The race for the San Jose District 3 City Council seat is down to the final stretch, with the remaining two candidates leaving no stone unturned to pick up every vote in what is expected to be a close contest on Tuesday for a pivotal role in determining the city’s policy direction over the next year.

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Nonprofit executive Gabby Chavez-Lopez and planning commission chair Anthony Tordillos advanced to a runoff out of a field of seven candidates who sought to replace disgraced former City Councilmember Omar Torres, who pleaded no contest to sex abuse charges earlier this year.

While Chavez-Lopez was considered one of the leading candidates to advance to a runoff, Tordillos emerged as a dark horse in the race, beating out candidates with more political experience and connections, such as former District 3 challenger Irene Smith and Mayor Matt Mahan’s deputy chief of staff, Matthew Quevedo.

“I feel like our message is resonating with residents and with voters, so we’re feeling confident heading into next week, but not taking anything for granted,” Tordillos said in an interview with The Mercury News on Wednesday. “I’ve always sought to be a councilmember that the people of District 3 can count on. That’s why I don’t take corporate money. That’s why I don’t take lobbyist money, even as my opponents do, because I want to make sure that folks know that, first and foremost, I’m there to represent all of the residents of District 3 and that’s where my loyalty will lie.”

The sex scandal that prompted Torres’ resignation in November last year sowed a deep level of distrust in local government, evidenced by residents overwhelmingly asserting that they should pick the next representative of District 3 — which encompasses downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods — despite the multimillion-dollar price tag attached to a special election.

San Jose City Council candidate Anthony Tordillos and Mayor Matt Mahan knock on doors near Ryland Park on June 19, 2025, ahead of the District 3 runoff election. (Devan Patel/Bay Area News Group) 

Following Quevedo’s third-place finish, Mahan chose to back Tordillos in the runoff because of their shared focus on driving outcomes and accountability, even though they do not see eye-to-eye on every issue.

“I think the bottom line is on the issues that affect us the most — cost of living, public safety, homelessness — we need change, and we won’t get changed by electing candidates who are stuck in the old mentality of business versus labor, progressive versus conservative and ideological wars of the past,” Mahan said in an interview with The Mercury News.

Although Tordillos and Chavez-Lopez’s policy platforms share similar views on what the city should focus on, the candidates differ on what they consider the most effective path.

Chavez-Lopez has emphasized the need to improve safety and cleanliness, increase housing density and streamline development, ensure small business success and create a vibrant, inclusive downtown core. Meanwhile, Tordillos has identified homelessness, affordable housing development, public safety and making downtown more vibrant as his chief priorities.

Chavez-Lopez has argued that she is in the best position to hit the ground running, given her deep ties to the area and coalition-building skills.

“I think my track record of delivering for this district and residents is second to none, having led the Measure E campaign, which has generated over $125 million, or brought resources from the federal government for workforce programs for San Jose,” Chavez-Lopez said. “I have not just made promises to folks on the ground. As somebody who has been a practitioner of policy and advocacy, I’ve delivered for a long time and worked with our elected leaders to solve a lot of problems.”

Those skills could play a crucial part in making progress on the homelessness crisis, given the current friction between city, county and state leaders and funding drying up.

“I think government, now more than ever, needs people who are going to work together,” Chavez-Lopez said. “It’s a skill set that I think is very critical when resources are limited and we have to become very disciplined in where we put resources and want to invest them in places where we make the maximum impact … when it comes to homelessness, I have seen a missed opportunity for the county and city to really come together and solve these issues because when you think about it, they are powerhouses on their own but bring different things to the table.”

While Chavez-Lopez has called for more resources for homelessness prevention, Tordillos believes the city needs to invest in a full spectrum of solutions, and given the current crisis, he said San Jose needs to continue building up its shelter system.

“I think that we do need to keep an eye toward that service-resistant population, try to gain a better understanding of the different reasons why people might turn down offers of shelter, and continue to invest in the different levels of that housing hierarchy,” Tordillos said. “Not everyone living in an encampment might be ready to move directly into a shelter bed or supportive housing, so for them, maybe a safe parking site or a safe sleeping site can be that first step to getting connected with city outreach workers, finding something more stable, something that has wrap-around services.”

Both candidates agree that the city’s ultimate long-term goal should be to invest in affordable housing and oppose a permanent shift in using Measure E funds for interim housing solutions.

With the scarcity of funding to invest in affordable housing, both Chavez-Lopez and Tordillos emphasized the need for collaboration among different levels of government to secure additional investments for the construction of affordable and supportive housing.

As the caretaker of downtown, both candidates envision a shift in the area’s direction, with the office market lagging and a need to foster a more vibrant atmosphere.

Chavez-Lopez said she already had discussions with her potential county counterparts about coordinating strategies and finding ways to encourage investment. As a business leader and member of the San Jose Downtown Association, Chavez-Lopez said the city also needs to explore parking incentives for new businesses and other ways to activate storefronts.

Tordillos views more residential density in the downtown area as the path to the future, recognizing that with the office market still struggling, an increase in foot traffic could benefit small businesses and help fill vacant storefronts.

To do so, he said the city needs to improve the regulatory environment, whether through streamlining processes, changing design guidelines that make development most costly or restructuring fees that have impeded meaningful progress despite the housing crisis.

Heading into the final moments of the campaign, Chavez-Lopez said she still feels like a sponge, trying to absorb all the input she has gathered from talking to members of the community. Despite facing some political attacks, Chavez-Lopez said she had no regrets and believed the campaign was worth it, as it provided an opportunity to help the community.

“District 3 deserves a representative who’s going to listen deeply and be courageous,” Chavez-Lopez said. “I have consistently shown up as an advocate and someone who has fought for resources and delivered time and time again to the people and addressed the emerging needs of the folks on the ground. … Now more than ever, we need someone who is going to lead with a lot of care as we continue to build back trust.”