Torbett served on the Gaston County Board of Commissioners from 2002 to 2010. He was first elected to the NC House in 2010. He has been re-elected to the seat which covers northeastern Gaston County a total of 5 times, most recently in 2020. On March 3, 2017, Torbett filed a bill H249 entitled Economic Terrorism which would make the civil protest method of boycott a felony and entitle the target to recover $50,000 or triple damages, whichever is greater.[3]
Ethics complaint in 2020
In October 2020, Representative Torbett was the target of an ethics complaint and was accused of embezzling money related to financial reimbursements.[4] Representative Torbett was not found to have committed an ethics violation or broken any laws. Accusations centered on the financial implications for over $85,000 in housing and travel expenses that Torbett had submitted since 2017. The complaint involved funds from the state for housing and travel expenses and the rules for reimbursing expenses from campaign funds.[4]
Electoral history
2020
North Carolina House of Representatives 108th district general election, 2020[5]