Ritchie Torres
Written by Arianna Pulido Zavala and Amira Henry
Ritchie John Torres was born on March 12th, 1988, in the Bronx, New York. Torres is Afro-Latinx, with his father hailing from Puerto Rico and his mother being African-American. Torres grew up in the projects in the Bronx, and as a child he frequently took trips to the hospital due to the asthma attacks he suffered from as a result of the mold that grew in his home. His mother raised his two siblings and him on her own, and the four of them survived off of the minimum wage income his mother was paid. Towards the end of middle school, Torres realized that he was gay, but he wasn’t ready to come out until halfway through his highschool career After briefly attending New York University, Torres made the decision to drop out of college due to the severe depression he developed due to his struggles with his own sexuality. Once he recovered from his mental health issues, he became involved in politics as he worked alongside councilman James Vacca. Through his work, Torres advocated for proper housing, a topic he is passionate about.
Ritchie Torres is a Democrat in the 15th congressional district, which represents his longtime home of the South Bronx. Along with a Democrat Torres is Black, Latino, and gay. Congressman Torres plans to tackle issues of affordable housing, reinvestment in public housing, employment and income increase, and expanding payment to essential workers. Torres says that Covid is a historical moment that gives the opportunity to “govern boldly in the 21st century”. Torres supports statehood for Puerto Rico, and wants to improve the day to day interaction between police and civilians, which he began to tackle with the Right to Know Act. In interviews he praises women of color as the “heart” of the workforce; Torres praises the new diversity of Congress, with 60% of Democratic Conference of the House being POC, women, and LGBTQ+.
Fun fact: He was named Ritchie after you guessed it: Ritchie Valens.
Comments