About Rick Torres The Man Who Is Running Against Greenwich Resident And Congressman Jim Himes

[Greenwich]

Rick Torres is a life-long Bridgeport resident, a successful small-
business owner, and a true leader and steward of public good in his
neighborhood, community, and native city.

He prides himself in being a student of the Constitution, and is
running to be the kind of a citizen legislator envisioned by our
Founders.

Rick was born in Bridgeport in 1959. His father, Juan, a Cuban
immigrant and a political activist whose radio program had been shut
down by the Batista regime, welcomed the Cuban Revolution. In 1961,
Juan took his family back to Cuba to help Castro lead his native land
out of tyranny—or so he thought. It took Juan only a couple of months
to become disillusioned with the communist dictator, and another 5
years to secure permission to leave Cuba again. In 1967, Rick and his
brother were brought back to Bridgeport—with not much more than the
clothes on their backs.

Today a successful self-made businessman and one of the most respected
Republicans in Bridgeport, Rick never forgets his humble beginnings.

He spent his post-Cuba childhood across the street from P.T. Barnum
Public Housing Project while living in section eight public housing.
Rick attended Bullard Havens Technical high school where he became a
master carpenter. He also he proved to be a star athlete, becoming
Captain of the Basketball Team, selected All-Conference in football—
and chosen King of the Prom!—and earning two athletic college
scholarships: one in basketball and one in football. With his eyes
set on becoming a doctor, but lacking any academic foundation, Rick
enrolled himself for a year into a prestigious prep school—striking a
deal with the headmaster to work, in lieu of paying the tuition, as a
school carpenter full time over the summer and two hours each day
during the school year.

Winning a full academic scholarship, Rick went on to study biology in
Washington University. It was there that he met his future wife—now
of 27 years—Michele. In 1983, Rick graduated with honors and returned
to Bridgeport. He enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Microbiology and
Biochemistry at the UConn Health Center. Two years later—he and
Michele now having two sons—Rick had to quit graduate school to
support his family.

Rick and Michele started a series of small businesses, working double
shifts for years. Eventually, they bought Harborview Market: a once
thriving neighborhood store which had fallen on desperate times.
Today, Harborview is once again a successful business, a bakery and a
cafe frequented and loved by people in the community and beyond. Rick
and Michele have five children: John, Alex, Michael, Kaitlyn, and
Gabbi. All five attended the same elementary school as Rick, St. Ann
School in Bridgeport, right around the corner from the market.

Ever since his return to Bridgeport in 1983—long before Barack Obama
gave community organizers a bad name—Rick has been very involved with
the people looking to improve Bridgeport. Rick took an active role in
a number of neighborhood and community organizations, and ran for
several local government offices. Initially a registered Democrat—
having been attracted to the “social justice” rhetoric of the
Democratic Party—Rick in due course became first a closet Republican,
and then a full-fledged Conservative. The more Rick looked around,
the more inescapable was the conclusion: it was exactly the
‘compassion’ of the big government—professed by the Democratic Party—
that was incentivizing poverty. On the other hand, the only logical
solution to end poverty was to help people get off the government
dole.

In 2003, Rick ran for Mayor of Bridgeport on the Republican Ticket.
Rick knew that quality education was a sure way up from slavery of
government ‘compassion’. Advocating small neighborhood charter schools
in Bridgeport became central to his campaign. In the city in which
Democrats outnumbered Republicans 6 to 1, the polls right before the
elections were showing Rick even with the Democratic incumbent. The
Bridgeport Democratic Machine—rivaled perhaps only by that of Chicago—
became very worried. For example, Dodd and Blumenthal both came to
campaign against Rick. On election day alone, ACORN spent $100,000—on
top of city officials getting a day off to man the polls. Despite all
of this, Rick got 41% of the vote.

The lessons learned helped Rick in 2006—now the Bridgeport RTC chairman
—to participate in managing a successful Bridgeport campaign for
Christopher Shays.

Rick ran for mayor of Bridgeport because of complete disillusionment
with the politics of his hometown. He felt a responsibility to step up
and take his city back from those who had been abusing it for years.
His run for Mayor was the beginning of a new path of learning in
economics and the founding principles of this great Republic.

Now, seven years later, he again feels a duty to run for office.

In this election the very fabric of our freedoms are under direct
assault.

Rick Torres is running for Congress to preserve and restore our
freedoms and he has the energy and understanding of our first
principles to win.