San Jose’s newest councilman has hired an office staff of fresh faces to restore trust with District 3 residents and bring downtown out of a dark chapter after his predecessor resigned in disgrace.
Councilmember Anthony Tordillos has stacked his office with people across a broad range of experience to serve residents seeking help with potholes, blight and broken streetlights. This includes a journalist molded in Little Portugal, a state-level housing expert and a former Santa Clara County policy analyst. Some of Tordillos’ staffers see the team as a vessel for solving issues like housing and transportation — and ambitions to make District 3 stand out aren’t in short supply.
“I’m aiming for our office to have a reputation for the most effective and responsive constituency services on the 18th floor of City Hall,” Alexander Gvatua, Tordillos’ chief of staff, told San José Spotlight.
The District 3 office has five workers, for now — falling within the norm of five to six employees per council office, while the mayor’s office has just under 30.
Tordillos won a special election for the seat earlier this year, after the resignation and arrest of former District 3 Councilmember Omar Torres in November 2024 related to child sex crimes. In August, Torres was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Tordillos said he prioritized people with deep roots in the district. District 3 covers downtown and San Jose State University as well as the historic Japantown and Guadalupe-Washington neighborhoods.
“Our residents have enough to worry about. They shouldn’t have to worry about whether they have an effective advocate in City Hall,” he told San José Spotlight. “I couldn’t be more excited by the team we’ve put together, and I’m ready to focus on delivering results for our constituents.”
Here’s a look at Tordillos’ team:
Alexander Gvatua, chief of staff
Gvatua will lead the office as Tordillos’ right hand. He has worked for a scattering of Silicon Valley officials, including District 4 San Jose Councilmember David Cohen and Sylvia Arenas — who previously represented District 8 on the City Council before becoming a county supervisor. Gvatua also worked as a consultant supporting democratic development in Central and Western Asia. More recently, he’s worked for Supervisor Otto Lee’s office and as a political science adjunct professor at San Jose State University.
What’s top of mind for him, personally, is the opportunity for government reforms, namely the city permitting process.
“It often seems nitty gritty and minute in detail, but those will either bolster or diminish people’s faith in government,” Gvatua told San José Spotlight.
Elizabeth Barcelos, communications director
Barcelos applied her messaging skills to Tordillos’ campaign earlier this year as a Portuguese American journalist with news bylines across Silicon Valley. She said she felt compelled to stay on board for the long haul.
“When you’re campaigning, you’re promising people you can do something. I wanted to fulfill that promise and do something,” Barcelos told San José Spotlight.
Her job will entail communicating new policies to District 3 residents. Like Tordillos and others on the team, her top concern is a lack of affordable housing.
“Buying a home in San Jose seems further and further out of reach,” she said. “I don’t want the generations after me to be stuck in the position I am.”
Daniela Velazquez, community relations director
Velazquez will be a face residents see most often. She’s worked as a City Hall staffer since 2021, and participated in a leadership program with the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley in 2023. Tordillos ran against the head of the coalition, Gabby Chavez-Lopez, in the special election earlier this year.
Velazquez said Tordillos’ vision drew her in for the charge of developing relationships with downtown small business owners and neighborhood groups. Having grown up in District 3, she said she’s more than up to the task.
“I want our residents and businesses to know they can trust me to listen, advocate and ensure their voices are heard,” Velasquez told San José Spotlight. “My goal is to make our office accessible and responsive so that people feel confident reaching out with their needs.”
Shawn Danino, policy and legislative director
Danino, who takes the train to City Hall from Oakland, will manage Tordillos’ legislative slate and help steer his focus on housing policy.
The new policy director comes with half a decade’s experience at the California Department of Housing and Community Development, where Danino worked on the land use and planning team and as a senior housing policy analyst. Danino more recently worked for San Jose as a senior policy manager and development officer.
“It would be easy to say housing (is the top issue), since that is where I have spent the majority of my career,” Danino told San José Spotlight. “But truthfully, it’s all of the issues that come with focusing on the built environment.”
Ra Hopkins, executive assistant
Hopkins — who was Tordillos’ campaign manager — is the primary caretaker of Tordillos’ District 3 scheduling.
“This means that I get to learn about all of the fun and important events happening in the district and the city and ensure that residents have access to their councilmember and our office,” Hopkins told San José Spotlight. “I am personally very passionate about public transportation, road safety (especially for cyclists and pedestrians) and housing policy. With District 3 including downtown and several business and entertainment areas, these policy areas are so incredibly important to residents and visitors.”
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.
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