By Roger Riffenburgh
When the primary election was certified in April, businesswoman Sonia Ledo came in first in Contra Costa County’s Assembly District 15 in an all-women race. While her three opponents have all been local officeholders, Ledo says, “I am not a career politician. Instead, I bring a fresh perspective, not tethered by political agendas, and a genuine commitment to solving our most urgent problems and serving the best interests of our district.” For over 30 years she has been a real estate professional in the cities of the district. She has also been a single mother and raised four adult sons, including autistic twins.
Sonia Ledo is “fed up with the rising cost of everything and bureaucratic government that can’t seem to deliver effective basic services no matter how much taxpayer money they get.” She wants to apply her experience and common sense and work across the aisle to solve California’s toughest issues.
Sonia’s top priorities in Sacramento include improvements in public safety, education, mental health and disability services, and housing availability. From her own experience with her autistic boys, she realizes that many parents need help navigating the government support system and also that “There is a broad area of unmet services among those with severe mental and physical impairments …” Her work as both a realtor and a mortgage lender provide useful expertise in developing policy on the key issue of housing. She says that “we must work to streamline the process and reduce the cost of building” affordable housing and provide an environment where builders want to build.
Assembly District 15 is an open seat because incumbent Democrat Tim Grayson is running for state senate. It includes northern Contra Costa County from Crockett to Brentwood with its largest cities being Concord and Antioch.
Sonia Ledo was born and raised in San Francisco, the daughter of immigrant parents who left oppressive governments in Nicaragua and Cuba. After high school she attended UC Davis as a Mechanical Engineering major and worked summer internships at PG&E, both in San Francisco and at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. Short of money for college, Sonia moved to Concord to live with her mother in 1988, got a job as a loan processor, and by 1991 had her real estate license. As the years passed, she became a top producing mortgage lender for resale and new home construction, had four boys, and earned her Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude in Legal Studies at John F. Kennedy University. In 2016 Ledo switched over to residential real estate sales. She has run her own successful business for over 30 years, where her detailed understanding of the people and neighborhoods is a big asset, one which would also be valuable to an Assembly member.
Sonia’s volunteer work has included being a team manager for a baseball league for special needs kids, serving as Treasurer for the women’s council of realtors, and volunteering at the local food bank. In her spare time Sonia likes to hike in the open spaces with her dog Peanut, listening to music. She lives in Concord with her twin sons. You can learn more about Sonia Ledo’s campaign on her website, SoniaLedo.com.