Jacob Soares was the first African American to work in the governor’s office. First hired in 1899 by Governor Henry Gage, Soares worked in the Capitol for 31 years. Soares saw the governor’s office from all angles – as a messenger, valet, legislative analyst and policy maker.

As the governor’s messenger, Soares’ daily duties probably included taking messages to other offices inside and outside the Capitol, clipping newspaper articles and receiving visitors who came to the office to see the governor. In addition to his Capitol duties, Soares often worked as a valet to visiting dignitaries, including President Teddy Roosevelt, and as a doorman at the Governor’s Mansion. Although his daily duties may seem commonplace by today’s standards, Jacob Soares was more than a messenger. Historians credit Soares as being one of the key figures in reforming California’s government.

At the turn of the twentieth century, only four people worked in the governor’s office – the governor, his secretary, a stenographer and a messenger. When a governor left office, the new governor would bring in a new staff. At the conclusion of the Gage administration in 1903, Soares probably thought that it was time to find a new job. However, Governor George Pardee asked Soares to continue to work for him in the Capitol. Governor Pardee wanted to have someone working in his office that “knew the ropes.” Pardee used Soares’ institutional knowledge to craft legislation, call for special sessions of the legislature, and reform government. Soares continued in the governor’s office through the end of the Gillett administration in 1911. When Soares left the governor's office in 1911, he went to work for the Secretary of State’s office.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, it was unusual for an African American to hold a high level position in the Capitol. In an era when few African Americans could find other than menial jobs, Pardee clearly saw Soares as a top advisor who drafted legislation to aid in recovery after the 1906 earthquake, made recommendations on the day-to-day operations of the governor’s office and acted as a legislative advisor. But Soares could not fully win out over the attitudes of the era, and while other members of the governor’s staff, such as Nye advanced to positions of greater responsibility, Soares remained a messenger in the Capitol until his death in 1932.

Foreshadowed by Soares’ important position in the governor’s office, employment opportunities in the Capitol have improved dramatically. Today men and women of a host of different racial, ethnic and social backgrounds work for the governor, reflecting California’s unique cultural diversity and heritage.