they plan to deliver Torres a notice of intent to recall him soon.

Some at the press conference said the criminal investigation just offers another reason to oust a council member they weren’t fond of already.

Steve Cohen, a real estate investor in downtown San José and a resident, said he wasn’t happy with Torres’ work before the investigation was revealed, alleging he didn’t do enough to care for the whole district.

“We haven’t had good representation for 10 years,” Cohen said, calling the investigation into Torres “one more nail in the coffin.”