Political Notebook: LGBTQ leaders stump for gay San Jose council candidate Tordillos

With his special runoff election hitting right in the middle of Pride week observances at the end of June, gay San Jose City Council candidate Anthony Tordillos is getting a Pride Month assist this weekend from South Bay LGBTQ leaders. He is aiming to return out leadership to the governing body for the Bay Area’s largest city.

Chair of the San Jose Planning Commission, Tordillos, 33, is an engineering manager at YouTube. He lives with his husband, Giovanni Forcina, a cancer biologist, near the San Jose State University campus. 

“I am a big fan of celebrating Pride. Given I will be the only third ever out elected councilmember in San Jose, and we have a special election happening during Pride Month, and I have a number openly gay officials and queer leaders backing my campaign, we want to highlight some of my endorsers and community supporters we have from the queer community and bring folks together to celebrate Pride and help get the word out about the campaign,” Tordillos told the Bay Area Reporter when asked about his Pride-themed weekend of events.

This Saturday, June 14, Tordillos’ campaign is holding a Pride Day of Action with LGBTQ+ community members and allies at the city’s Raymond Bernal Park. There will be a rally with Tordillos and a number of his backers making remarks before attendees are dispatched to door knock on his behalf and get out the vote.

The night prior, Friday, June 13, gay former San Jose city councilmember Ken Yeager, the first out person to serve on the council who went on to be the first gay Santa Clara County supervisor, is among the hosts of a fundraiser for Tordillos where tickets begin at $50. Former gay Assemblymember Evan Low and BAYMEC, the LGBTQ-focused Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee, are also co-hosts of the gathering at the home of Jean Marie-White and Bryan Rodriguez.

Low, now president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, and Yeager had endorsed Tordillos ahead of the special April 8 primary for the District 3 council seat. Marie-White and Rodriguez had supported Matthew Quevedo, deputy chief of staff to San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, in the race.

But Quevedo fell short by six votes behind Tordillos to land in third place, which an automatic recount of the results confirmed. Tordillos is now running against primary first-place finisher Gabriela "Gabby" Chavez-Lopez, 37, in the June 24 runoff, and Quevedo threw his support behind Tordillos in the contest.

“Anthony showed us he isn't going to be held back by the same old political divides. He's laser-focused on moving our city forward on the issues that matter most,” stated Quevedo. “I'm confident Anthony will be an outstanding advocate for our neighborhoods, and I'm proud to endorse his campaign.”

The District 3 seat covers much of downtown San Jose and its Qmunity LGBTQ district. The special election is to serve out a council term that expires at the end of 2026.

It has been represented since earlier this year by engineering firm owner Carl Salas. He was selected as a caretaker of the seat by the council following the resignation last fall of gay former councilmember Omar Torres due to his arrest for allegedly molesting a cousin years prior.
Torres has since pleaded no contest to child sex crimes. He is awaiting his sentencing and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Elected in 2022, Torres was the first gay Latino and out person of color to serve on the San Jose City Council, and only its second out councilmember. The governing body had gone 16 years without a member from the LGBTQ community until Torres took his oath of office two years ago.

With Quevedo supporting Tordillos to be the next District 3 councilmember, it potentially gives him a leg up in the runoff race since their combined support in the primary dwarfed that of Chavez-Lopez. Last month, she was hit by a report in the San Jose Spotlight that a friend of hers who works for electric utility company PG&E had closely coordinated her campaign activities earlier this year, which Chavez-Lopez denied.

Seen as more to the left politically of Tordillos, and a potential check on the more moderate agenda of Mahan, Chavez-Lopez has received support in recent weeks from a number of prominent progressive South Bay leaders. Congressmember Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) appeared at a recent fundraiser for her, while bisexual Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-San Jose) is backing her in the race.

“Gabby is committed to strengthening the ties between City Hall, the County, and Sacramento because building a stronger San José takes collaboration at every level,” stated Lee. “With her determination and deep community roots, Gabby is ready to deliver real results for District 3!”

Chavez-Lopez, a single mom who is the executive director of South Bay nonprofit the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, also has a host of campaign events and fundraisers lined up in the coming days, information for which can be found on her Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/gabby4d3/. Coincidentally, she is scheduled to be at the same public park this weekend as Tordillos but on Sunday, June 15, where she will be doing a get out the vote walk with Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg, who succeeded Yeager on the board.

“We’ve built a campaign rooted in community, compassion, and showing up. Now it’s time to bring that same energy to the finish line,” stated Chavez-Lopez.

Information about Tordillos’ Pride rally can be found here. It begins at 9:30 a.m. at the park located at East Hedding and North Seventh streets in downtown San Jose.

His Friday the 13th fundraiser begins at 6:30 p.m., and those who want to attend can purchase tickets and get the location for it here.

“We are feeling really good. We have had some great momentum recently,” said Tordillos.

Gay Oakland port officials depart
The Port of Oakland is losing a third gay longtime official this year. It began with Danny Wan’s retirement on February 28 after five years as its executive director, followed by the retirement on April 22 of longtime port spokesperson Robert Bernardo.

Now comes the pending departure of Michael Colbruno, president of the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners. He will be stepping down when his current, third four-year term comes to an end on July 10.

“My Port Commission term is up and after talking with the mayor, I won't be continuing my service. Only three commissioners have served longer than 12 years over the commission's 98-year history,” Colbruno informed the B.A.R. this week.

His departure allows recently sworn in Mayor Barbara Lee the opportunity to appoint someone to one of the East Bay city’s more high-profile oversight bodies at a time when concerns are growing about a drop off in overseas trade and redevelopment of port property continues to draw debate. She likely will seek advice about the appointment from Wan, who served as director of her mayoral transition and was the first out person to serve on the Oakland City Council.

Colbruno, a founding partner in the government affairs firm the Milo Group, had previously served on the city's planning commission. During his tenure on the East Bay maritime body, he helped to bring together out port commissioners and officials at the 11 publicly-owned ports scattered throughout California, such as Oakland Port Commissioner Jahmese Myres, a queer Black woman who was appointed last year.

This winter he also had a key role in selecting Kristi McKenney to succeed Wan as the port’s executive director. In February, the port board approved a three-year contract for McKenney, first hired on to the port staff as an environmental planner and also served as its assistant aviation director and interim executive director.

“As a port veteran, Kristi McKenney will bring solid leadership and management skills to the position,” Wan had noted at the time. “She will also bring continuity and stability to port operations which are essential to helping us build for the next generation.”

As for Bernardo, a former San Mateo County harbor commissioner, he retired this spring two months shy of working 23 years for the maritime agency. A Taylor Swift fan, he announced on Facebook that he was now in his retirement “era,” was leaving the Bay Area and planned to become a global traveler.

“Thank you Bay Area for giving me the opportunity to build a career, make meaningful friendships—and live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. You will always hold a special place in my heart,” he wrote. “My goal is to spend these retirement years exploring the world, and trying not to stay in any one location too long.”

Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook's online companion. This week's column reported on a raft of LGBTQ political events in San Francisco taking place during Pride Month.

Keep abreast of the latest LGBTQ political news by following the Political Notebook on Threads @ https://www.threads.net/@matthewbajko and on Bluesky @ https://bsky.app/profile/politicalnotes.bsky.social .

Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email [email protected] .