As Matthew Quevedo was walking with his 8-year-old son in downtown San Jose, he paused to reflect on a question his child asked as they encountered a homeless resident struggling with visible mental health problems.
“Daddy, why aren’t we helping that man?” his worried son asked.
Quevedo, 36, has had a front seat to many of residents’ most pressing issues as the deputy chief of staff in charge of neighborhood outreach for Mayor Matt Mahan. However, in a policy-making role on the City Council, he believes he can have a greater role in pushing forward effective solutions past the bureaucratic roadblocks that have sometimes hindered progress.
“I know, on the issues we face, it’s not just my son, but it’s the children and many families throughout San Jose who are asking themselves how come we’re not solving these problems,” Quevedo said. “I know we’re moving the needle and moving forward with good solutions when it comes to interim housing, safe sleeping and safe parking sites. My campaign is to make sure as a councilmember we are building a coalition with neighbors, the business community, the City Council and mayor and doing so faster.”
Quevedo is one of seven candidates appearing on the April 8 special election ballot to replace disgraced District 3 City Councilmember Omar Torres, whose child molestation scandal prompted his ouster from public office.
Joining him in the race are:
- Tyrone Wade, retired family counselor and former mayoral candidate
- Philip Dolan, knife sharpener salesman
- Irene Smith, pro tem judge and the most recent political challenger to Torres
- Retired law enforcement officer Adam Duran
- Anthony Tordillos, an engineer at Google and chair of the city’s planning commission
- Gabby Chavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley
Before he developed a reputation as a community organizer and neighborhood champion, Quevedo’s interest in local politics spawned from growing up and spending time in the Seven Trees and Vista Park neighborhoods, which gave him a first-hand look at the significant difference in how they were serviced.
But his love for San Jose has always run deep. The lifelong resident is a Pioneer High School and San Jose State graduate. He’s been together with his now-wife for 18 years after they met while working at the Oakridge Mall theaters.
While they have lived in several places around the city — including in a one-bedroom apartment with five people and a two-bedroom apartment with eight people at different junctures — Quevedo said he has always known he wanted to stay and fight for San Jose.
These experiences living in neighborhoods and being the only candidate who has worked at City Hall have made him confident that he is the best person to drive the change residents want to see.
“Whether it’s in the business districts or our neighborhoods, I experienced these firsthand, and I think that more than anything, it helps me understand the problems we face,” Quevedo said. “The extra support I have is the knowledge of working from within City Hall to make these changes happen in many ways where we are moving the needle. I think that’s an extra strength that allows me to better understand the different ways in which we can solve homelessness, rebuild our police department, make sure we’re supporting our small businesses and building the housing we need.”
Quevedo has centered his policy platform around those issues in what he calls the “cornerstones of common sense.”
With addressing homelessness atop many residents’ priorities, Quevedo has aligned himself with Mahan’s vision — including greater flexibility to use Measure E funds for interim housing solutions – to address the crisis before the city. And while affordable housing has its place in the grand scheme, he said that because it takes several years to build, the status quo does not serve anyone at this critical moment.
“We need to work collaboratively with the council to move faster on these solutions, and I think we can no longer accept political excuses for why something can or cannot happen,” Quevedo said. “What we see frequently is division on the council toward the type of solutions we want to move toward, but quite frankly, the simple truth is we have to quickly build enough safe and decent shelter to bring and require that everyone come indoors. That shouldn’t be a debate.”
Along with building out the city’s shelter system more rapidly, Quevedo believes the city needs to grow its housing stock, especially for working-class families. He said San Jose can do so by cutting the red tape slowing down projects, developing policies that can speed up production, including for ADUs, or using tools like enhanced infrastructure financing districts, which use newly generated property taxes for infrastructure, to spur development.
Quevedo’s vision also includes 10,000 new homes downtown, which is already shifting more from a pure business district into a real mixed-use environment buoyed by a vibrant arts and entertainment scene.
He would also like to see greater partnerships built with San Jose State, which has contributed to increasing activity downtown by expanding its student housing near campus.
“We do need to bring all of it,” Quevedo said. “I think something that brings an entertainment district about is bringing that housing and those jobs to that center where people can go and enjoy it after a long day or on the weekend. We’re moving forward in that direction and I think we have a huge opportunity with the Super Bowl coming down the line next year with the World Cup and the NCAA championships to secure the kind of investment we should be focusing on.”
Quevedo’s relationship with Mahan has also drawn scrutiny over whether he is simply a rubber stamp for the mayor’s agenda. But he dismissed that notion, pointing to several issues they disagree on, including the controversial digital billboard proposal that the City Council just passed.
Instead, he said his interests have always interlocked with the neighborhoods he’s been a part of and lie with representing those of District 3.
“That, to me, is the big inspiration, making sure that my family, the family of my neighbors, and everyone in our district is enjoying the city that I have come to love,” Quevedo said. “For these issues on the streets, I see getting them resolved and seeing us have a city that is vibrant, safe and beautiful. The goal is to make sure that every family can enjoy that.”