Cortes was born in Brooklyn in 1961 and attended the John Jay College of Criminal Justice from 1980 to 1981, though he did not graduate, and later worked as a corrections officer.

[1] Because no candidate received a majority, a runoff election was held in which Cortes lost to Gemskie in a landslide, winning only 33% of the vote.

[5] In 2012, Cortes initially planned on running for the Florida House of Representatives from the 43rd District in the Democratic primary, but dropped out, leaving Ricardo Rangel as the uncontested nominee.

The Orlando Sentinel criticized both candidates, asserting that "both candidates have bankruptcies in their pasts" and that "both have had troubling brushes with the law," but gave a "qualified nod to Irizarry for his experience in government, and his deeper knowledge of the issues he would face as a member of the Legislature.

In 2020, he ran for Osceola County clerk of court but was defeated in the Democratic primary, coming in second to Kelvin Soto by 43–23%.