Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 20

Assemblymember Alberto Torrico serves as Majority Leader, the second highest post in California's State Assembly. Mr. Torrico, called a "rising voice" by the San Jose Mercury News, represents the 20th Assembly District, which includes Fremont, Newark, Union City and Milpitas, and portions of San Jose, Hayward, Castro Valley and Pleasanton.

Since his election in 2004, Majority Leader Torrico has held various leadership positions in the state Assembly. Immediately after being sworn-in, Mr. Torrico was named chair of the Assembly Committee on Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security (PERSS). Drawing on his experience as a union lawyer for nearly 10 years prior to joining the legislature, he successfully led the fight against Governor Schwarzenegger's ill-conceived proposals to privatize public pensions and to eliminate benefits to the widows of fallen police officers and firefighters.

In 2006, Mr. Torrico was appointed Chair of the Governmental Organization Committee, generally recognized as one of the Capitol's most powerful committees. Simultaneously, Mr. Torrico was named Director of Majority Affairs. In this role, Mr. Torrico was responsible for major Democratic legislative initiatives, and for Democratic Caucus Development. He also previously served two-terms as Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus.

Since his arrival in Sacramento, Majority Leader Torrico has authored 38 measures that were passed by the Legislature. Remarkably, 27 of them have been signed by our Republican governor.

Among the measures signed were:

Housing AB 1169 + Provides 60 day notice for no-fault evictions of renters AB 641 + Removes barriers to the development of affordable housing for working families

Healthcare AB 1512 + Assures that foster children don't lose health care benefits AB 1296 + Requires disclosure of payment data and amounts by health plans

Among bills vetoed was a bill to expand California's Baby Safe Surrender Law from 72 hours to 7 days. This measure would have prevented the abandonment and death of newborns in our state. The Governor also vetoed AB 527, which would have required the State of California to implement the latest, energy-efficient technology and resources in all state buildings.

Because of his effective advocacy on behalf of all Californians, Majority Leader Torrico has been named legislator of the year by a number of organizations:

California State Firefighters' Association
Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC)
American Electronics Association (AEA)
Neighborhood Grocers Association
California Association of Bilingual Educators
Asian Pacific Islanders Community Action Network

Majority Leader Torrico's parents are immigrants from Bolivia, and his mother is of Japanese descent. Because of his mixed heritage, he has been a member of the Legislative Latino Caucus and the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus, the first person to belong to two ethnic caucuses. He and his wife Raquel live in Newark with their son Mateo, and daughter Amy-Elyzabeth.