by El Reporter‘s wire services
Former Rep. Esteban Torres, a union leader who helped found the East Los Angeles Community Union, worked for President Jimmy Carter and represented the San Gabriel Valley and Whittier area in Congress from 1983-99, has died.
Torres, of West Covina, died of natural causes two days before his 92nd birthday on Tuesday on Jan. 25, according to his family.
Former Rep. Esteban Torres, a union leader who helped found the East Los Angeles Community Union, worked for President Jimmy Carter and represented the San Gabriel Valley and Whittier area in Congress from 1983-99, has died.
Torres, of West Covina, died of natural causes two days before his 92nd birthday on Tuesday on Jan. 25, according to his family.
Torres rose through the ranks of the UAW, serving as an organizer for the western region of the United States, as the union’s international representative in Washington, D.C., and from 1964 to 1968 he was the UAW’s Inter-American Bureau for Caribbean and Latin American Affairs.
In 1968, Torres founded TELACU, a community development corporation, serving as its executive director until 1974 when he decided to run for the House of Representatives but lost.
In 1977 President Carter appointed Torres as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris, France and later served as White House Special Assistant for Hispanic Affairs.
Then in 1992, he was elected to the House of Representatives in the newly drawn 34th Congressional District that included the cities of Artesia, Baldwin Park, Industry, La Puente, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, Pico Rivera, South El Monte, West Covina and Whittier.
While in Congress, Torres focused on environmental challenges, including the BKK Landfill contamination, water systems in the San Gabriel Valley and reclaimed wastewater, said Jamie Casso, Torres’ son-in-law and chief-of-staff.
Torres, a veteran himself, also helped folkd who served in the armed forces in getting benefits they were owed and medals they were due, Casso said.
In retirement from elective office, Torres served on the California Transportation Commission, the Board of Directors for Fannie Mae, as chair of the East Valley Development Authority for the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, the Board of Directors for Entravision Communications, the Oversight Board for Industry’s Successor Agency and he was a visiting professor at Whittier College and UCLA.
In 2006, the Los Angeles Unified School District named a high school in East Los Angeles after Torres. The Esteban E. Torres High School, home of the Toros, opened on Sept. 13, 2010.
Torres is survived by his wife Arcy and their children Carmen, Rena, Camille, Selina, and Steve; grandchildren Tanya, Kati, Bianca, Koby, Xavier, Nazaria, Diego, Steven, Carina Tobias, Heidi, Amber; and seven great grandchildren.
With reports from SGV Tribune.
