San Jose city leaders approve embattled councilmember’s absence request amidst criminal probe

San Jose city leaders stripped Councilmember Omar Torres of his committee assignments Tuesday, as the District 3 representative defies calls for his resignation amid a police probe involving illicit messages allegedly Torres sent referencing minors. But they also excused his absence from a previous meeting, despite a colleague describing it as a ploy to prolong his tenure in office

Councilmembers said the charter limits their ability to remove Torres, noting that a felony conviction, a lengthy absence due to a medical emergency or five consecutive unexcused absences from regularly scheduled city council meetings would automatically vacate the seat.

But despite some skepticism of Torres’ attempt to reset the clock on his absences, the City Council approved the one-time Oct. 8 absence, with San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan saying he would want to hear a better explanation if Torres continues to make the same request moving forward.

“I’m not happy with the situation we’re in,” Mahan said. “It’s not fair to the community … I believe Councilmember Torres is holding his seat hostage and denying representation to 100,000 residents in District 3. We’ve called on him to resign, (but) at the same time, after getting some insight from the city attorney, I personally am not interested in litigating whether or not he was sick two weeks ago.”

A police investigation, which initially began when Torres reported that he was a victim of extortion, could potentially derail his political career after authorities found sexually explicit text messages Torres sent to a now 21-year-old Chicago man that referenced minors.

The messages Torres sent led police to believe he could face criminal exposure for copulation of a minor — a felony — and showing abnormal interest in a child. In the unsealed search warrant affidavit, police also found that Torres asked the man: “U got any homies under 18.”

As Torres’ legal representation proclaimed his innocence and referred to the messages as “outrageous roleplay and fantasy,” the councilmember also dismissed calls for his ouster from Mahan, the remaining members of the City Council and prominent business and labor organizations as he indicated his desire to continue to represent District 3.

But Torres has disappeared from the public eye — missing multiple City Council and committee meetings, along with other official events involving his district — since news of the investigation surfaced.

In a meeting with District 3 residents last week, Mahan pledged his office would help bridge some of the leadership and services gaps as Torres continued to shirk his responsibilities.

While Mahan noted that missed committee meetings do not count towards the city’s attendance requirements, city leaders became fed up with Torres’ absences, including the potential disruption of city business, prompting the council to strip him of his assignments Tuesday.

“I think that the public deserves to have other council colleagues fill in those roles,” Mahan said.

The lack of representation was at the top of neighborhood leaders’ minds last week, and the decision to strip him of his duties was supported by at least one of the boards and commissions that Torres sat on.

“This absence is particularly detrimental to our work, given the critical role of the San Jose Public Library under the leadership of (Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services) and the City in planning and implementing its historic Children and Youth Master Plan,” a letter from the San Jose Library Commission stated in support of the decision. “We, as an advisory body to the Council, need a council liaison who is actively engaged and able to carry our feedback to the City Council, ensuring that the voices of the children and families we serve are heard.”

While Torres had his Oct. 8 absence approved, he missed Tuesday’s meeting again, restarting the absence clock. If Torres fails to attend the next four meetings and does not receive an excused absence, the earliest his seat could be vacated is after Dec. 3.

District 7 Councilmember Bien Doan had proposed that the City Council reject Torres’ request, and ask that he submit documentation to corroborate his claims, putting the pressure back on Torres to either show up, resign or watch the clock quickly run out on his time in office.

“There’s strategy and political manuevering to prolong this to the end,” Doan told The Mercury News. “It’s not if, but when he’s going to have to do it because citizens will be so sick and tired of this that they’ll call for a recall. If anyone has read the affidavit, it was sickening and disgusting and I don’t think we should have that in our community.”