Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Merced, wants a statewide ban on registered sex offenders holding political office and announced she will soon craft legislation to put before lawmakers.

The news comes as registered sex offender Rene Campos, who in 2021 pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of child sex abuse material possession, said he plans to run for Fresno City Council.

“It’s deeply disturbing that this issue is unfolding in my own backyard. The idea that a registered sex offender could run for public office in the city of Fresno is unacceptable,” Soria said in a statement Tuesday. “This bill will ensure once and for all that registered sex offenders are prohibited from seeking public office in California.”

Civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci, however, told GV Wire such a law would be unconstitutional and that if the state enacts such a law “they can expect a lawsuit.”

‘Equal Protection Clause Does Not Apply to Only the Popular’: Campos

The state does not have laws or statutes prohibiting registered sex offenders from running for local or state public office. Eligibility generally requires living in an appropriate district and having the ability to vote, which can prevent some felons from running.

The legislation would come as an amendment to Assembly Bill 2753, a bill Soria crafted about parks in rural communities.

Soria’s announcement follows a supermajority of Fresno City Councilmembers saying that they are considering their own ban.

Campos, who completed his sentence, said during a Friday news conference that such an ordinance would be “unconstitutional” and “institutional overreach.”

He is running on a platform of improving mental health and public safety.

“The First Amendment does not belong to the comfortable, the Equal Protection Clause does not apply to only the popular,” said Campos, who is running for the central Fresno District 7 seat.   “The right to seek public office does not depend on whether those in power approve you.”

Big Picture Elementary, Catholic Diocese Condemn Location

Following Campos’ speech to the media, organizations adjacent to the location of his news conference came out against being used as “political props.”

Big Picture Elementary sent a response to GV Wire about Campos’ conference outside the school and St. John’s Cathedral in downtown Fresno. The charter school also filed a police report about the incident is writing a cease-and-desist letter to Campos.

“Mr. Campos’s decision to show up near our campus was entirely his own, and it was not welcomed, invited, or affiliated with Big Picture Educational Academy in any way. By his own admission, Mr. Campos was aware that his proximity to our students was ‘absolutely’ a violation of the law, yet he proceeded, using our campus and our children as a political backdrop,” said executive director Stephanie Hinton in a statement.

The Catholic Diocese of Fresno said it condemned Campos’ decision to hold a conference outside the church.

“Mr. Campos independently and irresponsibly chose the location for the press conference and used the Catholic Church and the school as props in his theater of politics,” a letter sent to GV Wire stated.

Answering a question from GV Wire, Campos said he chose the location because the church symbolizes forgiveness.