Councilmember Peo leads by the Mahatma Gandhi quote: "BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD.”
Jose lives by a mantra of “discipline and order” by holding personal accountability and responsibility above everything else.
Jose spent his early youth in the city’s Northeast district (Conkey, Ave C & D, Strathmore Circle, Hollenbeck), and was raised in a Baptist church on Norton Street that his family attended three times a week. His dad drove the church van to transport those in need. His family then moved to West Irondequoit, but Jose still spent weekends in the city with family members while his mom was training to become a hairdresser.
At the age of 8, Jose started a side hustle on his school bus by purchasing candy in bulk and selling individual pieces for a profit. Jose then went on to earn money by doing yard work and shoveling driveways in his preteens. Jose got his first "real" job at 14 as a dishwasher, and by the time his was 18, he was working two jobs, one after school and one on weekends. His family could only afford the necessities in life, so whenever he wanted something for himself, he knew he had to go earn it. That work ethic, hustle, and grit never left Jose.
Jose went straight into the Army after high school and served his country as an Intelligence Analyst in Korea, as well as along the Southern border and in South America. He is extremely proud of his accomplishments in the Army - having attained the rank of Sergeant within two and a half years, leading multiple deployment teams as NCOIC, and writing the Standard Operating Procedures for multiple deployment locations. After the military, Jose went straight to SUNY Brockport to earn his Marketing degree.
Jose opened a cell phone store with his cousin on Driving Park Avenue in 2009, and succeeded in purchasing their biggest competitor on Ridgeway and Dewey just two years later. The next year, they expanded to an additional location on Lake Avenue in Charlotte. Jose's goal was to bring a more professional customer service model to the pre-paid cell phone market in the city, while building an excellent reputation as top performers in the area. And yes, all three locations were in the Northwest District, 10 years before Jose would decide to run as the District's representative.
Jose broke into the finance world in 2012. He now runs his own business finance brokerage (TLS Funding Solutions, LLC), and also works as a business mentor, an angel investor, and a real estate investor. Additionally, he completes business valuations for those looking to sell their company, and is also a minority-stake owner in an exciting e-sports bar and restaurant (PlayerzZone).
After purchasing his home in the Charlotte neighborhood in 2015, Jose quickly became involved in the Charlotte Community Association and served as Vice President until relinquishing his position when he ran for City Council.
In 2019, Jose was extremely honored to have earned the vote of the people to represent the citizens of the very diverse Northwest District in the City of Rochester. He chose to be sworn in by his favorite Mayor Bill Johnson.
After many guest appearances on various shows, Jose decided to start his own podcast titled "Politically Correcting Podcast with Jose Peo."
Jose loves being active in nature, whether that’s simply taking a walk in Turning Point Park, or sitting in silence down by the falls and hearing the power of the Genesee River, or building a campfire with his family and dog while camping and staring up at the stars.