Norma Torres

Norma Judith Torres (née Barillas /ˈtɒrɛs/ TORR-ess; born April 4, 1965)^[2] is an American politician. She is a member of the United States House of Representatives for California's 35th congressional district. Previously, she was a member of the California State Senate representing the 35th district. She is a member of the Democratic Party.^[3]

Norma Torres
Official portrait, 2017
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 35th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Gloria Negrete McLeod
Member of the California State Senate from the 32nd district
In office May 20, 2013 – November 30, 2014
Preceded by	Gloria Negrete McLeod
Succeeded by	Tony Mendoza (Redistricted)
Member of the California State Assembly from the 52nd district 61st district (2008–2012)
In office December 1, 2008 – May 20, 2013
Preceded by	Nell Soto
Succeeded by	Freddie Rodriguez
Mayor of Pomona
In office April 3, 2006 – December 1, 2008
Preceded by	Edward Cortez
Succeeded by	Elliot Rothman
Member of the Pomona City Council from the 6th district
In office January 8, 2001 – April 3, 2006
Preceded by	Willie White
Succeeded by	Steven Bañales
Personal details
Born	Norma Judith Barillas^[1] (1965-04-04) April 4, 1965 (age 58) Escuintla, Guatemala
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Louis Torres
Children	3
Residence(s)	Pomona, California, U.S.
Education	Mt. San Antonio College Rio Hondo College National Labor College (BA)
Website	House website

Early life and career

Torres was born Norma Judith Barillas in Guatemala.^[2] When she was five, she and her uncle came to the United States; her mother died a year later.^[4][3] She originally arrived on a tourist visa, but became a legal resident in her teens and gained citizenship in 1992.^[5]

Torres worked as a 9-1-1 dispatcher, and in 1994 led a campaign to require the hiring of bilingual 9-1-1 operators.^[6] She was an active member of AFSCME, serving as local 3090's shop steward.^{[citation needed]} She served on the Pomona city council before being elected the city's mayor in 2006.^[5] In 2008, Torres endorsed then-presidential candidate Barack Obama before Hillary Clinton withdrew from the race, and was a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention. She was elected to the State Assembly in November 2008, filling the vacancy left by former legislator Nell Soto, who retired. She earned her bachelor's degree in labor studies from the now-defunct National Labor College in Maryland in 2012.^[7][4]

U.S. House of Representatives

Torres was elected to the U.S. House of Representative for California's 35th congressional district in 2014, defeating Christina Gagnier (D) with 63.5% of the vote.^[8] She was reelected in 2016, defeating Tyler Fischella (R) with 72.4% of the vote.^[8] In 2018, Torres received 69.4% of the vote to defeat Christian Valiente (R),^[8] and in 2020, she defeated Republican Mark Cargile with 69.3%.

After being reelected to the House in November 2022, Torres accused President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador of interfering in her race. Bukele had urged voters to oppose Torres.^[9]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:^[10]

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
  • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
• Committee on House Administration
  • Subcommittee on Elections
  • Subcommittee on Oversight (Ranking Member)

Caucus memberships

• New Democrat Coalition^[11]
• Congressional Hispanic Caucus^[12]
• Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus^[13]

Political positions

Abortion

As of 2022, Torres has a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America and an F rating from the Susan B. Anthony List for her abortion-related voting record.^[14][15] She opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling it "devastating" and saying it set back "our country decades, reversing so many years of hard-fought progress" for women.^[16]

Big Tech

In 2022, Torres was one of 16 Democrats to vote against the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.^[17][18]

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Torres was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.^[19]

Personal life

Torres is married to Louis Torres. They live in Pomona, California.^[20] They have three sons, including Robert Torres, a Pomona City Council member.

See also

• List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
• Women in the United States House of Representatives

References

1. Kevin Freking A child of Guatemala seeks a seat in Congress
2. Chief Clerk of the California State Assembly, Secretary of the California State Senate, (PDF), State of California, archived from the original (PDF) on November 16, 2010, retrieved August 11, 2011
3. "Biography". house.gov. n.d. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
4. Huetteman, Emmarie (February 15, 2015). "Dangers Propelled Norma Torres to Move to U.S., Then to Politics". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
5. Kevin Freking (September 6, 1994). "A child of Guatemala seeks a seat in Congress". Associated Press. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
6. "Congresswoman Norma Torres". Federal Communications Commission. April 17, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
7. "Biography". Congresswoman Norma Torres. December 11, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
8. "California's 35th Congressional District". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
9. Sesin, Carmen (November 28, 2022). "State Department says Salvadorans' attempts to 'directly influence' a U.S. congressional election are 'unacceptable'". NBC News. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
10. "Norma J. Torres". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
11. . New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
12. . Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Archived from the original on May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
13. "Members". Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
14. "Congressional Record". NARAL Pro-Choice America. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
15. "Norma Torres". SBA Pro-Life America. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
16. Torres, Norma. Twitter https://twitter.com/NormaJTorres/status/1540343959653961728. Retrieved June 28, 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
17. "House passes antitrust bill that hikes M&A fees as larger efforts targeting tech have stalled". CNBC. September 29, 2022.
18. "H.R. 3843: Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022 -- House Vote #460 -- Sep 29, 2022".
19. Gans, Jared (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". The Hill. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
20. Yingling, Jennifer (November 7, 2018). "Torres". TheHill. Retrieved November 21, 2020.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Norma Torres.

• Congresswoman Norma Torres official U.S. House website
• Norma Torres for Congress campaign website
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Norma Torres at Curlie

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Gloria Negrete McLeod	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 35th congressional district 2015–present	Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Elise Stefanik	United States representatives by seniority 183rd	Succeeded by Bonnie Watson Coleman