San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is endorsing Anthony Tordillos in the upcoming runoff election for the District 3 seat on the City Council.
San Pedro Square business owners were formally introduced to Tordillos, 33, by Mahan Friday morning when the two held a news conference to announce the mayor’s endorsement. Tordillos narrowly beat Matthew Quevedo, Mahan’s deputy chief of staff, in a recount to earn the second spot against frontrunner Gabby Chavez-Lopez in the June 24 runoff election for the District 3 City Council seat. Mahan said Tordillos is the only pragmatic candidate left in the race who is data-driven and focused on downtown’s economic recovery.
“I look forward to helping him over the next 53 days, a quick sprint to the finish line, and I’m excited to see him assume that seat,” Mahan said Friday. “We may have different emphases on exactly which lever is going to move the needle faster, but I actually think that’s a feature, not a bug, to borrow from the tech world.”
Mahan said he hoped to build a coalition in City Hall centered around more data, public safety staffing, technological advances and less “ideology.”
“I truly do believe we are building a coalition,” Tordillos said Friday. “We also share a belief that elected officials need to be held accountable for delivering results as they progress, and that just like in the private sector, elected officials shouldn’t be given automatic pay raises.”
A tech worker with Google by day and chair of the San Jose Planning Commission by night, Tordillos fashioned his political campaign as a white-collar worker continuing the legacy and dreams of his working-class family background.
Tordillos’ role as planning commission chair is overseeing the first line of approval for many of San Jose’s largest housing proposals — most of which he has supported.
He told San José Spotlight he shares Mahan’s sense of urgency in building up the city’s temporary shelter capacity.
But housing advocates have been concerned the prioritization of “interim housing” in San Jose could lead to an indefinite redirecting of funds meant for permanent affordable housing.
“We do need to continue to invest in long-term affordable and supportive housing. I do view that as kind of the long-term solution of this crisis,” Tordillos told San José Spotlight. “At the same time, I do think that we need to balance that against these short-term investments, so we can support people who are living unsheltered on the street today. We can also make good on the quality of life concerns residents raise every single day.”
Mahan endorsement of Tordillos has not rattled Chavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, who said her focus has always been on the voices and needs of District 3.
“Sometimes that (focus) aligns with the mayor, sometimes it doesn’t. But my commitment to a D3-centered agenda hasn’t wavered, and it won’t,” she told San José Spotlight. “While the mayor has made his endorsement, our campaign continues to gain momentum, fueled by the trust and support of residents across the district.”
Tordillos will face off against Chavez-Lopez in a June 24 runoff election.
Last updated May 2 at 1:52 p.m. Original story published May 2 at 8:35 a.m.
Contact Nick Preciado at [email protected]. Contact Vicente Vera at [email protected] or follow @VicenteJVera on X.
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