ACTING SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH ROBERT TORRES
Robert Torres was designated to serve as Acting Secretary on October 11, 2017. Most recently, he served as the Department's Executive Deputy Secretary.
Mr. Torres was also appointed by Governor Ed Rendell to serve as Deputy Secretary for Administration at the Pennsylvania Department of Health. In this role, he was responsible for contract administration, information technology, health research, statistics and vital records, human resources and management of the department's more than $900 million budget. He was also assigned to manage and help improve the delivery of health, support and outreach services to families and children funded through the federal Maternal and Child Health programs.
Mr. Torres is an attorney who holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Pace University and a law degree from Widener University School of Law. He serves on the board of directors of the United Way of the Capital Region and the Harrisburg Latino Hispanic American Community Center.
Governor: Pennsylvania’s Top Election Official Has Resigned
Gov. Tom Wolf says Pennsylvania’s top election official, Secretary of State Pedro Cortes, has resigned.
Oct. 11, 2017, at 5:14 p.m
By MARC LEVY, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Pennsylvania’s chief election official has resigned, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s office said Wednesday, offering no explanation for the move that surprised top state officials.
Wolf’s administration said Secretary of State Pedro Cortes submitted his resignation but gave no other information in a brief statement. An administration spokesman said he had no additional details about Cortes’ departure.
Wolf nominated Cortes, 51, as his first secretary of state when he took office in 2015. At the time, Cortes, a lawyer, already had the distinction of having held the job longer than anyone else after serving as secretary of state for more than seven years under former Gov. Ed Rendell, also a Democrat.
A telephone message left at Cortes’ Harrisburg home seeking comment was not immediately returned Wednesday. Top state lawmakers and Democratic Party officials said they had no idea Cortes was going to resign and did not know why.
A public racist. How can anyone belong to, leading even, a racist organization be giving public office? It is time to end these things, such as “Harrisburg Latino Hispanic American Community Center”. What if they opened a “Harrisburg White American Community Center”, bet people would scream.