Nell Soto (1926–2009) was among the first Latina/o legislators to champion environmental causes. During her term on the Pomona City Council, from 1987 to 1998, she was appointed to the board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. In 1998, at the age of seventy-two, she was elected to the California Assembly, representing the 61st District. Two years later Nell successfully ran to represent the 32nd District in the California Senate, where she was instrumental in the passage of legislation that improved the quality of drinking water. She returned to the Assembly in 2006, after serving two terms.

Philip L. Soto (1926–1997) served on the La Puente City Council before being elected in 1962 to represent the 50th District in the California Assembly, a seat he held for two terms. He was one of the first Latinos elected to the legislature since the state’s early days. An activist for civil and labor rights, he marched with César Chávez from Delano to Sacramento in 1966 to protest the treatment of farm workers. Phil was also active in national politics, serving as campaign manager for La Puente during John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign and as an advisor for the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy.