Norma Torres

As Pomona's mayor, Norma Torres was still working overnight 911 shifts; she describes sleeping for a couple of hours before heading to City Hall.¹ Her 911 dispatch career spanned seventeen years.² Born in Guatemala, she moved to the United States with her uncle at five.¹ She and her husband, Louis, have three sons, including an Air Force veteran who became a law enforcement officer.³

Torres earned her bachelor's degree in labor studies at the National Labor College in 2012.³⁴ She completed college at 47 while serving in the Legislature, sometimes doing coursework online at two in the morning.¹ Her earlier education included Mount San Antonio College and Rio Hondo College.⁴

She joined Pomona's council in 2000, became mayor in 2006 and served in California's Assembly and Senate before entering Congress in January 2015.⁴ She now serves on Appropriations and House Administration.⁴ In 2025, she helped launch the NextGen 911 Caucus with Republican Kat Cammack, promoting modern emergency communications, including texting and better information sharing.²

Her published healthcare agenda backs protecting the Affordable Care Act and funding hospitals and clinics serving older, rural and low income patients.⁵ She also argues that immigration enforcement should not frighten people out of reporting crimes or calling 911.⁶