Terry Eliot Tornek (born November 23, 1945) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who was the mayor of

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

from 2015 to 2020. He previously served on the Pasadena City Council. On April 21, 2015, he defeated City Councilmember Jacque Robinson in the general election to replace

Bill Bogaard William Joseph Bogaard (born 1938) is an American politician, and the former mayor of Pasadena, California. Early life On January 18, 1938, Bogaard was born in Sioux City, Iowa. Career Bogaard is a member of the Democratic Party. He was fir ...

, the longest-serving mayor in Pasadena's history. Tornek is the second longest-serving mayor in Pasadena's history. Tornek was born to Allen Vernon Tornek and Gertrude Slotkin Tornek in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was an

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

representative with the

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...

in New York City from 1968 to 1969.

Electoral history

2015

2020

Early life

On November 23, 1945, Tornek was born in

, New York.

Education

Tornek graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

with a degree in international affairs and from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

with a degree in urban planning.

Career

In the late 1970s, Tornek's political career started on the city council of

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

. Tornek served in the City of Pasadena planning department from 1982 to 1985, where he was involved in the revitalization of Old Pasadena, which included remodeling historic buildings and transforming it into a tourist destination with eateries and shops. It is now a National Landmark. He also worked in the private sector as a developer and planning director. Tornek was elected to the City Council from the 7th District in 2009 and reelected in 2013. Tornek served on the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, the group that operates Hollywood Burbank Airport, representing Pasadena, as well as on the

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley ( es, Valle de San Gabriel) is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, lying immediately to the east of the eastern city limits of the city of Los Angeles, and occupying the vast majority of the eastern part ...

Council of Governments. He gave his seat to Pasadena council member John Kennedy in 2019.

Personal life

In 1967, Tornek married Maria. They have three children. In the 1970s, they lived in Massachusetts. In 1982, the Torneks moved to Pasadena. Tornek has seven grandchildren.

References

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Gordo Takes Oath as Pasadena Mayor
. ''Pasadena Now.'' 7 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020. 1945 births 20th-century American Jews Living people California Democrats Politicians from Springfield, Massachusetts Politicians from New York City Mayors of Pasadena, California California city council members 21st-century American politicians United States Department of Housing and Urban Development officials 21st-century American Jews {{California-mayor-stub