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Ritchie Torres NY-15

Ritchie Torres 1
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By PIX on july 23, 2020

Summary

Current Position: US Representative of NY 15th District since 2021
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Position: New York City Council from 2014 – 2020
District: Most of the South Bronx.

Featured Quote: 
It’s official. We won! It is the honor of a lifetime to be able to serve our community in Washington DC. The counting took longer than expected, but today the @BOENYC
certified our victory & I want to say thank you..

Rep. Ritchie Torres:was the first openly gay candidate to be elected to legislative office in the Bronx, and the council’s youngest member. Torres chaired the Committee on Public Housing, and was a deputy majority leader.

OnAir Post: Ritchie Torres NY-15

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About

Source: Government page

Ritchie TorresRepresentative Ritchie Torres is a fighter from the Bronx who has spent his entire life working for the community he calls home. Like many people in the Bronx, poverty and struggle have never been abstractions to him, and he governs from a place of lived experience.

Ritchie’s mother single-handedly raised him, his twin brother, and his sister in a public-housing project. She paid the bills working minimum-wage jobs, which in the 1990s paid $4.25 an hour.  While Ritchie grew up with mold, lead, leaks, and no reliable heat or hot water in the winter, he watched the government spend over $100 million dollars to build a golf course across the street for Donald Trump. In 2013, at the age of 25, Ritchie became New York City’s youngest elected official and the first openly L.G.B.T.Q. person elected to office in the Bronx.

 

At the City Council, Ritchie stood out, and during his seven-year tenure he tenaciously tackled problems big and small for the Bronx and New York City. He passed over forty pieces of legislation, including legislation protecting the City’s affordable housing stock and tackling the city’s opioid epidemic. As the Chairman overseeing NYCHA, he held the first committee hearing ever in public housing, which led to a $3 billion-dollar FEMA investment, the largest in NYC history. As Chair of the Oversight & Investigations Committee, Ritchie has led investigations into the heating outages and lead poisoning at NYCHA, the Taxi Medallion scandal, the City’s controversial Third-Party Transfer program, and Kushner Companies.

Ritchie currently lives in the Bronx and represents NY-15 in Congress. He is a member of the Committee on Financial Services and the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

Personal

Full Name:  Ritchie J. Torres

Gender:  Male

Family: Single

Birth Date: 03/12/1988

Birth Place: Bronx, NY

Home City:  Bronx, NY

Religion:  Deism

Source: Vote Smart

Education

Attended, New York University, 2005-2006

Political Experience

epresentative, United States House of Representatives, New York, District 15, 2021-present

Former Council Member, New York City, New York, District 15

Candidate, United States House of Representatives, New York, District 15, 2022

Delegate, Democratic National Convention, 2016

Offices

Washington DC Office
317 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, DC  20515

Phone: (202) 225-4361
Fax: (202) 225-6001
Bronx District Office
1231 Lafayette Ave, 4th Floor

Bronx, NY  10474

Phone: (718) 503-9610
Fax: (718) 620-0658

Contact

Email: Government

Web Links

Politics

Source: none

Finances

Source: Open Secrets

New Legislation

Issues

Source: Government page

Top Priorities

Housing for All

There is no issue more important to me than expanding access to safe and affordable housing. When I was growing up in the Bronx, public housing was a lifeline for my family. My mother struggled everyday to support her 3 children on $4.25 per hour, the minimum wage in the 1990s. I would not be where I am today without the stability affordable housing gave me and my family. I want to ensure every American, no matter their zip code, can say the same.  We need more affordable housing to tackle the homelessness crisis. Every day, I’m fighting for the development of more affordable housing, a universal housing voucher program, a sweeping reinvestment in our existing public housing infrastructure to address billions of dollars of capital needs, and building back our housing infrastructure better, faster, and cheaper. You can count on me to make sure the Bronx gets its fair share.

Rebuilding the Economy

After the devastation and hardship New Yorkers experienced this past year, a post-COVID world cannot come soon enough. New York City risks becoming a shadow of its former self if we don’t make the right investments to get our economy back on track.  The dual crises of COVID-19 and systemic racism have magnified the economic inequality that plagues our country, and we can’t afford to return to the pre-pandemic status quo. We need to give hard working people a fighting chance at success.  As a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, I’m fighting every day to rebuild a more inclusive middle class. I’m in favor of increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, which would give millions of Americans a fighting chance at a better life by lifting people from poverty, narrowing racial pay gaps, and building a more equitable economy for everyone.  I’m also a strong supporter of the labor movement, which is our best hope to revitalize the middle class. Strengthening unions is a pivotal step towards mitigating growing income inequality and worker safety concerns. Congress needs to significantly expand the rights of workers to unionize and enhance protections for those whose efforts to unionize are impeded by their employers.

More Information

Services

Source: Government page

If you can’t get an answer from a federal agency in a timely fashion, or if you feel you have been treated unfairly, my office may be able to help resolve a problem or get you the information you need. While we cannot guarantee you a favorable outcome, we will do our best to help you receive a fair and timely response to your problem.

Residents of the 15th Congressional District of New York can contact me for assistance dealing with federal agencies. Click here to check if you live in the 15th District.

Please include all pertinent information and claim numbers in your correspondence, such as:

  • Your Social Security number for a case involving Social Security
  • VA claim number for a case with Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Social Security Number or ITIN for an Internal Revenue Service problem, etc.
  • Your address and phone number so that we can obtain any additional information from you that might be necessary
  • Copies of any related documents or correspondence that you may have from the agency involved

Please Note: The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a) requires that Members of Congress or their staff have written authorization before they can obtain information about an individual’s case. We must have your signature to proceed with this type of request. Please click on the appropriate agency to utilize our digital privacy release authorization form.

District

Source: Wikipedia

New York’s 15th congressional district for the United States House of Representatives is located in New York City, State of New York. The district has been represented by Democrat Ritchie Torres since 2021.

The 15th district is located entirely within the Bronx, namely the southern portion of the West Bronx as well as the South Bronx. Latinos make up the majority of the district’s population, followed by Black people. Whites, Asians and other racial groups comprise a small minority. Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Zoo are both located within the district.

Wikipedia

Ritchie John Torres (born March 12, 1988) is an American politician from New York.[1][2] A member of the Democratic Party, Torres is the U.S. representative for New York’s 15th congressional district.[3] The district covers most of the South Bronx and is by one measure the poorest congressional district in the United States,[4] as well as one of the smallest districts by area in the country, covering only a few square miles.

Torres served as the New York City Council member for the 15th district from 2013 to 2020. He was the first openly gay candidate to be elected to legislative office in the Bronx, and the council’s youngest member. Torres chaired the Committee on Public Housing and was a deputy majority leader. As chair of the Oversight and Investigations Committee he focused on predatory lending associated with taxi medallion procurement and the city’s Third Party Transfer Program. In 2016, Torres was a delegate for the Bernie Sanders campaign.[5]

In July 2019, Torres announced his bid for New York’s 15th congressional district to succeed Representative José E. Serrano. The district is one of the most Democratic-leaning congressional districts in the country.[citation needed] Torres won the November 2020 general election and assumed office on January 3, 2021.[6] This made him and Mondaire Jones the first openly gay black men elected to Congress.[7] It also made Torres the first openly gay Afro-Latino elected to Congress.[3] Torres was one of nine co-chairs of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus in the 117th United States Congress.[8]

Early life and education

Ritchie Torres was born on March 12, 1988, in the Bronx.[9] He is Afro-Latino; his father is Afro-Puerto Rican and his mother was born in the Bronx to white Puerto Rican parents.[1] Torres was raised Catholic but says he is not practicing while still believing in God.[10]

Torres was raised by his mother in Throggs Neck Houses, a public housing project in the Throggs Neck neighborhood of the East Bronx,[11] where he was frequently hospitalized for asthma as a result of the mold in their apartment.[12] Of growing up economically disadvantaged in “slum conditions”, Torres has said, “I was raised by a single mother who had to raise three children on minimum wage and I lived in conditions of mold and vermin, lead and leaks.”[13] His mother raised him, his twin brother, and their sister.[1] (Torres was upset by the $269 million city-subsidized Trump Golf Links built “across the street” in Ferry Point Park rather than housing for struggling New Yorkers; the course was built on a landfill, took 14 years to be developed, and opened in 2015.[13][14] He vowed then to fight for their well-being.)[13] In junior high, Torres realized he was gay but did not come out, fearing homophobic violence.[15] He has described being “brutally assaulted” by a bully in the third grade.[10]

Torres attended Herbert H. Lehman High School, served in the inaugural class of the Coro New York Exploring Leadership Program, and later worked as an intern in the offices of the mayor and the attorney general.[16][17] He came out while a sophomore “during a schoolwide forum on marriage equality“.[11]

Torres is one of a small minority of congressmen who does not hold a college degree.[10][18] He enrolled at New York University, but dropped out at the beginning of his sophomore year, as he was suffering from severe depression.[17] He struggled with suicidal thoughts based on his sexuality.[15] As he recovered, Torres resumed working for council member James Vacca, eventually becoming Vacca’s housing director.[17] In that role, Torres conducted site inspections and documented conditions, ensuring housing issues were promptly and adequately addressed.[16][19]

New York City councilmember

At 25 years old, Torres ran to succeed Joel Rivera as the councilmember for the 15th district of the New York City Council.[20][21] The district includes Allerton, Belmont, Bronx Park, Claremont Village, Crotona Park, Fordham, Mount Eden, Mount Hope, Norwood, Parkchester, Tremont, Van Nest, West Farms and Williamsbridge in the Bronx.[16]

Ritchie Torres in 2015

When he won the Democratic nomination for New York city council, Torres became one of the first openly gay political candidates in the Bronx to win a Democratic nomination, and upon victory in the general election became the first openly gay public official in the Bronx.[22][23][1] Torres also served as a deputy leader of the city council.[24]

Public housing

Upon his election, Torres requested the chairmanship of the council’s committee on public housing, tasked with overseeing the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA);[25] as of July 2019, it is the “nation’s largest public housing system”, which “provides housing to more than 400,000 low-income residents” in “176,000 apartments across 325 complexes”.[26] He made “the living conditions of the city’s most underserved residents a signature priority”.[27] In this role he helped secure $3 million for Concourse Village, Inc., a nearly 1,900-unit housing cooperative in the South Bronx.[27] According to 2010 United States Census data the South Bronx is among the poorest districts in the nation.[13] The cooperative is subsidized by the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program, offering “income-restricted rentals and below-market value buy-in for co-ops”.[27] He also secured nearly $1 million to renovate Dennis Lane Apartments, a Mitchell-Lama co-op in the heart of his district,[27] and “played a crucial role in exposing the city’s failures to address lead-paint contamination.”[1]

In August 2019, along with fellow council member Vanessa Gibson, Torres announced Right To Counsel 2.0, an expansion of legal aid to NYCHA tenants facing eviction.[28] Since the original law passed in 2017, providing legal help throughout the entire eviction case, the council has found 84% of tenants were able to stay in their homes.[28] The council members “say this will help keep families together and prevent displacement.”[28] Torres said, “NYCHA is one of the worst evictees in the city … Not just one of the worst landlords, but one of the worst evictors. In 2018 alone, 838 families lost their homes in the hands of the NYCHA.”[29]

Combating gig worker tip theft

In April 2019, Torres worked on legislation aimed to compel companies that employ gig workers to be transparent if the worker’s tips are diverted to pay base salary.[30] Mobile app delivery companies, like DoorDash—which has freelance workers pickup and deliver meals from restaurants—Amazon’s Prime Now, and Instacart, usually allow customers to add a gratuity, but the companies were counting the tips toward regular payment.[30][31] Torres characterized the practice as exploiting “an underclass of independent contractors”, and hopes the city council can ban the practice altogether.[30] Vox noted the gig economy is in need of regulation for the estimated 57 million workers (in the U.S.) who have little protection, and few if any benefits.[31] Torres’s bill would compel these companies to be transparent about the practice “by explicitly stating it in their terms of service or by sending a notification as a transaction is being approved”.[31]

Taxi medallion predatory loans

As chair of the oversight and investigations committee, newly empowered in January 2018 by city council speaker Corey Johnson,[32] Torres said he had documentation that as early as 2010 the Bloomberg administration was “aware that medallion prices could crumple”,[33] a year before ride hailing pioneer Uber started its service in the city. Medallion prices dropped considerably in 2014, likely due to competition from ride-share companies.[34] Medallion owners sued the city and Uber in November 2015.[35] By 2017, 60,000 ride-share vehicles outnumbered medallion vehicles by almost 4 to 1,[36] and many medallion owners faced the prospect of bankruptcy or severe debt because of the low medallion prices, which few were willing to pay.[34][37] Torres said the “medallion market collapse is a cautionary tale” and “one of the greatest government scandals in the history of New York City”.[33]

In July 2019, the city council considered how to address the city’s taxicab industry with the National Taxi Workers’ Alliance‘s concerns that the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission knowingly sold medallions at inflated prices, bringing in $1 billion in revenue to city government, while saddling “thousands of drivers with impossible debt loads”, leading to suicides.[33]

Cashless businesses

In July 2019, Torres proposed legislation to address the movement in New York toward cashless business practices at stores and restaurants.[38] He did so to preserve access for those who rely on cash for their purchases.[39] The businesses accept only bank cards and e-commerce payments rather than hard currency, in part for higher efficiency, possibly streamlining both cashiering, and accounting; and for security reasons, as having cash risks robbery.[38] According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, in 2017 16.9% of African-American households “and 14% of Latino households did not have a bank account”; 6.5% of all households did not have a bank account; and 18.7% with accounts also used non-insured institutions for financial transactions.[39] In New York City, 12% did not have bank accounts in 2013, including “domestic violence survivors who don’t wish to be traced and undocumented immigrants as some of those who may face significant challenges when opening bank accounts”.[38][40] They instead often use payday loans and check cashing facilities.[40] Torres’s proposal would fine noncompliant businesses, while allowing them to refuse currency higher than $20 bills.[38] It also prohibits charging more for using cash.[40]

Third-Party Transfer program

In July 2019, Torres, as chair of the oversight and investigation committee, and Robert Cornegy, chair of the committees on housing and buildings, released a report from the joint committee that conducted a city council forensic investigation into the city’s Third-Party Transfer (TPT) program.[41] The TPT was started in 1996 under Giuliani’s administration to let the Department of Housing and Preservation (HPD) transfer “derelict, tax-delinquent buildings to nonprofits that could rehabilitate and manage them”, ostensibly for working-class people, freeing the city from ownership, or responsibility for tenants.[42] HPD followed a rule selecting “every other building in the same tax block with a lien—even for a few hundred dollars”—if even one was picked for TPT.[42] Mayor Bill de Blasio‘s administration characterized the TPT as a tool for taking over “distressed properties” in “blighted” areas”.[43] The report,[a] however, holds that characterization is in tension with its findings, which implicate malfeasance by both NYC’s HPD and the Department of Finance (DOF), detailing how the agencies were “targeting and taking of numerous black and brown owned properties, and thus stripping these communities of millions of dollars of generational wealth”.[41] According to Torres, “TPT is quite different from and far harsher than a typical foreclosure from the perspective of a property owner. If you are the target of a foreclosure, you get a share of the proceeds from the sale of your property. Under TPT, the city can completely strip you of all the equity in your property”.[44] The TPT process strips the minority owner of the property and its value, and mitigates the sweat equity and resources invested—all with no compensation.[43]

LGBT advocacy

Torres helped open the first homeless shelter for LGBT youth in the Bronx.[1] He also secured funds for senior centers to serve LGBT people in all five NYC boroughs.[1]

Guns and gang violence

In August 2019, Torres announced the city council was awarding $36.2 million for gun violence prevention and reduction.[45] He said shooting incidents in New York City were up from 413 in the first half of 2018 to 551 in the same period of 2019.[45]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 15

Torres has said that he is “intent on advancing politically”, and has been floated as a future candidate for mayor of New York City.[46] His “goal is to be a national champion for the urban poor.”[15]

In July 2019, Torres announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives for New York’s 15th congressional district.[47] In his announcement, Torres shared his history of depression.[1] Torres said he was seeking the office to pursue “his legislative passions of overhauling public housing and focusing on the issues of concentrated poverty”.[48] The 15th congressional district is the nation’s poorest in terms of median income.[48] Torres said, “If you are on a mission to fight racially concentrated poverty … then you have to be a policymaker on the national stage”.[48] He favors maximizing social housing in the nation, including the ending of land-use bans of apartments,[further explanation needed] which he says will result in the reduction of carbon emissions, as well as increase affordable housing.[48] Torres came under criticism for his willingness to take real estate cash donations during his campaign.[49]

Torres’s main opponent as he started campaigning in the Democratic primary was Rubén Díaz Sr.,[15] a conservative Democrat and Pentecostal minister, who does not believe in, and openly stood in opposition to, same-sex marriage.[47][50] Media outlets contextualized the contest between the two, noting their age difference; contrasting levels of experience; and Torres’s open homosexuality versus Díaz’s track record of anti-LGBT rhetoric.[47][48][51] Torres said he saw Díaz as “temperamentally and ideologically indistinguishable” from Donald Trump.[1] According to The New York Times, Díaz had “a decades-long history of making homophobic remarks”;[15] LGBTQ Nation said his anti-LGBT rhetoric started in the early 1990s, right after his start in city politics, when he claimed the city’s hosting the 1994 Gay Games “would spread AIDS and corrupt children“.[51] In February 2019, Díaz said that the City Council was “controlled by homosexuals”; in response, the council dissolved a subcommittee he chaired.[13] As of July 2019, Torres had raised $500,000 and Díaz $80,000.[15] Torres was endorsed by the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and the Congressional Equality Caucus (Equality PAC).[15]

The Democratic primary was held on June 23. Although an official winner had not yet been declared, Torres declared victory in the primary on July 22.[52][53][54] As the seat for which he was running is one of the safest Democratic seats in the country, he was expected to win the general election, after which he would become one of the first openly gay black Congressmen in U.S. history, along with Mondaire Jones in the 17th district.[55] On August 4, local election officials declared Torres the winner of the primary.[56][57] This all but assured him of being the next congressman from this heavily Democratic, Latino-majority district. The 15th and its predecessors have been in Democratic hands for all but 11 months since 1927, the lone break in this tradition being American Labor Party member Leo Isacson from February 1948 to January 1949. It has been held by Latino congressmen since 1971.

Elections

2024

Main article: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 15

For the 2024 elections, Torres ran for reelection and successfully defeated Conservative Party candidate Gonzalo Duran, who was endorsed by the Republican Party. Duran, a U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant veteran of the Iraq War, serves as the CEO of a Devil Dog USA a nonprofit organization, the vice chairman of the Bronx Conservative Party and District Leader of the 79th Assembly District.[58][59][60]

Tenure

Torres outside his office

Torres won the November general election. He took office on January 3, 2021.[6] Upon his swearing-in, he became the first openly gay Afro-Latin American member of Congress.[61]

On August 6, 2021, Torres introduced H.R. 4980, which would “ensure that any individual traveling on a flight that departs from or arrives to an airport inside the United States or a territory of the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.”[62][63]

Torres voted with President Joe Biden‘s stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.[64]

Torres was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[65] He said his vote was motivated by the new SNAP requirements included in the deal, which raised the work requirements from able-bodied adults under age 50 who do not live with any dependent children to adults under age 54, and the diversion of $20 billion in funding for the Internal Revenue Service.[66][67]

Political positions

Torres says that he is a loyal Democrat and “generally in agreement with the planks of the Democratic platform.”[10]

Environment

Torres has voiced support for a Green New Deal and was endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters in 2020. He suggested that public housing should be “a model for green and energy efficient buildings to help combat climate change while addressing its capital needs.”[68] Torres has called the Cross Bronx Expressway “a structure of environmental racism” and supports a plan to cover the highway with green space.[69]

Foreign policy

Torres speaking at the Israeli embassy to the United States in 2024

Torres has called himself “the embodiment of a pro-Israel progressive”.[70] After winning election in 2020, he announced that he would not join the Squad, a group of left-wing Democratic representatives, due to their support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Torres has described his “revulsion” to the “extremism” of the BDS movement that he says questions the legitimacy and existence of Israel as a Jewish state.[10] He has contrasted BDS’s stagnancy with what he called the “path to peace” presented by the Abraham Accords.[71] He supports a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.[72] Torres has said his first visit to Israel, led by the Jewish Community Relations Council in 2015, was a “life-changing experience”.[10]

In 2023, Torres was among 56 Democrats to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[73][74]

In July 2023, Torres was among 49 Democrats to break with President Joe Biden, by voting for a ban on cluster munitions to Ukraine.[75][76]

In November 2023, Torres rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war. He called claims that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip a “blood libel”.[77]

On November 7, 2023, Torres was one of 22 House Democrats who voted successfully to censure Rashida Tlaib, passing a resolution that accused her of, “…promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack,” as well as criticized, in particular, her use of the slogan “from the river to the sea“.[78] In explaining why he voted for the censure, Torres wrote on Twitter, “Congress has a right to take a principled stand against hate speech calling for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish nation-state.”[79]

Torres voted in favor of three military aid package supplementals for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan respectively in April 2024, along with most Democrats.[80][81][82] In a statement after the vote, he said “The US has a singular obligation to help freedom fighters fight for their freedom, and nowhere more so than in Ukraine, whose self-defense against Putin’s aggression must prevail.”[83]

Cryptocurrency

Torres is viewed as an ally of the cryptocurrency industry.[84] He is a member of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus and has been a prominent critic of SEC chair Gary Gensler‘s “regulation by enforcement” strategy towards cryptocurrencies.[85][86]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Electoral history

Election history
LocationYearElectionResults
NYC Council
District 15		2013Democratic PrimarycheckY Ritchie Torres 36.12%
Joel Rivera 21.39%
Cynthia Thompkins 20.97%
Albert Alvarez 8.99%
Raquel E. Batista 7.42%
Joel M. Bauza 5.11%
NYC Council
District 15		2013GeneralcheckY Ritchie Torres (D) 91.15%
Joel Rivera (R) 7.19%
Joel M. Bauza (Conservative) 1.46%
NYC Council
District 15		2017GeneralcheckY Ritchie Torres (D/WF) 93.6%
Jayson Cancel (R/C) 6.3%
United States Congress
New York’s 15th congressional district		2020Democratic PrimarycheckY Ritchie Torres 29.44%
Michael Blake 18.74%
Ruben Diaz Sr. 14.30%
Samelys López 12.77%
Ydanis Rodríguez 11.02%

Notes

  1. ^ Taking Stock: A look Into The Third Party Transfer Program in Modern Day New York

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gonnerman, Jennifer (July 27, 2019). “Ritchie Torres, Another Young Bronx Progressive, Launches a Run for Congress”. The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  2. ^ “Torres, Ritchie John”. Federal Election Commission. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Avery, Dan (November 4, 2020). “Ritchie Torres becomes first gay Afro Latino elected to Congress”. NBC News.
  4. ^ EUGENE DANIELS; KRYSTAL CAMPOS (April 26, 2021). “Ritchie Torres represents America’s poorest congressional district. He’s on a mission to save public housing”. Politico.
  5. ^ “Meet Ritchie Torres, the pro-Israel progressive and past Bernie delegate running for Congress in the Bronx”. Jewish Insider. December 5, 2019. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  6. ^ a b “Ritchie Torres Has Made History As The First Openly Gay Black Member Of Congress”. BuzzFeed News. November 4, 2020. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  7. ^ “14 Victorious LGBTQ Candidates Who Made History in the 2020 Election”. Towleroad Gay News. November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  8. ^ a b “Hoyer Congratulates Leaders of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus for the 117th Congress”. majorityleader.gov. December 18, 2020.
  9. ^ “Torres, Ritchie”. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e f “Interview with Congressman Ritchie Torres”. Interviews with Max Raskin. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Lang, Nico (August 1, 2019). “Battle for the Bronx: Queer Latinx Millennial Faces Rubén “Gay Sex Is Beastiality” Díaz Sr”. NewNowNext. Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  12. ^ Ross, Winston. “Ritchie Torres: Gay, Hispanic and Powerful”. Newsweek. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  13. ^ a b c d e Brown, Nicole (July 16, 2019). “South Bronx congressional primary will be one to watch”. A.M. New York. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  14. ^ Brandt, Libertina. “An inside look at every golf course President Donald Trump currently owns, from Ireland to Dubai”. Business Insider. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g Mays, Jeffery C. (July 15, 2019). “He’s Gay. His Main Opponent Makes Homophobic Remarks”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  16. ^ a b c “Biography”. council.ny.gov. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  17. ^ a b c Gonnerman, Jennifer. “Fighting for the Poor Under Trump”. The New Yorker. Archived from the original on December 5, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  18. ^ Schaeffer, Katherine (February 2, 2023). “Nearly all members of the 118th Congress have a bachelor’s degree – and most have a graduate degree, too”. Pew Research Center. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  19. ^ “Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. endorses Ritchie Torres for City Council seat”. New York Daily News. August 6, 2013. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  20. ^ Kappstatter, Bob (May 16, 2013). “Will the real Joel please stand • Bronx Times”. Bronx Times. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  21. ^ Colin Campbell (March 14, 2013). “24-Year-Old Council Candidate Collecting Money and Endorsements”. Observer. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  22. ^ “Riding Widespread Institutional Support, Torres and Cohen Breeze to Primary Wins”. Norwood News. September 11, 2013. Archived from the original on September 17, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  23. ^ “Ritchie Torres, Bronx City Council Race Frontrunner, Among 3 Openly Gay Candidates In Historic Election”. Huffingtonpost.com. June 13, 2013. Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  24. ^ “Biography”. council.ny.gov. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  25. ^ Gonnerman, Jennifer. “Fighting for the Poor Under Trump”. The New Yorker. Archived from the original on December 5, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  26. ^ Ferré-Sadurní, Luis (June 24, 2019). “He’s in Charge of Housing for 11,000 Minnesotans. Can He Handle 400,000 New Yorkers?”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
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  28. ^ a b c “Seniors facing potential eviction seek legal help with new law expansion”. Bronx News 12. August 23, 2019. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
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Political offices
Preceded by

 Member of the New York City Council
from the 15th district
2014–2020		Succeeded by

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by

 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York’s 15th congressional district
2021–present		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by

 United States representatives by seniority
337th		Succeeded by


source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritchie_Torres

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