Esmeralda Soria

For voters in Assembly District 27, Esmeralda Soria’s public life follows a Central Valley route: raised in Visalia, elected in Fresno and then elected to the California State Assembly. She served on the Fresno City Council from 2015 to 2022 and was elected its president in 2018 before winning an Assembly seat in 2022. Along the way came an unsuccessful campaign for Congress and a pointed judgment about problems in Jim Costa’s district: “nothing had changed.” Soria is also an adjunct professor, and her background includes higher education and work in state and federal government before she entered elected office.

ROOTS

Soria was born April 22, 1982, and raised in Visalia. Her parents were immigrants from Michoacán, Mexico, who valued education and giving back to their community. Their values helped interest her in politics at a young age.

She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Davis, and attended Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Executive Leadership Program. After graduating from Berkeley, she began working at the California State Capitol. She later interned at the White House.

Those positions gave Soria experience in government before she held elected office. Her background also includes her current work as an adjunct professor.

THE PATH TO OFFICE

Soria was elected to the Fresno City Council in 2014 and served from 2015 through 2022. She entered as the council’s only woman. In 2018, she was elected council president, becoming the first Latina council president in Fresno city history.

In 2020, Soria tried to move from City Hall to Congress. She challenged Jim Costa for the U.S. House, saying that she felt “nothing had changed” about the problems in Costa’s district since his election in 2004. She lost the primary to Costa and Republican Kevin Cookingham.

In 2021, as she was set to term out after the end of her City Council term, Soria said she was considering a campaign for the California State Assembly. She launched her campaign for the 27th district in January 2022. Soria and Mark Pazin advanced from the primary, and she defeated Pazin in the general election after a tight race. She has represented Assembly District 27 since 2022.

THE THROUGH LINE

Soria’s career has included work at the California State Capitol, an internship at the White House, service on the Fresno City Council and election to the California State Assembly. Her 2020 campaign for Congress also brought her before voters beyond her City Council constituency, although she did not advance from the primary.

Her governing experience is concentrated in Fresno City Hall and the California State Capitol. On the council, she entered as its only woman and later became the first Latina council president in Fresno city history. At the state level, she has represented the 27th district since defeating Pazin in 2022.

Education is also present in Soria’s background through her studies at Berkeley and Davis, her attendance at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Executive Leadership Program and her work as an adjunct professor. Her path to elected state office proceeded from early government work to municipal office and then to the Legislature.