A text campaign attacking two labor-backed candidates for their prior association with embattled San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres is popping up on phones across Santa Clara County — a political play some are deeming dirty with the election just a week away.
The advertisements show pictures of San Jose City Council District 2 candidate Pamela Campos and county Board of Supervisors District 2 candidate Betty Duong with Torres — who is under investigation for alleged lewd acts with a minor despite maintaining his innocence — next to phrases such as “Say no to Betty Duong.” The roughly $4,650 campaign, funded by the Silicon Valley Biz PAC, Strong Economy Silicon Valley PAC and the California Association of Realtors, targets Torres’ endorsement of the candidates, which he made before the allegations surfaced. Pictures used in the ads were taken before the allegations as well. Duong and Campos, along with their supporters, said that makes the campaign an unfair attack.
Duong and Campos have removed Torres’ endorsement from their websites in their respective races against business-backed candidates Madison Nguyen and Joe Lopez — both of whom secured the Silicon Valley Biz PAC’s endorsement. Campos told San José Spotlight she’s calling for Torres’ resignation alongside the San Jose City Council and plans to return his campaign contributions, but doesn’t know the dollar amount yet.
“Our future District 2 councilmember must be ready to work with our community in rebuilding trust, and any candidate worth their salt would condemn their political allies for engaging in such unprofessional conduct and abhorrently deceptive campaigning,” Campos told San José Spotlight.
Duong said Torres didn’t give money to her campaign. She called the ads a “dirty campaign tactic that has no place in our community.”
“This is a blatant attempt to smear me and my family by creating a connection that doesn’t exist with someone accused of horrendous crimes,” she told San José Spotlight. “Our community deserves better.”
The ads come at a time when the pressure is on for Torres to resign amid the launch of a resident-led recall campaign.
Victor Gomez, Silicon Valley Biz PAC executive director, said candidates who have associated with Torres, such as Duong and Campos, needed to denounce him sooner. He said he hadn’t heard either candidate publicly denounce the embattled District 3 councilmember and said their silence was like an endorsement of Torres’ alleged actions. He said the ad campaign isn’t a dirty tactic because of the candidates’ quiet removal of the councilmember from their websites and social media.
“So far, (Campos and Duong) have demonstrated horrible character and they’ve demonstrated horrible judgment,” Gomez told San José Spotlight. “From our perspective, it’s really about the character of a politician. We need politicians in Silicon Valley that (have) good character and super good judgment. These (two) have shown exactly that they are the opposite.”
Gomez said the ads were predominantly the Silicon Valley Biz PAC’s decison. He said the Strong Economy Silicon Valley PAC and California Association of Realtors are listed because they’re top funders, but they don’t have control over the ad campaigns their money fuels.
But Gina Zari, Santa Clara County Association of Realtors political director, said the association only funnels money into PACs it trusts. She said in the past few months the association has given the PAC approximately $35,000.
The campaign adds to negative political advertising this election year. Councilmember Domingo Candelas is being compared to former President Donald Trump, mailers are deeming Campos and Lopez radicals and Nguyen is claiming her lawn signs are being ripped up.
Bill James, chair of the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, said it’s fair for Duong and Campos to focus on their campaigns rather than allegations they weren’t aware of at the time. The candidates have the party’s sole endorsement in their races and James said voters won’t believe they are guilty by association. He added the ad campaign’s funders look desperate with only a week until the election.
“They seem like they’re concerned that these strong women of color are going to be elected, and they’re very anxious about that,” he told San José Spotlight.
Contact Annalise Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalise_ellen on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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