Consejo Municipal, Distrito 9 — Ciudad de San Diego

My name is Alex Soto. I immigrated from Mexico when i was 12 years old along with my 3 older brothers and younger sister. My mother and father somehow managed to keep a roof over our family's head. At 18 years old, I became a US citizen and joined the Army right after 9-11. After spending a year in Afghanistan, I returned to San Diego to start a new career in animal training. Taking care of dolphins at Sea World lead me to train dolphins for the Navy's Marine Mammal Program. All while pursuing my athletic profession in mixed martial arts. In 2015, I helped create a league that promotes peace in the Middle East through martial arts. An achievement that I hold dear and continue to promote here locally. Since then, I have moved on to working with unmanned underwater vehicles and manage several different projects in our oceans. My greatest accomplishments are marrying my beautiful wife Joy and the birth of my two wonderful children, Ryan and Christiana.  

The govenment should always work for the people. As a representative of District 9, I would represent the needs of our district and fight to make the changes needed in San Diego. Govenrment should always represent the needs of the community 100% of the time without any influence of special interest groups. 

First and foremost, Sean is a husband, son, brother, and committed friend who is fueled by love. His family’s diversity and experiences riding an up-and-down roller coaster in and out of the middle class will forever shape the way Sean sees the world and motivate him to make it better.

A first-generation college student, Sean attended Golden West Community College. He then transferred to and earned his bachelor’s degree from Chapman University, where he studied psychology, sociology, and history. While in school, Sean was an award-winning high school swimming and water polo coach. Inspired by President Obama’s historic 2008 Presidential campaign to make a more widespread impact, Sean went abroad and served as an English and Special Needs teacher in Peru and volunteered as environmental preservationist in Ecuador. He then taught English in a rural South Korean community.

Sean subsequently came to San Diego to attend California Western School of Law where he was selected to receive a Creative Problem Solving Scholarship. At Cal Western, he served in multiple leadership roles, including president of La Raza Student Association and Amnesty International and as a Student Representative.

Inspired by his diverse background and belief in the importance of historically disadvantaged communities working together, Sean also worked to strengthen the Student Diversity Coalition. Sean received a Pro Bono and Public Service Honors Society Award for his work with the City Heights Community Law Project, where he helped bring free legal clinics to schools.

It was this work in City Heights schools that made Sean fall in love with the community. For the first time, he was in a community that resembled his family. Folks with roots all over the world who came here seeking safety and opportunity. Families struggling to get by and neighbors from different cultures working through their differences. Most importantly, Sean saw how beautiful it is when a community overcomes those struggles and differences to come together for their families and communities.

After law school, Sean came to work in District 9 as a director at Mid-City CAN, a local nonprofit. While there, Sean led a team of dedicated community organizers as they worked with the community to turn their hopes and dreams into reality. They fought for no-cost bus passes for youth, better food in schools, and for critical changes to prevent our young people from being treated unfairly by the justice system. He also helped build a civic engagement team to help ensure District 9 voices were represented at the polls.

It was while registering students to vote that Sean was inspired to run for a seat on the San Diego Community College Board of Trustees. Two years later, with the help of a team of committed students, Sean shocked the political establishment and won the opportunity to serve. As a Trustee, Sean and four other elected board members work to ensure the 100,000 students and 5,000 employees of the San Diego Community College Board are being provided the support and resources they need to succeed.

In addition to now serving a Trustee, Sean is the executive director of Youth Will where he works with young people to help make San Diego a world-class region where children and youth can thrive. When he’s not at work, Sean remains committed to improving the community. He is a RISE Urban Leadership Fellow, serves as a board member of multiple nonprofit organizations, including the Regional Task Force on the Homeless and Community HousingWorks. Sean also enjoys traveling and eating with his wife Angela.

I was born in Africa and of African and Italian decent. I grew up in a military family traveling the world as my father was stationed from one base to another, starting with Ethiopia (in Africa) then to Maryland in the United States and then back to Europe including Belgium, Italy and Germany. I am multilingual and culturally competent to engage with the rich diversity that District 9 has to offer. I speak fluent Italian and I’m conversant in Spanish and Tigrinya. I have seen much of the world, and very little compares to our great city and especially the communities of District 9. I am the first African to get on the ballot for City Council in San Diego. If elected, I will be the first African elected to office throughout San Diego.

I want to improve our District and our city for all San Diegans. I understand the different challenges facing our district because I have lived here while attending San Diego State University where I earned my degree in biology, and while earning my law degree from California Western School of Law. As your Councilman I offer a broad perspective informed by real world experiences. Working and volunteering throughout our district has given me the opportunity to meet and help so many diverse groups, businesses and individuals.

This campaign is first and foremost about you. It is about the decent and hardworking residents that connect our diverse communities, businesses and houses of worship and public spaces into one amazing 9^th District. While San Diego and District 9 have made improvements in certain areas, we still have much more work to do in critical areas, including affordable housing, homelessness and infrastructure. I am committed to doing the work and standing up to City Hall to make the necessary changes to improve our District. That is why I am asking to serve as your City Council Representative.

I am running to take on the serious issues and difficult work that have been “deferred” or neglected in too many of our neighborhoods.  City Hall needs to be responsive, productive and accountable to everyone. And you deserve a representative who will act decisively and advance policies that are truly inclusive of all districts. I will bring my passion and devotion to public service to City Hall and exert the political will of our communities and not special interests. I look forward to meeting you in person and directly earning your support.