Jesus is one of 10 siblings in a successful family where education, hard work, and integrity were instilled as keys to success. All of the Torres siblings are college graduates and went into successful careers in engineering, academia, medicine, education, public service, and in public health.

Jesus began his career in Sacramento serving in the California State Senate where he worked on housing, community development, and workforce issues. He developed legislation aimed at addressing California’s nursing shortage and providing tax credits for businesses.

 Fighting for Working Families

After his time in the State Senate, Jesus fought to keep higher education affordable for middle class families through his work with the California Faculty Association. He fought against tuition increases for the California State University system and advocated for legislation to keep textbook prices low.

After gaining valuable public policy and advocacy experience, he left Sacramento and returned home to Ventura County to care for his aging parents and to serve our community.

 Serving the Community

While serving as District Director for a State Assembly district office in Oxnard, Jesus assisted the community in navigating the state bureaucracy, often solving issues for older adults, unemployed, homeless, veterans, and small businesses.

After his time with the State Assembly, Jesus was recruited to the private sector as a community relations director for Verizon Communications. In this role, he manages a philanthropic budget where he has awarded over $100,000 to domestic and teen dating violence prevention initiatives in the county. Jesus has also awarded more than $40,000 in science and technology grants to local youth organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club of Camarillo and the Upward Bound program, as well as literacy grants to the Ventura County Rescue Mission for homeless adults.

Jesus’s service to the community includes sitting on the boards of local non-profits, such as the United Way of Ventura County, and volunteers at his son’s Parent Teacher Student Association. He’s also a proud member of the Rotary.  Jesus is an appointee of the Board of Supervisors to the Ventura County Workforce Development Board. He is focused on ensuring our community is safe, healthy, and economically vibrant. As Supervisor, he will put the interests of our families first. 

Jesus has a Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and Master’s degree from USC. He is married to Monica and both are raising two young children, Joaquin, 4, and Raquel 1.

Jesus wants to build our local economy as demographics shift and local industries evolve. Local economists say that our workforce is aging but we are not producing the next generation of workers to replace those retiring. Young families and professionals are moving out looking for jobs and housing elsewhere. Current policies have failed our families as they spend more time commuting, less time with their families, with stagnant wages. Businesses continue to leave the region. It's time for change. 

My philsosophy is to build for the future, not ponder on the past. I take nut and bolts approach to policy--I just fix things and stay above the political and idealogical fray. We need more people with business backgrounds to create jobs, balance budgets, and create a vision for a better Ventura County. We need results, not partisanship and special interests influencing our decisions. 

The county is also the social safety net for our most vulnerable populations. I will fight for the dignity of our seniors, the future of our youth, and for a better life for our families. The burden is on the county to make sure it is communicating with its clients and internally between agencies. Let's eliminate the departamental silos and create a dignified and easier experience for residents that need help. 

We can do better. We can bring the change that our families deserve.