Career
He served as mayor of Eugene from 1997 to 2004. Torrey was nominated in 2006 for an Oregon State Senate seat, but was defeated by incumbent Vicki Walker. He was interviewed by Oregon Public Broadcasting for his views about the limits of partisan politics.
Torrey ran again for mayor of Eugene in 2008.
He qualified for a runoff election in November of that year, but lost to incumbent Kitty Piercy. Torrey"s decision as a former two-term mayor to challenge first term incumbent mayor Kitty Piercy was described as an "unprecedented contest" in Eugene politics.
Jeff Mapes, a political analyst with The Oregonian, described the election:
Both are smart, tough and tested politicians who I expect to sharply debate how best to nurture the economy and livability of Eugene. In other words, kind of like the debate you might get from Sam Adams and Sho Dozono in Portland.
An unsubstantiated charge that Torrey donated to the re-election 2004 campaign of George West. Bush and his role on the Eugene School District school board promoting higher taxes during its recent closures and mergers remain controversial, as both, themselves, are widely viewed as polarizing events.
A search of the Federal Elections Commission website turned up no donations to President Bush, but two federal donations (one to Senator Gordon H Smith in 2001 and one to the Oregon Republican Party in 2003) can be verified.
