LORAIN, Ohio — The new year is ushering in a historic chapter for Lorain. Across the city, at least 10 Latinos are now in leadership positions in 2026.
The city, dubbed the “International City,” has long welcomed immigrants and migrants, including waves of steel workers from Mexico and Puerto Rico.
"Lorain, because it’s an ‘international city,’ has a very sophisticated awareness of so many cultures, languages, foods, musics, customs,” said Eileen Torres.
The Ward 4 City Council member-elect is a proud Chicana, whose grandfather was among the first groups recruited by Lorain manufacturers in Mexico.
"National Tube was recruiting hardworking men to come to Lorain, and he was in one of those recruitment streams that came here in the early 20s. Mexicans have been here since 1921, over 100 years,” Torres explained.
Monday night, Torres will be sworn in as the first Mexican-American woman on Lorain City Council. Ward 5 council member-elect Sabrina Gonzalez will also be sworn in as the first Puerto Rican woman.
"I feel like there’s this underlying pressure being the first woman Puerto Rican to sit in this seat. There’s this underlying - like ‘don’t mess it up,’” Gonzalez said.
Both of Gonzalez’s grandfathers migrated to Lorain from Puerto Rico in the late 1940s. She said it was a fact that made her emotional during a recent celebration of the new Latino leadership.
"It’s like I could feel their spirit in that moment, talking about their history and me being here,” she said.
She and Torres agreed that the record number of Latino leaders in the city marks a significant moment.
“This is a milestone in Lorain Latino history,” Torres said.
The women will join Ward 6 City Council member Angel Arroyo Jr. and Council President Joel Arredondo to mark a record four Latino members of an 11-person City Council.
"It’s an honor to be pushing forward the vision that they started 100-plus years ago when the Mexican community came, and then when the Puerto Ricans came in the mid-1940s,” Arroyo said.
Arroyo Jr., whose father was also a City Council member, is currently serving his second term.
In addition to the council members, the city’s chief of staff, Rick Soto, treasurer Terri Soto and safety service director Rey Carrion are also Latino.
Serving the broader Lorain Community, Diamaris Rosario was recently elected to the Lorain City Schools Board of Education, Mary Santiago is serving as the chairperson for the Lorain City Democratic Party and Lisette Gracia was chosen as the newest director for the Lorain County Board of Elections.
“It’s amazing,” Gracia told News 5 over the phone on Monday. “We can be role models for the younger generation.”
Almost one-third of Lorain residents and around 40% of the Lorain City Schools community identify as Hispanic or Latino.
"It’s really awesome that we have some people that are going to be able to speak up for our community, represent our community and represent our city,” Arroyo said.
"It’s important for people to see someone that looks like them in a leadership role,” Gonzalez said. “Number one, so they can say, ‘I can also take this role.’ But number two, so they can feel represented, like there is someone there that understands us.”
Many of the Latino leaders said they grew up seeing other members of the Latino community serving in leadership roles, and they appreciate the melting pot of cultures in Lorain.
"Eventually, there became neighborhoods filled with all of the different nationalities, and they really mixed together,” said Gonzalez. “The amount of people that are not Puerto Rican or Mexican and know how to make rice and beans in this city – it’s just hilarious.”
Torres added that she and the other leaders are invested in the community and serving the entire city.
"The great thing is that we all grew up together. We grew up in the same neighborhoods, we went to the same schools, we were on the same teams,” she said.
Catherine Ross is the Lorain County reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @CatherineRossTV, on Facebook CatherineRossTV or email her at Catherine.Ross@wews.com.
