Esmerelda Soria: Bringing Diversity and A Unique Perspective to Fresno City Council

Elsa Mejía Contributor

She’s the only woman in a 7-member council which represents half a million people in Fresno. Born 60 miles south, in Lindsay, Calif., Esmeralda Soria spent most of her childhood there when she wasn’t following the crops with her family throughout the state.

Soria was raised by immigrant farmworkers who were drawn to the Central Valley in the 1970s from Michoacán, México in hopes of a better future.

Though the couple did not earn college degrees, they expected it from their four children.

“They instilled in me not only hard work, but also the importance of getting an education if I didn’t want to end up working the fields like they did,” Esmeralda said. “They motivated us and told us to get our schooling done.”

True to their parents’ hopes, the Soria children earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees, and Esmeralda landed a Gates Millennium Scholarship for her entire undergraduate education.

The petite, black-haired and brown-eyed 33-year-old is the first woman ever to be elected to District One, which encompasses the Tower District and Fresno High as well as neighborhoods near Lions Park and west of State Route 99.

She beat contender Cary Catalano in the general election last November by 534 votes. The District One seat she holds is the first she’s occupied as an elected official, but Soria is no stranger to politics.

“I’ve always known it’s important for me to be civically engaged,” she said. “I was motivated to get involved in the political and policy process through an experience I had in high school. As a sophomore, I spent a week in Sacramento learning about the political process in California and advocacy through the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project.”

One experience shaped her interest in civic engagement early on.

“My grandfather [influenced me],” she said. “In 1992, when there was a presidential election, I remember I was 10 years old and seeing him so excited to have the ability to vote.”

The Soria family’s struggles became top issues of interest.

“Early on I was very conscious of the disparities and inequities that existed in our communities,” she said. “Not having free summer or spring breaks to go on vacations like my friends did, because I did have to go and work, that was our reality, it made me very passionate. They were not the happiest moments in my childhood, but they were moments who shaped who I am today and I am grateful because they influenced who I am.”

Soria’s career choices show her passion for issues around immigration and education. As an undergraduate, she had an internship in Washington, D.C. through the National Council of La Raza where she learned immigration advocacy. After she graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, Soria did a fellowship with former state Sen. Gil Cedillo, where she worked on legislation which would allow immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. The bill finally came to fruition this January, when the first licenses were issued under Assembly Bill 60.

In Cedillo’s office she also worked on legislation for public safety, women’s health and education for undocumented students.

“I was always an advocate at heart,” she said. “The personal experience I had growing up as a child of farmworkers, and seeing the injustices and inequities that existed, I always said I’m going to be an attorney, to be able to have the tools and skills necessary to continue advocating on behalf of disenfranchised communities.”

She returned to UC Davis to pursue her law degree, as well as work with the Immigration Law Clinic and California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation on environmental justice issues. But the state capital kept calling her back.

“After graduating law school I gravitated again back to Sacramento to continue advocating on behalf of the issues that impact underrepresented communities here in the Valley, [including] issues of water quality, [and] environmental justice like air quality that impact many of our poorer neighborhoods,” Soria said. Soria later took a job with Assemblymember Henry Perea, where her work centered on water quality, environment, health and veteran’s issues. Soria observed a lack of representative leadership in the Valley, and felt she could change that.

“I do believe that we need better leadership here in Fresno,” she said. “I believe that my experience and background would help me to be a good advocate for our community.”

Soria frequently worked behind the scenes of political campaigns supporting others, such as when she helped her sister get elected to the school board in Lindsay.

“I never thought I would [run for office],” she said. “It was overwhelming being the candidate because now I was on the front end, but I had a lot of support.”

She was motivated to run to bring more female leadership to the Valley.

“I thought [women] also deserve a seat at the table,” she said. “We have the skills and knowledge. I saw the void that exists in our community and the need of leadership, so I said I have the skills and I have the experience. Also, I believe I bring a unique perspective. I’ve known what it is to create state policy.”

Every member on the council supported her opponent, but Soria did not let that intimidate her.

“The day I got elected it was a new day, and I began to build the relationships and finding commonalities with my colleagues, which is necessary to create good policy, because that’s the only way we will get there,” she said.

That new day was Jan. 8, when she was sworn in by her sister, the same person she helped win votes for in their hometown. Their parents watched their daughters take the stage.

“I think that they are very proud,” she said. “They have been my inspiration and the speech that I gave during my swearing in, I gave it in Spanish, because I know it was all because of them, and their hard work, and who they are as individuals. They’re survivors in this country. So they’re just proud that they’re able to see all their kids do great stuff in the community, because that’s what it’s about in the end, it’s about uplifting others.”

Public safety and infrastructure are currently two of her top concerns. She wants to prioritize areas where the need is greatest, such as Highway City, where she said sidewalks need to be built in the Shaw and Polk areas.

Getting young people engaged in politics is also a focus area.

“I think it is sad to see, statistically, in the last elections, especially with young people, you had a larger likelihood of being incarcerated than the percentage of people that went out to vote,” she said. “Our young people are not engaged, and so for me it’s important.”

Her office has an internship program for college students and she’s currently working on implementing a 9-month leadership program for high schoolers.

“I think young people need to realize how important their engagement is to making our community a better place,” she said. “They need to not only register, but actually vote. We need to educate ourselves because we can’t just let other people make decisions. We need to take ownership of our power.”