Neighborhood leaders and residents in embattled San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres’ downtown district launched the start of a recall campaign against him on Friday as he continues to defy mounting pressure to resign amid a criminal probe into sexual misconduct involving minors.

Despite Torres’ proclaimed innocence and a desire to remain in office, graphic messages he sent referencing children as well as his notable absence from public proceedings — missing every City Council, board and commission meeting since news of the investigation broke — have inflamed politicians, business organizations and several neighborhood associations to the point where they believe he can no longer serve his constituents effectively.

“Enough is enough,” said District 3 resident Matthew Quevedo, who has helped organize the recall. “We cannot wait any longer for someone who lacks moral judgment to do what is right for the community and step down. After talking with neighbors, parents, students and small-business owners, it’s clear that the community stands behind a recall. Since Omar Torres was elected by a vote of the people, it’s now up to the people to remove him.”

While Quevedo serves as San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s deputy chief of staff, the mayor’s office is not involved in the recall effort. He scoffed at the notion that his ties to Mahan could color the recall effort, noting that he and his family live in the district and have done community advocacy work for more than 15 years.

Joining the effort to recall Torres are residents from the Roosevelt, Naglee, Northside, SoFA, Japantown, 13th Street and Julian/St. James Street neighborhoods.

Torres’ representatives did not respond to a request for comment.

Torres, 43, has served District 3 for nearly two years after defeating Irene Smith in the 2022 General Election by winning 65% of the vote. He campaigned as an advocate for youth and families, often speaking about his tough upbringing in the Guadalupe-Washington neighborhood and how a drive-by shooting near an elementary school while he was a teen spurred him to become more active in his community.

However, a police investigation, which initially began when Torres reported that he was a victim of extortion, turned its focus to him after authorities found sexually explicit text messages Torres allegedly sent to a now 21-year-old Chicago man that referenced minors.

The messages Torres allegedly sent led to potential criminal exposure for copulation of a minor — a felony — and showing abnormal interest in a child. Torres’ legal representation said the messages represented “outrageous fantasy and role play” and not real-world action.

“If you thought this was all wholesome and harmless, you wouldn’t have let anyone blackmail you over it,” resident Kathryn Hedges wrote in an email to the City Council calling for Torres to resign. “Your excuse that you fell into some kind of honey pot trap and didn’t know how to stop texting gross sexual things without it being awkward is so ridiculous that it’s either a lie or you’re too dense to be an elected official.”

After calling for Torres’ resignation, Mahan took the first concrete step in filling the leadership and services void Torres has caused in District 3 by vowing to dedicate more resources and attention to its residents to ensure their well-being. City leaders also recently voted to strip Torres of his committee assignments, which residents welcomed because they felt his absences left them without a voice.

“We all have pressing issues before us, and we need a fully present and complete City Council that is well-functioning,” Vendome Neighborhood Association leader Tina Morrill said. “This recall effort is for that reason. It’s for our representation.”

A review of the charter by the city attorney’s office found that reasons for automatic vacancies included but were not limited to insanity, leaving the state for 60 days, a recall, a felony conviction and missing five consecutive council meetings.

After Torres requested an excused absence for the city’s Oct. 8 meeting because of an undisclosed illness, District 7 Bien Doan unsuccessfully asked his colleagues on the dais to deny it, calling the medical excuse a ploy to draw out the situation as long as possible. Doan’s premonition proved correct as Torres then asked for a 30-day medical leave — citing the investigation’s impacts to his mental health — to excuse three more absences, a request the city’s rules committee ignored and declined to put on the City Council’s next agenda in the latest round of political gamesmanship.

As for the recall process, the notice of intent must be sent to the respondent, who will have seven days to respond to the recall before petitioners can prepare a petition and collect the requisite signatures to place the recall on an upcoming ballot.

Quevedo said it would take 12% of the registered voters in District 3, or 5,289 signatures, to put the recall question on the ballot but expected to exceed those requirements. While the recall organizers were unsure of how much the process could ultimately cost, they said the fundraising would take place at the grassroots level.

Although there is no timeline, Quevedo said he hoped to have the process completed by early December if Torres does not see the writing on the wall and step down earlier.

“I definitely hope this leads to his resignation,” Quevedo said. “I hope he does the right thing. If that doesn’t happen, we will move forward with his process.”