Tordillos trumps Quevedo for spot in San Jose District 3 City Council runoff

A recount by Santa Clara County polling representatives has affirmed Anthony Tordillos second-place finish in the San Jose City Council District special ballot advancing him to a runoff against leading vote-getter Gabby Chavez-Lopez on June Related Articles Is San Jose making progress on homelessness or are several of its wins superficial San Jose District City Council special electoral process will undergo recount San Jose seeks a way to win society buy-in for parks spending Where will the homeless in Columbus Park go when San Jose s largest encampment is cleared for revitalization project Tordillos slightly widens lead to enter runoff for San Jose City Council seat Although Chavez-Lopez maintained the top spot over the seven-person field vying to replace disgraced former City Councilmember Omar Torres since the polls closed she failed to receive the majority of votes needed to clinch an outright conquest turning the race into a showdown between Tordillos and Matthew Quevedo for the other spot in a runoff After switching places in the pecking order multiple times during the week following the poll Tordillos emerged with a slim six-vote advantage triggering an automatic recount which began last Thursday and authenticated the results While this has been a long process with several twists and turns I am very excited that our campaign will advance to the June th runoff electoral process Tordillos declared I want to thank my band donors and the contributors who all made this feasible As we prepare for the next chapter of this campaign I d also like to thank Matthew Quevedo Irene Smith Adam Duran Tyrone Wade and Phillip Dolan for all stepping up and volunteering to serve our locality in this turbulent time Once the field for the voting process was set Chavez-Lopez the executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley and Quevedo San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan s deputy chief of staff were considered by pundits as the frontrunners in the race to replace Torres who resigned last year on sex abuse charges that he later pleaded no contest to in April But Tordillos who leads a band of engineers at Google s YouTube and is chair of the city s planning commission fast emerged as a dark-horse candidate earning the co-endorsement of the Santa Clara County Democratic Party along with Chavez-Lopez and also showing a strong ability to fundraise at the grassroots level In the end Chavez-Lopez received approximately of the vote followed by Tordillos with and Quevedo with Rounding out the rest of the leaderboard Smith the former challenger to Torres in the poll finished in fourth with of the vote followed by Duran Wade and Dolan County framework mandated a recount because the margin of mastery was either less than of the ballots cast or fewer than votes Had Quevedo and Tordillos finished in a tie the city clerk would have written their names on slips of paper and then conducted a random drawing to determine which candidate would advance With the runoff set Tordillos and Chavez-Lopez will have a quick turnaround as the Registrar of Voters will send out the next round of ballots starting on the week of May Quevedo s loss could signify a feasible setback for Mahan who struggled at times in his first two years to advance his guidelines agenda due to the more progressive makeup of the City Council Both Quevedo and Mahan referenced the importance of the seat and the need to challenge establishment politics and the status quo during the campaign With Carl Salas right now representing the District seat in an interim ceiling and so far serving as a rubber stamp for the mayor s agenda Mahan has enough votes to push proposals forward however the approach platforms of the remaining candidates could become an obstacle once a winner emerges in June Tordillos has identified homelessness affordable housing progress citizens safety and improving downtown vibrancy as his chief priorities Meanwhile Chavez-Lopez has targeted improving safety and cleanliness increasing housing density and streamlining maturation ensuring small business success and creating a vibrant inclusive downtown core However while there is particular agreement on the city s biggest issues there are considerable disparities between the candidates and the mayor in their plans to drive results For example Mahan has supported a permanent approach shift allowing greater flexibility for using Measure E funds the voter-approved ballot initiative for affordable housing homelessness prevention and help programs While the City Council has approved using the funds for interim housing solutions over the past insufficient years both Chavez-Lopez and Tordillos have opposed a permanent shift noting that such a plan would contradict the will of the voters and their belief that the city necessities to increase its production of affordable housing Chavez-Lopez and Tordillos also opposed Mahan s up-to-date Responsibility to Shelter proposal which called for changes to the municipal code that would allow trespassing charges against homeless residents who refused offers of available shelter three times over months Mahan has argued that the protocol proposal would create a layer of accountability for homeless residents to come indoors and an avenue for the city to petition behavioral healthcare courts to get them into recovery in cases when drug or mental soundness afflictions are causing people to be service-resistant With Mahan s preferred candidate out of the race he declared he plans to meet with the other candidates before deciding whether he will get involved in the upcoming referendum My plan is to meet with the two advancing candidates to discuss the challenges facing our city and our respective views on the right solutions and see who I am aligned with Mahan disclosed I have not decided yet whether or not I ll weigh in on this race but I m eager to encouragement candidates who are independent data-driven and relentlessly focused on outcomes over ideology