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California Politician Nell Soto Dies

Controversial
California Politician Nell Soto Dies

Former California state assembly member and senator Nell Soto, who championed environmental causes and also voted against a proposed law that would have protected gay students from harassment, died Thursday at the age of 82, reports the Los Angeles Times.

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Former California state assembly member and senator Nell Soto, who championed environmental causes and also voted against a proposed law that would have protected gay students from harassment, died Thursday at the age of 82, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Soto, who died of complications from a stroke suffered in December, was one of the first Latino women elected to state office from California's Inland Empire area, east of Los Angeles. She was elected to the assembly in 1998, then won a special election to the state senate the following year and served there until retiring last year. She worked tirelessly against air pollution, while fighting for clean water within her district.

Soto's son Tom is a gay Democratic activist, so it came as a surprise to many when in 1999, as a member of the assembly, she voted against the antiharassment bill -- consequently, the measure failed by one vote. According to the Times, Soto's decision may have stemmed from attacks by conservative groups.

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Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.
Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.