Richard Alatorre (1943-) grew up in East Los Angeles where he attended Garfield High School and became the student body president. He graduated from California State University Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and later graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in public administration. Alatorre was also a sociology professor at California State University, Los Angeles and the University of California, Irvine. Among his noteworthy contributions to teaching include the instruction of federal prisoners. He was a California State Assemblyman for the 48th district (1973-1974) and the 55th district (1974-1985), becoming an influential advocate in redistricting for local and state elections, farm worker rights, affirmative action, prison reform, and bilingual education. In his first year (1973-1974), Alatorre introduced a record-breaking 65 bills to the California State Legislature. Twenty-two of those bills were signed into law. As the Western Regional Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Alatorre fought and won important cases regarding the discrimination of Spanish-speaking students being misplaced in classes for students who were mentally disabled. During his time as an elected official, he participated in several critical committees, such as the Select Committee on Farm Labor Violence, Human Services, and Prison Reform Committee. His key contribution as one of the few Hispanic/Latinx political figures of the time was the founding of the Chicano Caucus for the California State Legislature. His reapportionment plans of 1974 and 1982 paved the way for increased Latinx representation across many districts in California. Many important Hispanic/Latinx political figures like Xavier Becerra, Esteban Torres, Gloria Molina, Lucille Roybal-Allard, and Marty Martinez benefited from these reapportionments.