This article was originally published by the San Jose Spotlight
San Jose voters living downtown will decide in April who they want to represent them on the City Council for the next two years.
Seven candidates are running for the District 3 seat, including San Jose Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos, Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley Executive Director Gabby Chavez-Lopez, mayoral staffer Matthew Quevedo, pro tem judge Irene Smith, retired family counselor Tyrone Wade, retired sheriff Lt. Adam Duran and Philip Dolan, a knife sharpener salesman.
City officials voted on Jan. 28 to appoint Carl Salas, founder of an engineering and technical services firm, to temporarily represent downtown San Jose until the April 8 special election, or possibly later if a summer runoff is required.
Facing a larger than expected budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal years, along with mounting concerns about homelessness, housing and the local economy, District 3 candidates shared with San José Spotlight their plans for leading downtown in a positive direction through 2026.
Not only are residents vested in the outcome of this year’s special election in light of former District 3 Councilmember Omar Torres resigning in disgrace, business and housing advocates say downtown’s next elected representative can influence the future growth of San Jose.
Here are the District 3 San Jose City Council candidates in alphabetical order by last name:
Matthew Quevedo
While Quevedo, 36, is deputy chief of staff for Mayor Matt Mahan, he said he’s more than his job. He’s lived across different areas of District 3 with his family the past few years.
Working with Mahan over the last five years, along with a stint as director of housing, transportation and community engagement policy for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Quevedo describes himself as the most qualified candidate. He’s focusing his campaign on addressing neighborhood blight, housing affordability, public safety and the need to keep small businesses afloat.
“Residents have seen me in the neighborhoods, working with folks directly in their communities,” he told San José Spotlight. “We want to get folks off of the streets and build housing so that folks get the services they deserve. On public safety, we’ve seen that we need to continue to focus on rebuilding our police department, ensuring that residents have officers available to them in neighborhoods throughout the district.”
Quevedo helped District 3 residents launch a recall initiative last October as Torres refused to resign, prior to his Election Day arrest for alleged child sex abuse. After achieving a better-staffed police department, Quevedo said residents will see the type of investment downtown has been craving.
“People live in downtown because they want to go downtown. They want to shop at a grocery store or restaurant, basically live in that walkable community we all desire,” Quevedo said. “I want to build a stakeholder committee that’s working with residents and developers to have open and honest conversations about the future of our downtown, then forward that to the city council.”