October 18, 2024
Mayor Matt Mahan
Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei
San José City Council
San José City Hall
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San José, CA 95113
By electronic email
RE: San Jose City Council Agenda Item 2.17 - City Council Appointments of Committees, Boards, and Commissions -SUPPORT
Dear Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Kamei, and members of the San José City Council:
We are writing to support Council Item 2.17 on the San Jose City Council Agenda for October 22, 2024 which outlines a change in council assignment as our liaison to the San Jose Library Commission on behalf of the City and City Council. Currently, Councilmember Omar Torres serves in this role.
As we are all aware, Councilmember Torres is under investigation for allegations related to child sexual misconduct, including the solicitation of sexually explicit material from a minor1. While the Councilmember has denied these accusations,2 the details provided in the probable cause affidavit and news outlets are deeply disturbing, particularly for someone serving as a liaison to a commission which supports hundreds of thousands of children and families in our community.
This situation has understandably caused concern among members of the commission and the community at large.
As noted in the Mayor’smemo, Councilmember Torres has not been appearing at public events or continuing his duties as a councilmember.This absence is particularly detrimental to our work, given the critical role of the San Jose Public Library under the leadership of PRNS (Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services) and the City in planning and implementing its historic Children and Youth Master Plan.We, as an advisory body to the Council, need a council 2 San José Council Member says sexually explicit texts were ‘role play’. https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/10/10/warrant-details-allegations-of-sexually-explicit-claims-involving-minor s-by-san-jose-city-councilmember-omar-torres/October 11, 2024. 1 San José Council Member Is Reportedly Target of Child Sexual Misconduct Investigation. https://www.kqed.org/news/12007943/san-jose-councilmember-is-reportedly-target-of-child-sexual-misconduct-in vestigation. October 4, 2024
liaison who is actively engaged and able to carry our feedback to the City Council, ensuring that the voices of the children and families we serve are heard.
Finally, we want to thank and uplift Brian Reyes, who in his capacity as District 3 council staff has regularly attended our meetings, provided updates from the District 3 office, and has been an amazing asset in our Commission work. We know that this is a difficult time and we commend his work as the council staff assigned to our Commission from our current council liaison.
Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your vote in support in response to this important matter.
Sincerely,
José Magaña
Chair, San José Library Commission
Angelica Ramos-Allen
Vice Chair, San José Library Commission