Luis Guillermo "Billy" Dalto (born October 21, 1976) is an American politician. A Republican, he represented parts of Salem in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

from 2003 until 2007.

Early life

Dalto was born in 1976 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, to

Jorge Dalto Jorge Dalto (July 8, 1948 – October 27, 1987) was a pop, jazz and Afro-Cuban music pianist from Argentina, and the former musical director and keyboardist (together with Ronnie Foster) for George Benson, contributing the acoustic piano intro a ...

, a pianist originally from

Roque Pérez Roque Pérez is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative headquarters for Roque Pérez Partido. Notable people * Jorge Dalto, pianist (1948–1987) * Ricardo Villa, football coach and former professional midfiel ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and Adela Dalto, a singer born to Mexican parents in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. His father died of cancer when Dalto was eleven years old. Dalto graduated from

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

in 1998 and

Willamette University College of Law The Willamette University School of Law (previously known as the Willamette University College of Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Willamette University. Located in Salem, Oregon, Salem, Oregon, and founded in 1883, Wil ...

in 2012.

Political career

Dalto served as a legislative aide for State Representative

Jackie Winters Jackie Winters (April 15, 1937 – May 29, 2019) was an American Republican politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. She served as a state senator, representing the 10th district in Salem. She was Senate Minority Leader. She died of lung cancer o ...

. When Winters ran for the state Senate in 2002, Dalto ran for the state House. He defeated former Salem mayor Mike Swaim, 53% to 47%. He won reelection in 2004, defeating Claudia L. Howells, but lost to Brian Clem by a wide margin in 2006, in a year which saw control of the House of Representatives flip from Republican to Democratic. Dalto endorsed

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

in the

2016 Republican Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected the 2,472 delegates that we ...

Political positions

Dalto sponsored a bill in 2003 which would have allowed undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at Oregon universities. According to a 2004 voter guide published by the Oregon Family Council, a

Christian conservative Conservative Christianity, also known as conservative theology, theological conservatism, traditional Christianity, or biblical orthodoxy is a grouping of overlapping and denominationally diverse theological movements within Christianity that se ...

organization, Dalto supports legal abortion but favors mandatory parental notification before a minor gets an abortion. As of 2004, he opposed

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

and increased protections for members of the LGBT community. Dalto answered

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected offic ...

's 2006 Political Courage Test, in which he indicated support for a balanced budget and opposition to term limits for state legislators.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalto, Billy 1976 births Living people American people of Argentine descent American politicians of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Oregon Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly Politicians from New York City Politicians from Salem, Oregon Willamette University alumni Willamette University College of Law alumni