Meet Rhodesia

Rhodesia Ransom is a mom, wife, and devoted public servant who puts people first. She’s delivered results in her more than two decades of experience as a non-profit co-founder, planning commissioner, Tracy city councilmember, and congressional district director. She has helped thousands of young people across the area find and stay on the right path, and she led the successful charge to bring home dollars to build the first permanent homeless shelter in Tracy.

Rhodesia spent much of her childhood working alongside her grandmother, a missionary, to connect working-class and low-income community members to food, housing, and critical resources. This experience shaped her values, and taught her early on that leadership means working in service to the community. She went on to earn a Bachelor’s in Political Science at San Francisco State University and a Master’s in Public Administration at Golden Gate University.

Prior to elected office, Rhodesia built an extensive record of successful business management as a business owner with experience in the nonprofit and private sectors. She has taught courses in public policy and public finance at the graduate level.

Rhodesia Ransom and her husband reside in San Joaquin County where they raised their three kids. Devoted to service, Rhodesia continues to be engaged in the community and she currently serves as Board Chair of Emerge California, and a Board Member for United Way and Delta College Foundation.

Public Service Highlights

  • Rhodesia was appointed to the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury, joined numerous committees to help expose wasteful county government spending, and promoted solutions to improve transparency, efficiency, and service delivery across dozens of public agencies.

  • From 2009-2016, Rhodesia served on the Planning Commission for the City of Tracy, where she worked to improve the quality of life, attract quality businesses by overseeing land use and zoning policies, and advised housing and commercial developments, as well as protecting the environment with new safeguards.

  • Increasing public safety is one of Rhodesia’s top priorities. She is a founding board member of the Tracy Police Activities League and the Tracy Community Homelessness Task Force. Over the years, she has earned the endorsement of the San Joaquin County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, San Joaquin County Corrections Officers Association and Manteca Police Officers Association.

  • As a mom, Rhodesia got involved directly in our public schools. She was an inaugural member of Tracy Unified School District’s Anti-Bully Committee, and when her kids attend Kimball High School, she volunteered to be President of the PTA.

  • Rhodesia never stops working for San Joaquin County. She formerly served as Board Member on the San Joaquin Partnership, an organization working to attract and expand businesses in our region. Rhodesia believes that we need to create more local head-of-household jobs, so fewer parents have to commute hours every day for higher wages.

  • Because of her commitment to our local community, Rhodesia was elected to the Tracy City Council in November 2016, where she continues to fight for families, strengthen economic opportunities, and stand up for the most vulnerable.

Awards

  • Planned Parenthood Mar Monte: 2021 Ally of the Year

  • Tracy African American Association: 2021 MLK Image Award

  • The Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star: Luminary Women of Faith (2016) 

  • The Tracy All City Revival award (2016)

  • NAACP – Stockton Branch: Freedom Fighter Award for service to the community (2015)

  • The Stockton Links: Clemmie Award for service to youth (2015)

  • Tracy African American Association: Martin Luther King Jr. Image Award (2015) 

  • Tracy Women’s Forum: Woman of Tracy Award (2012) 

  • The San Joaquin County Democratic Central Committee: Community Spirit Award (2011)

  • The Central Valley Drum Magazine’s Grassroots Activist of the Year (2007)