Hiram Soto has long advocated for costly tax hikes, policies to benefit illegal immigrants and defunding the police - and that’s why his bid for a Poway City Council seat has created controversy.
“When people ask me where I am from, I often say proudly that I’m from Tijuana…San Diego is Tijuana’s finest neighborhood!”
This bizarre statement was the opening salvo of a commentary recently written by controversial Left-wing activist Hiram Soto.
The statement would not be such a surprise on its own until you learn that Soto is now a candidate running for Poway City Council. Yes, Poway.
That’s why many Poway residents are growing concerned that the November 2022 election may result in a dramatic leftward political lurch for the well-managed city if Soto – who supports tax hikes, defunding the police, and Sanctuary City policies for illegal immigrants – succeeds in winning a seat on their city council.
Both of the incumbent Poway city councilmembers are retiring this year. To pull off a surprise win, Soto hopes to fly under the radar and capitalize on what is expected to be a crowded election ballot. Soto also hopes to benefit from significant funding from outside of Poway from Left-wing political groups who see a big opportunity to gain a foothold in Poway politics.
Taxpayer advocates label Soto the “most extreme” Left-wing candidate to ever run in Poway.
“In the middle of a huge spike in inflation that is hurting working families and seniors on fixed income, Hiram Soto is so far Left in his political ideology that he has proudly backed tax hikes to make matters worse,” observes Reform California Chairman Carl DeMaio.
“In Poway politics today, you can’t get more far-Left than Soto,” DeMaio notes.
Soto began his professional career as a reporter and wrote stories in Los Angeles for the liberal spanish-language “Hoy Los Angeles.” That’s when Soto first began expressing his support for relaxing border security and implementing Sanctuary City policies to provide more taxpayer-funded benefits and protections to illegal immigrants.
After leaving media, Soto began working as the Communications Director for Alliance San Diego - a dark-money far-Left political advocacy organization that has been at the center of a number of controversies in recent years.
At Alliance San Diego, Soto has been a leading voice advocating for the group’s policy agenda which includes raising the sales tax, property tax, and gas taxes - all at the same time. Soto has also been instrumental in advancing a controversial plan to impose a costly new Mileage Tax on all San Diego county drivers that would result in a cost of $600-900 per year per driver.
Soto’s advocacy with Alliance San Diego also included advancing their Defund the Police policy agenda.
Alliance San Diego, which refers to the Border Patrol as “the MOST corrupt law enforcement agency in the United States.” The group has also called to defund or “divest from policing” and that the city “must support funding alternatives.” They’ve also waged attacks against law enforcement, stating that “Policing has always been a part of the system of oppression which disproportionately targets Black people.”
Soto’s work at Alliance San Diego also included advocating for policies to pour millions of taxpayer money into controversial government-subsidized housing programs while allowing homeless individuals to break laws relating to loitering, drug use, public indecency, etc.
Alliance San Diego is not just a far-Left policy group - it also has played a controversial role in trying to influence the outcome of political campaigns. The group is now facing criticism for its ballot harvesting operations in local political races - something that concerns non-partisan observers of Poway politics.
DeMaio warns Soto could end up winning a Poway City Council seat even though he holds controversial views.
“Even though Hiram Soto’s positions are extreme and out-of-step with most Poway voters, he will undoubtedly benefit from substantial dark money support from Left-wing groups from outside the city,” DeMaio warns.
The election for Poway City Council seats is November 8, 2022.
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