Ralph Torres

Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres (born August 6, 1979) is an American Republican politician from Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. He has served as the ninth Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands since the death of Governor Eloy Inos on December 29, 2015. He previously served as the tenth Lieutenant Governor, having been elected to that post in 2014.[1]

Ralph Torres
9th Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands
Incumbent
Assumed office December 29, 2015
Lieutenant	Victor Hocog Arnold Palacios
Preceded by	Eloy Inos
10th Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands
In office January 12, 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 (1979-08-06) August 6, 1979 Garapan, Saipan, Mariana Islands, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Diann Mendiola Tudela
Children	6
Education	Boise State University (BA)

Background and personal life

Torres graduated from Boise High School in 1996. He received a BS in Political Science from Boise State University in 2001.[2] In 2004, he began to work with his brother at Torres Brothers, Attorneys at Law.

Torres has six children with his wife, the former Diann Mendiola Tudela: Ralph Anthony, Vaniqa Marie, Deon Titus, Tristan Dane, Divannie and Ryan.[2] Torres is of Chamorro ancestry.

Political career

Commonwealth Legislature

In 2008, Torres won the election to the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives. In 2010, he won the 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.[2]

Lieutenant Governorship

As half of the winning ticket in the 2014 gubernatorial election,[1] Torres became Lieutenant Governor on January 12, 2015.

Governorship

Upon the death of incumbent Governor Eloy Inos, Torres became the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands on December 29, 2015.[3][4] In accordance with the constitution, the Senate president, Victor Hocog, became Lieutenant Governor.[5]

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.[6] However this excessive tax was later ruled as unconstitutional according to the United States Constitution and over turned by the United States District Court.[7]

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.[8]

On November 7, 2019, the FBI executed a search and seizure warrant to raid Torres' 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. [9]

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.[10]

Torres faced further impeachment backlash with growing evidence of the misuse of local funds that violated CNMI procurement laws [11] [12]

See also

• Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands
• Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands

References

1. "Commonwealth Election Commission - Election 2014 Results". Archived from the original on November 30, 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2015.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
2. "Ralph DLG. Torres biography". Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Governor's Office. Archived from the original on July 28, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
3. Rabago, Mark (29 December 2015). "Gov. Eloy Inos Passes Away". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
4. Manglona, Thomas (29 December 2015). "CNMI Governor Eloy Inos Dies". Pacific News Center. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
5. New governor, lt. governor sworn in Archived 2015-12-29 at the Wayback Machine Marianas Variety December 29, 2015
6. Kartch, John (April 18, 2016). "$1,000 Gun Tax Pushed as 'Role Model' for States". Americans for Tax Reform. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
7. Dumat-ol Daleno, Gaynor. "Federal judge shoots down CNMI gun restrictions". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
8. Campbell, Matthew (February 15, 2018). "A Chinese Casino Has Conquered a Piece of America". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
9. "Feds seek evidence of wire fraud, money laundering investigation in CNMI". The Guam Daily Post. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
10. "Call for impeachment of CNMI governor". Radio New Zealand. 19 November 2019. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
11. "Some CNMI lawmakers seek investigation of governor's alleged corruption, fraud". Pacific Daily News. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
12. "Minority Bloc to Speaker:Investigate the Governor". The Guam Daily Post. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN

Political offices
Preceded by Jude Hofschneider	Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands 2015	Succeeded by Victor Hocog
Preceded by Eloy Inos	Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands 2015–present	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Eloy Inos	Republican nominee for Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands 2018	Most recent