It’s official. Emmanuel Soto 2nd Latino in history elected to Visalia City Council

Tulare County’s leading Latino community leaders packed the Visalia City Council Chambers in support of Emmanuel Hernández Soto, who became the second Latino in history to be elected to the council.

Soto was one of four, newly elected councilmembers that also includes Liz Wynn, Brian Poochigian, and Steve Nelsen.

“Thank you for the support,” said Soto as he took his seat at the chamber.

Soto’s family – including his parents Antonia Soto de Hernández and Manuel Hernández and fiancée Christyann Linarez – was present.

“Very proud. Very proud of him and very excited,” Antonia Soto de Hernández said of seeing the community’s support for her son.

The 30-year-old Soto, a development specialist with Self Help Enterprises, accomplished something that’s been done only once since Visalia was established in 1852 – to be elected as a Latino to the council.

He won his bid for District 4 race. The city changed to district elections in 2016.

Of Visalia’s 143,000 residents, 53% are Latino, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Among those in the audience was Jesús Gamboa, the first Latino on the Visalia City Council who got elected in 1997 and served 12 years, including two terms as mayor and one term as vice mayor.

Gamboa said seeing a young Latino taking the oath more than a decade after he left the council, felt good.

“It feels good. That is why I am here. I came to show my support,” said Gamboa, adding that the last time he sat at one of the council chamber’s chairs was Dec. 10, 2009.

Gamboa said Soto asked him early on for his support and both had several discussions and Gamboa liked Soto’s vision.

“He’s young but that’s not bad,” said Gamboa. “I’m glad that young, the new generation of young people are wanting to get involved. It’s a lot of work but you know he seems to be up to the challenge.”

As Soto starts his four-year term, here are some advice from seasoned Latino elected officials:

“Be prepared, read your package, be as prepared as the mayor, get involve.”

“Stary true to the community, the people that got you there, basically his district.”

“Form partnerships, coalitions. It takes three votes on the city council, and you got to be able to put three votes together. You got to be able to read what everybody is thinking, and plan, and use your resources.”

“Leadership is a gift bestowed on us by the people.”

“Keep the community front and center in all the decisions.”

“You may not always agree with your colleagues and that is OK. But you must continue to build that bridge with your colleagues, build that bridge with your constituents, build that bridge with other community leaders and build that bridge with community.”

Eddie Valero, who became the first Latino to win a second term on the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, said Soto’s win “is a pivotal moment” for new generation of leadership.

“We see that young leaders are now stepping up to represent their communities and to make sure that we are able to have those voices heard on the dais,” said Valero, adding that Soto took the initiative to want to serve in a leadership position so he could bring people to the table.

“That is what I think the next level of leadership is,” Valero said. “And Emmanuel is to make sure that he’s not on the menu, but he is at the table making those decisions for the betterment of all.”

Valero is confident Soto will build bridges across the council.

“He’s going to do just that, and I think it’ll be a beautiful sight to see the growth in his leadership as years go on and as he’s willing to make that stamp on our community,” Valero said.

José Sigala, who was first elected to the Tulare City Council in 2016 and was reelected in 2020, was among those at the ceremony.

“We’re glad to see a young, fresh, ideas coming to the city of Visalia, and we are all very supportive and look forward to his great leadership. It’s fantastic to have him you know being sworn into the Visalia City Council,” said Sigala.

Dr. Lucía Vazques, a community leader in Visalia said, “it’s really quite amazing to see this chamber with majority Latinos because they are so excited and pleased to have Mr. Soto join the city council.”

Lali Moheno, community leader and longtime activist for wellness rights for female farmworkers, said Soto’s win resonated with young Latinos.

“They’re the ones who need to take over now and they are the ones who need to encourage all the other young Latinos who voted, and they will,” Moheno said, adding that a lot of young voters showed up to see Soto take oath. “We are very excited about that. Let’s see what happens but he is the future.”