Rep. Torres Says He Will Not Seek Reelection to 9th Term

Rep. Esteban Torres (D-Pico Rivera), a 16-year congressman and the senior Latino in the U.S. Congress, announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection for a ninth term later this year.

“I have reached the pinnacle of success in my own eyes,” said Torres, 68. “I’m leaving while in good health. My wife and I want to enjoy life, my family, my grandchildren and pursue personal goals.”

The Mexican American son of an Arizona copper miner, Torres, who rose from labor activist to become one of the more prominent members of Congress, said it is time to “let the younger generation succeed.”

Torres has endorsed his chief of staff, Jamie Casso, 39, as his successor.

Casso has already begun his campaign in the predominantly Latino 34th Congressional District, bordered by Pico Rivera, East Los Angeles, the city of Industry and Norwalk. The district, where 65% of registered voters are Democrats, is made up of mostly middle-class families.

On Tuesday, surrounded by friends, family and staff, Torres seemed jovial as he fielded calls from congressional peers and local politicians in his modest Pico Rivera office.

President Clinton called earlier in the day after hearing news of Torres’ impending departure.

“He was shocked,” Torres said. “He said, ‘We really need people like you.’ ”

In 1996, Clinton passed over Torres for secretary of labor, infuriating many California politicians who thought that the state was being shortchanged in cabinet appointments. But on Tuesday, Torres said he held no grudges.

“I’ve been offered various diplomatic posts,” Torres said. He said he also was invited to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development but turned it down.

Torres, who paints and sculpts, said he hopes to devote more time to his artistic pursuits and to write a book about his experience as a public leader to inspire “young Latinos growing up in the barrio” to become more active in their communities.

With a tattoo to serve as a reminder of his own troubled days on the street, Torres is a role model for a generation of Latino youth, said Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles).

In Washington, Becerra and other colleagues on Capitol Hill said Torres would be missed as a strong leader.

“He’s sort of the silent, strong guy,” said Becerra, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Others remembered Torres for building bipartisanship among California delegates in Congress.

Torres was a co-founder of the California Institute, a group formed in 1990 by senators and representatives from the state.

Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, then a U.S. senator, was another founder of the group.

“Esteban has always been a gentleman and a professional who has worked to make California a better environment,” Wilson said through a spokesman. His “work, particularly on transportation issues as well as NAFTA [the North American Free Trade Agreement], will leave a lasting legacy for Californians for decades to come. I wish him well.”

Torres was born in Miami, Ariz. His father, a Mexican immigrant worker, was expelled from the country during the Great Depression when Torres was still a toddler. Torres and his mother were allowed to stay in the United States and moved to East Los Angeles.

Torres never again saw his father, who eventually returned to the United States only to be drafted by the U.S. Army during World War II.

“He was not good enough to be a copper miner, but good enough to be a soldier,” Torres said.

His father’s experience and his own as a young member of a minority group growing up in a poor and neglected neighborhood shaped his determination to make a career in public service, Torres said.

A former union leader, Torres has always been outspoken on behalf of workers and helped get key labor and environmental protections passed as part of NAFTA.

For Latinos, the former gang member and high school dropout is an important role model.

“When he took this seat in Congress, it was a period when we didn’t have much representation of the Hispanic community,” said Rep. Vic Fazio (D-West Sacramento), head of the Democratic Caucus. “Now the gates are down, their political power is on the rise. It’s a career like Esteban Torres’ that has really made it possible for these younger people to have the opportunities for public service.”

On Tuesday, as he sat down to ponder his legacy in Congress and the nearly 3 million miles he has logged flying back and forth between Washington and Los Angeles, Torres said: “Bottom line is: Never forget where you came from. You don’t forget that, you’ll never have a hard time.”