Lornna Soto

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Lornna J. Soto Villanueva (born May 27, 1970) is a Puerto Rican politician affiliated with the New Progressive Party (PNP). She was elected Senator for the district of Carolina in the 2004 general election along with Senator Hector Martinez Maldonado.

Soto is one of the daughters of José Chemo Soto, Mayor of Canóvanas. Prior to the May 2005 split among members of the majority PNP delegation between those supporting the current Senate leadership and those supporting defeated 2004 PNP gubernatorial candidate Pedro Rosselló's bid to become Senate president, Senator Soto chaired the Senate Health and Women's Affairs Committee and the Legislative Assembly's Women's Caucus.

[edit] Personal information

Lornna Soto was born in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. She is the third of nine children born to José "Chemo" Soto (mayor of Canóvanas, Puerto Rico) and Delia "Niní" Villanueva. She is currently finishing her bachelors degree in Business Administration with a minor in Finance.

Soto has two daughters: Lorenis Paola and Pamela Yulianis.

[edit] Political career

In 1997, Soto started working as a special assistant to the then Representative for the 38th District of Trujillo Alto, Carolina, and Canóvanas, Iván Figueroa Figueroa. She worked as an advisor of the Consumer Issues Commission of the House of Representatives.

In 2001 she work with the mayors of Fajardo and Río Grande, Aníbal Meléndez Rivera and Emilio Rosa Pacheco, as a public relations advisor. During this year she was in charge of the implementation of the Business Development Center from Loíza, an institution that helps the residents of that municipality with job searches.

That same year, she also started working in the Health Department of San Juan, where she was in charge of the recruiting of municipalities for the creation and implementation of several health programs.

In November 2, 2004, Soto was elected as a Senator for the District of Carolina. In January 10, 2005, she was sworn in the Senate of Puerto Rico.