Hector De La Torre

In October, 2011, California governor Jerry Brown appointed De La Torre to the California Air Resources Board, filling the position vacated by Lydia Kennard.

In 2010, De La Torre ran for California Insurance Commissioner, a position vacated by Republican Steve Poizner, who ran unsuccessfully for governor. He ran on a platform of increasing access to health care and ensuring that patients get the best care from insurance companies. He was endorsed by the California Nurses Association, the CA Professional Firefighters, the California Medical Association, and the California League of Conservation Voters. De La Torre lost in the Democratic primaries on June 8, 2010 to Dave Jones.

De La Torre was one of only two council members not involved in the corruption scandal, which prompted a January 2003 recall of three other members of the city council, as well as the South Gate city treasurer. The recall, which he helped lead, was the culmination of a long fight to clean up the corruption in South Gate.

The January 2003 recall ousted Robles from his position as City Treasurer, along with three of his allies on the City Council. The recall effort passed by a resounding 8-1 ratio. By the time the new councilmembers were sworn in, the Robles majority on the City Council had completely depleted the eight million dollars in the city's reserve.

In 2002, De La Torre ran for the House of Representatives to represent California's 39th Congressional District. He came in second in a six-person Democratic primary, losing to Linda Sánchez by a 29-33 margin.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Albert Robles was indicted "on 39 counts of money laundering, bribery, wire fraud and public corruption." Prosecutors argued that "he used his elected office and political influence to funnel money from city projects to family and friends between 1998 and 2003." De La Torre testified in the trial against the former city treasurer. Robles was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

De La Torre was elected to the South Gate City Council in 1997 and served until 2004, serving as mayor for two of those years. He represented the city on the Executive Board of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, where he played a key role in developing plans to improve the I-710 Freeway. He served on the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Mountains and Rivers Conservancy where he supported the preservation of open space throughout the district.

Prior to his election to the Assembly, he worked as judicial administrator with the California Superior Court in Los Angeles for three years. He also served as legislative director for former California congressman Richard H. Lehman (D-CA) and on the staff of congressman Alan Wheat (D-MO). In 1995, he was appointed chief of staff to the deputy secretary of labor in the Clinton Administration.

Hector De La Torre (born May 29, 1967) is an American politician from Los Angeles County, California who served in the California State Assembly from 2004 to 2010. A Democrat, he represented the largely Latino 50th Assembly district.

De La Torre's parents immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the 1960s. He grew up in South Gate and taught at Edison Junior High in South Los Angeles.