San Jose’s new downtown councilmember hears concerns over coffee

A month into the job, Omar Torres has launched a series of "cafecitos" to connect with residents and business owners in his district.

Omar Torres may be only a month into his role as the District 3 representative on the San Jose City Council, but his years working in neighborhoods have made him an experienced hand at meeting constituents — and he’s already playing to that strength.

Torres held his first “cafecito” Friday morning at Voyager Craft Coffee in downtown’s perpetually busy San Pedro Square Market. More than two dozen people signed up for five minutes to sit down with Torres, who talked to them as his policy director, Esmeralda Barrera Rodriguez, took notes for follow up. During a quick break, Torres said sharing face time with the people he’s representing is a key part of his job.

“These are important to connect to the community and learn their concerns,” said Torres, who served as the business resiliency manager for the San Jose Downtown Association and in several other roles, including deputy chief of staf for District 5 Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco before he was elected last November.

Hector Torres, 20, and Sean Paul Guess, 19, were among those who spent a few minutes talking to Omar Torres on Friday morning. The young entrepreneurs shared their thoughts on homelessness and ways to get people into affordable shelters more quickly and at less cost and came away impressed. An unexpected benefit of the gathering was that people didn’t just talk to Torres but had conversations with each other, too, as they waited for their turn or after they had finished.

Of course, Torres is far from the only elected official who gets out in public to meet constituents. Constituents will find them at farmers markets, community centers, neighborhood association meetings and even coffee shops on a regular basis.

But Torres’ outreach plans sound more extensive than usual. His office expects to hold the one-on-one cafecitos twice a month at different venues in his district, which includes downtown, Japantown, San Jose State and the Washington and Spartan Keyes neighborhoods. Other community engagement plans include “pizza and policy” meetings where residents and business owners can meet city department heads and pancake breakfasts to bring Assembly and State Senate members to the district.

Will these efforts prove an effective way to take the pulse of his district? Well, if people aren’t happy, he’ll definitely hear about it over coffee.

MUSIC TO YOUR EARS: Katya Grineva, the only solo female pianist who has performed at Carnegie Hall 20 times, will bring her talent to the Saratoga Foothill Club for a benefit concert on Feb. 17. “Champagne, Chocolates & Katya,” gets started at 5 p.m. with a champagne reception, followed by a one-hour recital, timed to allow people to grab dinner in Saratoga following the show.

Tickets are $55, and the performance benefits the preservation of the Saratoga Foothill Club, a historic landmark at 20399 Park Place designed by renowned architect Julia Morgan. And if you haven’t found a good Valentine’s Day gift for the love in your life, it might benefit you, too. Go to Eventbrite and search for “Champagne, Chocolates & Katya” for tickets.

DENTAL WORK: Last fall, I wrote about the efforts of the Santa Clara County Dental Foundation to launch Silicon Valley Healthy Smiles, a large-scale dental clinic hosted in San Jose where volunteer dentists would provide some $2 million of care to more than 1,500 people over two days.

Dr. John M. Pisacane got in touch a few days ago to share there’s good news and bad news for the foundation’s plans. The good news is that they’ve secured the San Jose McEnery Convention Center on May 20-21 for the clinic and have raised $200,000 already. The bad news, though, is they still need to raise another $200,000 to make this happen.

“I believe that after this first event we will have no shortage of Silicon Valley firms that will sponsor us, but since this is the inaugural event, it’s been hard work getting support,” said Pisacane, who is vice president of the foundation in addition to his practice in Willow Glen. Pisacane said the volunteer dentists will provide cleanings, fillings, extractions, dentures and assistance in finding a long-term dentist.

CINEQUEST DOUBLE FEATURE: Independent movie fans will get two chances to experience Cinequest this year, with both a virtual edition and an in-person film festival on the slate. Cinejoy, the online-only offshoot of Cinequest, will take place March 1-12 — wrapping up the same day as the Academy Awards broadcast, a day that’s like Christmas for any movie fan. The in-person Cinequest film festival is scheduled to return to downtown San Jose on Aug. 11-20.

“New and enhanced features make Cinejoy much more than a movie experience,” Cinequest co-founder Halfdan Hussey said in an email. “We can’t wait to unleash the films, artists, events and the features for your enjoyment.”

Tickets and the film lineup for Cinejoy will be posted Feb. 8 at www.cinequest.org.