Luke Torian
Delegate Luke Torian was first elected to represent the 52nd District in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2009. He serves a constituency of approximately 80,000 Virginians in Prince William County.
Delegate Torian is Chair of the House Appropriations Committee. He also serves on the Rules and General Laws Committees and the ABC/Gaming Subcommittee in the House of Delegates. He has been a Minister for over 35 years and has served as Pastor of First Mount Zion Baptist Church in Dumfries since 1995. Delegate Torian lives in Woodbridge with his wife, Clarice. They are the proud parents of their daughter, Constance.
Delegate Torian is a community leader in Prince William County. He has played a role in organizations including the Dumfries Creative and Performing Arts Center, Project Mend A House, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and Action in Community Through Service (ACTS), an organization designed to alleviate hunger, homelessness, and domestic violence in the community. He is a founder of Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE), an organization dedicated to bringing people together to make positive change. He also served on the Cardinal Bank Advisory Board from 2000 to 2003. Delegate Torian additionally supports the many outreach ministries of First Mount Zion Baptist Church, such as SHARE – a program providing reduced-cost groceries and meals to community families, the Mary Elizabeth Ministry which serves teen parents, and the Juvenile Detention Ministry.
Delegate Torian chairs Virginia’s Minority Business Commission and the Major Employment and Investment Project Approval Commission and is a member of the Commission on Employee Retirement Security and Pension Reform, the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Revenue Estimates, and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Board of Trustees.
Delegate Torian earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Winston-Salem State University. He continued his education by pursuing graduate studies at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, then earning a Master of Divinity from the School of Theology at Virginia Union University. In 1987, Delegate Torian earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Howard University School of Divinity.
Since being elected to the General Assembly, Delegate Torian has successfully passed over 40 bills and resolutions including legislation improving education, housing, and criminal justice policies, ending surprise medical “balance billing,” promoting security in retirement, and benefitting the lives of veterans and their dependents and those living in assisted living facilities.
The Virginia Education Association has honored Delegate Torian with their Solid as a Rock Award five times since 2011. The Virginia Governmental Employees Association (VGEA) recognized Delegate Torian as their 2020 Legislator of the Year. Delegate Torian was awarded the 2019 Legislator of the Year Award by the Military Officers Association of America Virginia Council of Chapters. In 2019, Delegate Torian was also named an Achievement Week Speaker and granted the Founders’ Lifetime Achievement Award by Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Pi Lambda Lambda Chapter.