Ralph Torres | |
---|---|
8th Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands | |
In office December 29, 2015 –January 9, 2023 | |
Lieutenant | Victor Hocog Arnold Palacios |
Preceded by | Eloy Inos |
Succeeded by | Arnold Palacios |
10th Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands | |
In office January 11,2015 –December 29,2015 | |
Governor | Eloy Inos |
Preceded by | Jude Hofschneider |
Succeeded by | Victor Hocog |
President of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate | |
In office February 20,2013 –January 12,2015 | |
Preceded by | Jude Hofschneider |
Succeeded by | Victor Hocog |
Personal details | |
Born | Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres August 6,1979 Garapan,Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (now Northern Mariana Islands) |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Diann Mendiola Tudela |
Children | 6 |
Education | Boise State University (BA) |
Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres (born August 6,1979) is a Northern Marianan politician,who served as the eighth governor of the Northern Mariana Islands,from December 29,2015,to January 9,2023. He is a Republican from Saipan,Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The third longest-serving governor in CNMI history,Torres took office upon the death of Governor Eloy Inos on December 29,2015,before being reelected as governor in his own right in 2018. He previously served as the tenth lieutenant governor,having been elected to that post in 2014. [1]
Torres was born on August 6,1979,to a Chamorro family in Garapan,then part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Torres's father was a government field officer and Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC) dispatcher,while his mother was a teacher at William S. Reyes Elementary School. Growing up,Torres lived with his parents and five siblings in a one-story house in Koblerville built by the family. [2]
Torres's family would later move to Boise,Idaho,where he would attend Boise High School,graduating in 1996. He received a B.S. in political science from Boise State University in 2001. [3] In 2004,he began to work with his brothers at Torres Brothers,Attorneys at Law.
In 2008,Torres won election to the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives. In 2010,he won election to the Northern Mariana Islands Senate,acting in a variety of roles. From 2010 to 2015 he was chairman of the Health &Welfare Committee. In February 2013,he became the president of the Senate. [3]
In the 2014 gubernatorial election,Torres was elected lieutenant governor on the Republican Party ticket headed by Eloy Songao Inos, [1] and was sworn in on January 12,2015.
Upon the death of incumbent governor Eloy Inos,Torres became the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands on December 29,2015. [4] [5] In accordance with the constitution,the Senate president,Victor Hocog,became lieutenant governor. [6] In the 2018 gubernatorial election,Torres and his running mate Arnold Palacios won a full term,defeating former governor Juan Babauta and Rita Sablan ticket.
As governor,Torres approved a bill,public law 19-42,that adds a $1,000 excise tax on pistol purchases,this is the highest tax on pistols sales in the US. [7] However,this excessive tax was later ruled as unconstitutional according to the United States Constitution and overturned by the United States District Court. [8]
On September 21,2018,Torres signed into law the Taulamwaar Sensible CNMI Cannabis Act,stating:"Today,our people made history. We took a stand to legalize marijuana in the CNMI for recreational,medical,and commercial use." [9]
Torres has announced his intention to run for reelection in the 2022 gubernatorial election with territorial senator Vinnie Sablan as his running-mate. [10]
Torres and his wife,First Lady Diann Torres,were criticized for costing the government $24,297 on a trip to Montana. The trip,conducted from June 23 to July 2,2017,involved stops in both Oregon and Idaho. [11] In February 2018, Bloomberg Businessweek reported that Torres and his family have received millions of dollars in payments from Hong Kong-based Imperial Pacific casino. [12]
On November 7,2019,the FBI executed a search and seizure warrant to raid Torres's office,home,and car as well as his brothers' law firm and various other businesses across Saipan for evidence of wire fraud,schemes to defraud,conspiracy,money laundering,and illegal campaign contributions. [13]
In November 2019,the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives called for the impeachment of Torres amid an ongoing investigation by the FBI into his businesses. [14] Torres faced further impeachment backlash with growing evidence of the misuse of local funds that violated CNMI procurement laws. [15] [16] As of 12 January 2022,Ralph Torres is the second governor to have been impeached in the CNMI's history. [17] In May 2022,Torres was acquitted of all charges by the Senate in his impeachment trial. [18]
On March 11,2016,Torres endorsed frontrunner Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. [19] Torres reiterated his support for Trump in the general election following the Access Hollywood controversy. [20]
Following the victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election,Torres congratulated the president-elect,while also praising Trump for his "commitment and support for the people of the Northern Mariana Islands". He added that the outgoing president "delivered time and time again for our people" through measures such as NMI U.S. Workforce Act of 2018,and praised Trump's response to the Super Typhoon Yutu.
Torres has six children with his wife,the former Diann Mendiola Tudela:Ralph Anthony,Vaniqa Marie,Deon Titus,Tristan Dane,Divannie and Ryan. [3] Torres is of Chamorro ancestry.
The Covenant Party was a political party in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) advocating governmental and financial reform. It was named after the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America,Act of Mar. 24,1976,Pub. L. 94-241,90 Stat. 263,codified as amended at 48 U.S.C. §1801 note. In the legislative elections of 2003,the Covenant Party won nine of eighteen seats. The party mostly made up of members from the Republican Party,but many prominent Democrats would also join the party. In the 2005 general elections,the Covenant Party increased its position as one of the strongest parties in the Commonwealth when Benigno R. Fitial,the party's gubernatorial candidate,won the election. The Covenant Party won seven of eighteen seats in the commonwealth's House of Representatives and three of nine seats in its Senate. In the Commonwealth Legislature 2007 elections,the Covenant Party won only four of twenty seats in the House of Representatives.
The Democratic Party of the Northern Mariana Islands is a political party in the Northern Mariana Islands. It began as a purely local territorial party and is now officially affiliated with the United States' national Democratic Party.
The CNMI Republican Party is a political party in the Northern Mariana Islands. The Northern Mariana Islands Republican Party is now associated with the United States Republican Party though no Northern Mariana Islands politicians have achieved high-ranking positions in the mainland United States.
Benigno Repeki Fitial is a Northern Marianan politician who served was the sixth governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. The second longest-serving governor in CNMI history,Fitial was elected on November 6,2005,assumed office on January 9,2006,and was re-elected to a (five-year) second term in 2009. He was impeached by the CNMI House of Representatives on February 11,2013,and was scheduled to face trial before the CNMI Senate to determine if he should be removed from office. He resigned on February 20,2013,after 7 years,1 month,and 11 days in office.
The 2009 Northern Mariana Islands general election was held on Saturday,November 7,2009. This was the last general election to be held on a odd year. This election also saw the extension all office holding officials by one year to move the elections to even-years,corresponding with the elections of other federal and state offices,including the nationwide United States House of Representatives elections and the United States general elections. This election also oversaw the first run-off to be held in the Northern Mariana Islands,which were held on Monday,November 23,2009.
Eulogio "Eloy" Songao Inos was a Northern Marianan politician who served as the seventh governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from 2013 to 2015. Inos,a member of the Republican Party,also served as the eighth lieutenant governor from 2009 to 2013.
Heinz Sablan Hofschneider is a politician from the Northern Mariana Islands. Hofschneider served as the Speaker of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives from 2002 to 2004 and is a four-time candidate for Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands.
General elections were held in the Northern Mariana Islands on November 4,2014. Voters elected the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands,the Lieutenant Governor,the Attorney General,the Delegate to the US Congress,the Senate,the House of Representatives,mayors,municipal councils and the Board of Education. Additionally,a referendum involving changes to the constitution was held.
The 2014 Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial election was held on November 4,2014,to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. As no candidate received a majority of the vote,a run-off election was held 14 days later. Incumbent Republican Governor Eloy Songao Inos and running mate Ralph DLG. Torres were elected. Inos,who served as lieutenant governor from 2009 to 2013,first became Governor following the resignation of his predecessor,Benigno Fitial.
Same-sex marriage was legalized in the Northern Mariana Islands by the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26,2015,which struck down same-sex marriage bans nationwide. On June 29,Governor Eloy Inos issued a statement hailing the decision as "historic",and said he would work with the Attorney General and local officials to bring the U.S. territory into compliance. Attorney General Edward Manibusan issued a memorandum on June 30 confirming that the territory was bound by the court decision and said that marriage license forms would be changed to include same-sex couples.
The recreational and medicinal use of cannabis in the Northern Mariana Islands has been legal since September 2018. House Bill 20-178 was signed into law by Gov. Ralph Torres,becoming Public Law 20-66. The cannabis legalization bill was introduced as the "Taulamwaar Sensible CNMI Cannabis Act of 2018," named in honor of David Kapileo Peter or Taulamwaar,who advocated cannabis legalization over four years ago. The first dispensary opened to the public on July 16,2021.
Victor Borja Hocog is a Northern Marianan politician. He served as the President of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate from January 14,2019 to January 11,2021,and previously from January 12,2015 to December 29,2015. He also served as the 11th Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from December 29,2015 to January 14,2019.
Gilbert Joseph Birnbrich was the Attorney General of the Northern Mariana Islands from 2014 to 2015.
The 2018 Northern Mariana gubernatorial election took place on Tuesday,November 13,2018,to elect the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands to a four-year term in office. Incumbent Republican governor Ralph Torres,who ascended to governorship in December 2015 following the death of Governor Eloy Inos,sought election to a full term.
Angel Aldan Demapan is a Northern Mariana Islands politician affiliated with the Republican Party.
Luis John Deleon Guerrero Castro is a Chamorro-American politician and a former member of the 21st Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives. A former member of youth government in the early 2000s,he entered the civic arena by winning a seat in the local municipal government.
The 2022 Northern Mariana gubernatorial election took place on November 8,2022 to elect the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands and the lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands to a four-year term in office. Because no candidate received 50% of the vote in the general election,the two highest-placing candidates advanced to a runoff election on November 25,2022.
Christina Marie Elise Sablan,also known as Tina Sablan,is a Northern Marianan politician and former news anchor in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). A member of the Democratic Party,Sablan was a member of the Commonwealth House of Representatives,representing Precinct Two.
Edith E. DeLeon Guerrero is an American politician serving as a member of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate for the 3rd district. Elected in November 2020,she assumed office on January 11,2021.
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