Nell Soto
Nell Soto , née Garcia (born June 18, 1926 in Pomona , California , † February 26, 2009 there ) was an American politician. She belonged to the Democratic Party .
Nell Soto's family had been Southern California residents for six generations and were of Hispanic American descent . Nell grew up during the Great Depression and had to work in the fields as a child. During the Second World War she was employed in various armaments factories. Shortly after the war she married Phil Soto whom she supported in his political career. In the 1980s, Nell Soto went into politics himself. From 1987 to 1998 she was on the city council of her hometown Pomona.
The focus of Soto's later political activity was environmental protection , a topic that was untypical for Latino politicians. In 1993 she was elected to the Southern California Air Quality Management District Board . A year after Phil's death in 1997, Nell ran for the California State Assembly in the 61st electoral district . It received 56.2% of the vote and was sworn in in December 1998. Before the end of her two-year term of office, the election of California Senator Joe Baca to the US House of Representatives in early 2000 led to a by-election for the now vacant seat in the 32nd Senate constituency. Nell Soto prevailed in two ballots against the Republican candidate and her Democratic party friend David Eshleman - Mayor of Fontana . She won regular re-election at the end of 2002 with a 2/3 majority. Because of the limitation of the Senate term to two terms, she ran again in 2006 for the State Assembly in her ancestral constituency. At the end of her last term in office in December 2008, Nell Soto - who described herself as the "grandmother of the House of Representatives" - was 82 years old. She died a few weeks later in her hometown of Pomona.
Web links
- Nell Soto dies at 82; California state senator championed environmental protection . Los Angeles Times . February 27, 2009. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- Short biography of Nell Soto (English)
| predecessor | Office | Successors |
|---|---|---|
| Fred Aguiar |
California State Assembly District 61 1998–2000 |
Gloria Negrete McLeod |
| Gloria Negrete McLeod | District 61 2006-2008 |
Norma Torres |
| Joe Baca |
California Senate District 32 2000–2006 |
Gloria Negrete McLeod |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Soto, Nell |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Soto, Garcia (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 18, 1926 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pomona (California) |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 26, 2009 |
| Place of death | Pomona (California) |