From the Firm to the Front Lines: A Paralegal’s Path to City Council

Episode Notes

Transcript

Tony Sipp:

And welcome back to the Paralegal Voice. My name is Tony Sipp, and today I have Cynthia Vasquez with us. Cynthia is the founder of Propel Consulting. She’s been in the profession well over 20 years with the background as a senior litigation paralegal, acting director of litigation and trial support at one of the top Orange County law firms. And she’s also a technology leader. Cynthia got her MBA from Giles College of Business. She’s also got her paralegal certificate from UC Irvine and she has several industry certifications. So Cynthia, welcome to The Paralegal Voice.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Thank you for having me, Tony.

Tony Sipp:

Excellent. I’ve been really excited to have you on the show ever since we really met and I was able to get this platform. So did I miss anything about you, first of all?

Cynthia Vasquez:

Let’s see. Well, we’ll go over that.

Tony Sipp:

Okay. All right. So you used to be a paralegal. Yes. And now you moved into elected official as well and you have your own company. You’re doing a lot. So tell me about your journey from being a paralegal to where you are now and why you made the pivot.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Well, I mean, there wasn’t much growth. There typically isn’t a lot of growth on the law firm side. And I mean, I’ve been on the e-discovery side for a long time and I was passionate about it. And so I figured that being on the law firm side, I was sort of already doing consulting project management type work. So I figured, well, why not go out on my own and see what happens? And so I finally did that back in, gosh, what was that? I think it was about 2018 maybe.

Tony Sipp:

Oh, wow. Yeah,

Cynthia Vasquez:

I lost track of the time. But it was scary,

Tony Sipp:

Absolutely,

Cynthia Vasquez:

But definitely worth it. It has led me down a number of different paths that I never thought I would go down or even consider for that matter. And I think that happened because I left the law firm side.

Tony Sipp:

Wow. Tell me about that because a lot of people, we’re at a changing time where unemployment’s a little bit higher, people are pivoting to survive or go out on practice on their own. So when you pivoted and you realized that certain doors started to open up, I’m sure it was scary to do that because I remember, I think I bumped into you in New York. We were in New York for the Legal Tech Week, and that’s around the time you were getting your MBA. I don’t know if you were getting your MBA or about to get your MBA, something like that. But then making that pivot and make that change to the e-discovery side, huge move for some people. What challenges did you face in making that switch and what kind of advice would you have for people as they’re moving through that?

Cynthia Vasquez:

For me, one of the biggest challenges was wearing a lot of different hats. So whether it’s you’re an accountant and then you’re also doing the sales type of work to get clients, that kind of thing. And then it’s the actual work. So it can be a lot, especially when you’re on the back end and you’re actually doing the work and you have to bill your time. So

Tony Sipp:

I’m

Cynthia Vasquez:

Not a fan of billing my time.

Tony Sipp:

Fun. You miss those days?

Cynthia Vasquez:

I’m not sure.

Tony Sipp:

Oh

Cynthia Vasquez:

God. I don’t know how many people actually enjoy.

Tony Sipp:

I don’t think they enjoy it. It’s the art of billing. In fact, I teach billing because it’s so difficult to learn for somebody who hasn’t done it before. But yeah, those days, if you can avoid them.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Yeah, write it down.

Tony Sipp:

Right, right, right. Everything. Write everything down. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Gosh, gosh.

So one of the things I really got excited about talking to you with is that you went into politics as well, which is something I was really excited about doing and did do. And we were kind of talking about this as well. It’s like I went into law to help others. I was a political science major, so ironically, I didn’t do a lot with poli sci that much, but it took me coming out to California to make that change. So for me, just seeing something in my neighborhood that I didn’t like, I disagreed with was enough for me to make that decision to get involved and get engaged. And that’s what made me run for neighborhood council, the greater elegant neighborhood council and get elected there so I can make some changes in my neighborhood and my community because all politics is local anyway, in my opinion, that’s how I see it.

So making that difference, and I know you make a big impact in your community as a community to active and as an elected official, what is one of the things that you enjoy most about serving?

Cynthia Vasquez:

I think I like the community service component.

Tony Sipp:

That’s

Cynthia Vasquez:

Definitely one of my favorite things to do. And just seeing that, and like you said, politics is local. I mean, it really does start on the local level. So being on the Mission Viejo City Council, the decisions that are made affect your neighbors because you’re your own constituent. I mean, you’re a taxpayer too. And it’s just sort of thinking about it from that way of that what you do affects those around you. It affects your next door neighbor, person across the street down the road. Exactly. And it just being able to connect with the community is definitely one of the most important things you can do because you can’t just assume you know what’s going on or you know what’s happening in a certain part of your district, for example. You have to really maintain those lines of communication.

Tony Sipp:

Right. How do you look at the future for this? I mean, you’re in the technology field, it’s transforming a lot. How do you see the evolution of the paralegal role evolving?

Cynthia Vasquez:

Well, I mean, I guess it depends on what area of law you’re in. I mean, I think that there will always be a need for paralegals. I mean, in the age of AI, I see it as a tool. I don’t see it necessarily as a replacement. I think you’re going to need that human element. You’re always going to need that human element. AI is great, but it still needs to be checked. I definitely don’t think that it should be fully relied upon without QC. But as far as pivoting, I do think that there are a lot more opportunities now than when I originally started out as a paralegal in 2000. A long time

Tony Sipp:

Ago. Yeah, a while

Cynthia Vasquez:

Back. Because back then it really was, okay, your paralegal, ding, that’s it. Well, now it really does feel like there are other things that you can do with that. And even with as far as

Job descriptions, I mean paralegals are often known for their project management skills. So I think that if somebody wants to pivot, it’s just a matter of trying to look at things from a different perspective, looking at your skillset from a different perspective and seeing how that can apply to something else, like another field, another area. In some ways that’s what I had to do as well was okay, it’s like I have a philosophy as my undergrad. And it’s like you’re like, well, what do you do with that? What the thing is with something like that for me, I’m very analytical about things and I ask a lot of questions and intellectually curious, if you will.

Tony Sipp:

But to your point though, in your paralegal, did you want to be a lawyer? Is that something that you were aiming for?

Cynthia Vasquez:

Initially, yes.

Tony Sipp:

But

Cynthia Vasquez:

It was also one of those things that I think I wanted a graduate degree more than actually being an attorney. Interesting. Okay. I mean, it’s definitely a question that I’ve been asked before like, oh, why didn’t you go to law school or why don’t you go to law school? And it’s just sort of –

Tony Sipp:

You get that a lot, right? Yeah. I know I get that a lot too.

Cynthia Vasquez:

But I also know myself too. I mean, I have a tendency of working a lot of hours as it

Tony Sipp:

Is.

Cynthia Vasquez:

I didn’t need that help of working

Tony Sipp:

Even

Cynthia Vasquez:

More. Well, for me, I think that things always have a way of working out one way or another. Whether you like the outcome or not, they always work themselves out. And I really do believe that everything happens for a reason. This was the path that I ended up going down and I was a paralegal for a long time and then I decided to jump. And like I said, it really did open up a whole other world of possibilities and opportunities that I probably would’ve been too afraid to consider had I stayed on the law firm side.

Tony Sipp:

Oh man. Okay. Let’s take a commercial break because that is such a fascinating topic that I want to talk about on the other side of this break because making that leap, that leap of faith is something that people are afraid to do. Why aren’t we doing it? Why aren’t you taking that chance? Why aren’t you taking that risk? Well, anyway, let’s talk about that on the other side of our break. We’ll be right back. And welcome back to The Paralegal Voice. I’m here with Cynthia Vasquez. Cynthia, we’re just talking about just making that leap. You got a degree that is something that’s not law. Let’s talk about that. Let’s talk about just getting a degree in a certain profession, but with the world changing the way that it is, that it’s okay to change your mind. And as you say, your worlds open up when you decided to make that leap.

Talk about just having the courage to do that. Did you have a mentor? Did you have somebody that you looked up to, somebody that helped nudge you over that edge so that you could open that door? But if you can, because I know you told me the story, how you got involved in politics. Can we start there and then go into the rest of it?

Cynthia Vasquez:

Well, or if we do the reverse, let’s see. Okay. So taking that leap of faith and jumping out of a very stable environment, a law firm often is. I mean, just growing up in general, I feel like I didn’t have a lot of mentors

Tony Sipp:

Or

Cynthia Vasquez:

At least not anyone people that looked like me. So there was certainly that. And being in Orange County, not only Orange County, but South Orange County, which is very different than

Tony Sipp:

North Orange County. Very, very, very different.

Cynthia Vasquez:

North Orange County is being like –

Tony Sipp:

Is red behind my…

Cynthia Vasquez:

It’s much more colorful.

Tony Sipp:

Yes.

Cynthia Vasquez:

It’s more similar to LA, more similar to even San Diego. At the time, that wasn’t a factor. That didn’t become a factor until I got into politics.

Tony Sipp:

You don’t even think about it, right?

Cynthia Vasquez:

Right, right. And that was sort of the nice thing. And so when I jumped, I mean, my husband was always encouraging and we would circle back to it every once in a while. And then finally I had your annual review and I was very prepared for it. And I was expecting a lot more in response to what I was really just doing at the firm. And it just sort of, unfortunately, people don’t know what they don’t know. And when there are certain things that happen to be more technical, people don’t necessarily see the value in that.

Tony Sipp:

Oh, understanding your value. And so

Cynthia Vasquez:

That

Tony Sipp:

Was

Cynthia Vasquez:

Where I decided to finally move on to something else.

Tony Sipp:

Right. It sounds like they didn’t see your value and you saw your value and realized your value. Right.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Right. And it was just also just knowing that there was no upward mobility, at least not there. And at the time, I mean, it still could be a challenge. But what’s funny is that they actually ended up being my first client.

Tony Sipp:

Don’t burn bridges.

Cynthia Vasquez:

And I will have to say with Propel, I’ve been very fortunate that really it has been referral-based. But then having something like that allowed me to do, like I said, to do other things, so get into politics. And so when a friend contacted me several years ago back in 2022, I was finishing up grad school and basically asked if I knew of anybody that’d be interested in running and my answer was

Tony Sipp:

Maybe.Because

Cynthia Vasquez:

I had zero plans to run for anything ever. I never had any sort of political aspirations, just no. I mean,

Tony Sipp:

I took a

Cynthia Vasquez:

Quality side class in undergrad and it was my thing.

Tony Sipp:

No for you. Not

Cynthia Vasquez:

For me. Yeah. So it was definitely something that I never thought I’d do. And so I bring up the difference between South Orange County, North Orange County, and other places, because I’m originally actually born and raised in San Diego. And we lived in the suburbs and went to Catholic school and

Tony Sipp:

Pretty

Cynthia Vasquez:

Much all the way through.

Tony Sipp:

My

Cynthia Vasquez:

Sister and I, we dealt with a lot of racism. And it’s funny because at the time my parents called it being prejudice. They never actually used the word racism, which as an adult, I find just interesting and curious.

Tony Sipp:

Right. Why that? Yeah.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Yeah. So that’s why –

Tony Sipp:

We got to give our parents that forgiveness because I think sometimes they know what it is. They want to put a label on it, but they don’t want you to… They’re trying to protect their child.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Maybe that’s the word that they were taught or just were most familiar with rather than using the word racism. Right.

Tony Sipp:

That’s what I was thinking too, because that’s what I – Generational

Cynthia Vasquez:

Thing.

Tony Sipp:

Yeah. Well, obviously racism, but prejudice was in bigotry, but that’s not the point. Go on.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Yeah, so my sister and I, we dealt with a lot of that growing up. So I tell you that because it wasn’t until I ran for city council in 2022, that amount of racism came flooding back. I mean, it was like the floodgate lifted and it just came just rushing in. I mean, it was really something

Tony Sipp:

And

Cynthia Vasquez:

It’s still happening. Maybe not as much, or maybe it’s just – I think more.

I don’t know, which doesn’t make it okay, obviously. But I mean, I knew that some of it would come that way, but I didn’t expect that, I guess, because I went into running for council with zero expectations. I mean, I didn’t know what I was doing. I mean, it was just one of those things I’d never run for public office before, and I wore a lot of hats with that campaign, but it was definitely quite the learning experience. But yeah, I mean, it was just so interesting that all of that, like I said, I hadn’t felt that since I was… I mean, I run into it. I did run into it here and there or whatever as I’m sure you know, but it wasn’t as, I don’t know, overt or as much of it.

Tony Sipp:

Yeah. Okay. So my experience in Orange County when I was with a Congressperson is one, I stood out. I stood out for many reasons other than my intelligence. So when I was down there, I get a lot of those, because you’re campaigning and you’re trying to get people to… GOTV for people listening that’s get out the vote. So you’re making a lot of phone calls to get people to come in and volunteer. And then one of the times I called somebody to come in, British fellow, and he came in and he said to me, which I thought he meant it as a compliment, but he said, “You don’t look like you sound.” I said, “I don’t look like I sound. I don’t look like I sound. Okay. I got a lot of that when I was down in Orange County.” And I was going, “I know what you mean, but did you know what you meant by what you said?

Yo clean up really well. Okay, thanks.” I mean, there’s these little backhanded compliments that keep happening. And I’m like, “Okay.” So it becomes evident, even though I’m not the politician that’s out there, but because I’m representing the politician that’s out there, I get a lot of opinions that people like to share with me. I mean, when I was in office, I had a lot of opinions that people like to share with me. But as you know, when you’re in office, you let people share. You have the First Amendment. They can say whatever, they can call me whatever they want to call me. You sit there, you smile, and you take it. But our purpose remains the same. We’re still looking out for people. We’re still trying to create that access to justice, which is the vein that goes through all of that, which bothered me about getting into politics because the love of the law changed.

So everything that I learned about the law, about political science, I went to Fordham. I mean, pretty decent school. Kristen Greer, there are a lot of really great intellectual people here. And as I watch the world and watch the news, I’m like, “This is not what I studied. None of this is what I studied. What is the rule of law? What is going on right now?” And it angers you or frustrates you to the point when you see people abuse the law the way that they do and get away with it seemingly. Do you share that same frustration? I mean, I just see things that aren’t right and I want to make a change, but you’re in a position to actually make a change.

Cynthia Vasquez:

So what I tell people as far as to get involved is to first start paying attention. That’s sort of the first step. Just realize that, wow, there are things going on. And not just to national politics, but to what’s happening in your own community. Because like you said, it really does start on a local level. It does. And those are what affects people’s day-to-day lives. For me, before I ran for city council, I thought everything was fine. I’m like, “What’s wrong with our city? I didn’t see it involved.” That’s great. And when I hear that people illegally extended their terms, in other words, 2020, they just didn’t have an election. I said, “I’m going to do something about this. ” And I got involved and I ran against two out of the three people because we went to districts and I won a seat.

Tony Sipp:

No, hey, congratulations.

Cynthia Vasquez:

And being a council member and just being able to ask the questions that residents may have or maybe don’t even think to ask sometimes that happens too, because they don’t know that it’s happening, that certain

Tony Sipp:

Things are

Cynthia Vasquez:

Happening. So when we are making certain decisions on, let’s say, spending $6 million on a parking lot,

Tony Sipp:

And

Cynthia Vasquez:

When it turns out to be roughly $40,000 a parking space, I’m going to ask questions.

Tony Sipp:

Yes.

Cynthia Vasquez:

When we do things like that or when we have agreements with certain organizations where it’s not an equitable agreement, I’m going to ask questions. So there’s just certain things that you should really be asking about. And that again, sometimes people aren’t even aware it’s happening until it’s too late. So for me, when I got elected in 2022, again, having zero political experience, I am trying to figure out what my platform was.

Tony Sipp:

My

Cynthia Vasquez:

Platform.

Tony Sipp:

Health. Yeah.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Exactly. The first thing that I though about though was I just want to inspire other people.

Tony Sipp:

Ooh, good point. And you do, by the way.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Oh, thank you. But it was just one of those things that it’s like my initial reason for running on, I got mad. Okay, Heidi, hold my purse. It’s a good point. And then when I though about it, I’m like, okay, I want to inspire the people. Okay. And at the time I didn’t really understand necessarily what that meant as far as what that would look like because you’re sort of like, okay, well, what are the issues in the city? So the biggest one is always, just like in any city is public safety. You have public safety and you have maintaining quality of life, et cetera. The list goes on. But I really had a chance to think about it and you can’t have your platform be, I want to inspire other people. It’s a nice idea.

Tony Sipp:

It’s a nice idea.

Cynthia Vasquez:

But as it turns out, I feel like in a lot of ways I did do what I set out to do, which is to inspire other people, but maybe not in the way that I expected. Because I knew that getting elected, it was going to be for certain things, sort of a four to one vote. And it has been as history has shown itself over the last four years. So going into it, knowing that I knew that I wasn’t just going to go in there guns blazing and everything. They think –

Tony Sipp:

Right. Read the room.

Cynthia Vasquez:

They think they have certain perspective on my ulterior motives or whatever. I’m

Tony Sipp:

Like, okay. Whatever. Yeah.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Yeah, exactly. And so my goal has been to, as far as inspiring other people, is to get people to just asking those questions and making people aware of that

Tony Sipp:

And

Cynthia Vasquez:

Getting them to engage.

Tony Sipp:

And so

Cynthia Vasquez:

That’s sort of been what it’s started to look like over the last four years, which is just to get people to pay attention. Even if they don’t agree with me, that’s fine, but get

Tony Sipp:

Involved.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Put a look.

Tony Sipp:

Pay

Cynthia Vasquez:

Attention. Take a look. Take a closer look. Do ask those questions, which I think has been really great because it’s really, I think, added to the transparency and I think it’s been really good for just people to know more about what’s going on in their city.

Tony Sipp:

Right. Let’s take a quick break and let’s talk a little bit about some inspiration that you can give future paralegals and others pivoting. We’re going to take a quick commercial break and we’ll be right back. And welcome back to the Paralegal Voice. Rebel Cynthia Vasquez. And Cynthia, you’re just talking about something that I agree with. You’re inspirational and you’re doing things that help not only women, but our community. You were talking earlier about how doors just open for you, that opportunities open that you never would’ve seen before because you took a chance. Can you talk a little bit about that and then also share some inspiration for other paralegals that may listen to this and want to follow in your footsteps or just take that leap of faith?

Cynthia Vasquez:

So you know how it is when you’re at a law firm, you work, let’s say you’re nine to five, standard, but then obviously there’s the overtime part. But having that sort of set schedule is really healthy for your bank account. It may not be sort of healthy for your soul, right?

Tony Sipp:

Right, right.

Cynthia Vasquez:

And so for me, one of the things that I did, one of the first things that I did was get involved with women in e-discovery and joining the board. And that was something that I honestly didn’t have time to do when I was on the law firm side. Work work was just so time-consuming.

Tony Sipp:

But why get on the board instead of just become a member?

Cynthia Vasquez:

Well, I was already a member.

Tony Sipp:

Oh,

Cynthia Vasquez:

I had been a member since pretty much the beginning of the Orange County chapter, but I wanted to be on the board. I wanted to help facilitate e-discovery here in Orange County, especially for women and just help people move along and more toward e-discovery because even then it wasn’t… Well, I mean, people don’t know what they don’t know. And so sometimes people don’t realize that they have these tools that could make their lives a lot easier or sometimes they need help with figuring out how to navigate how to get people on board and get buy-in. I mean, there was so much, but it was just something that I felt was important to me and to be on this board and to be on the Women in E-Discovery Orange County chapter board. So those possibilities showed themselves.

Tony Sipp:

Didn’t even know about that. Yeah, they just… Well, you knew about it, you just couldn’t get to it. I mean,

Cynthia Vasquez:

Didn’t know about it because I was a member, but it was something I just didn’t have the time. Especially with working and then young family, there wasn’t a lot of time. And so there were things like that. Or there are things like I was a mentor for the Orange County Paralegal Association, so I had the bandwidth to do something like that. Also, well, I went to grad school.

Tony Sipp:

Yeah, that’s huge.

Cynthia Vasquez:

I mean, that’s another – Congratulations. Yeah. Thank you. That’s another just opportunity that I never would’ve been able to necessarily see is had I stayed on the law firm side because again, time-consuming. Whereas going out on your own allows for a lot more flexibility and it was

Tony Sipp:

Really – Oh, more time.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Yeah, it was really great because it’s like with two kids at home, I was still able to work, but then I was also able to be more flexible and also be more present. And I’m not saying that that’s the path for everyone, especially if you have kids. I mean, everyone’s so different. I don’t want people to think that you’re a bad parent because you can’t do that. No,

Tony Sipp:

There’s

Cynthia Vasquez:

So much mom guilt as it is that

Tony Sipp:

I’m not

Cynthia Vasquez:

Trying to add to that. Awesome.

Tony Sipp:

That’s real. That’s funny.

Cynthia Vasquez:

But as far as with advice, I think that you don’t have to have a certain title to be a leader. And to me, I think that’s very important to share because sometimes people feel like, oh, they’re not making a diference or whatever, but you are. And people feel that energy.

Tony Sipp:

And so

Cynthia Vasquez:

It’s more than just a title because there’s lots of people out there that have these fancy, I’m in charge type titles. Yeah.

Tony Sipp:

No. Yes. So

Cynthia Vasquez:

Again, it’s just what you say, what you do, how you present yourself and the way you go about doing things is I think what matters, what you show people. So the whole line of when someone shows you who they are, believe them.

Tony Sipp:

Believe them. Yeah.

Cynthia Vasquez:

It’s true. And you’re showing people that you’re a leader. Again, no title necessary. Would it be nice? Sure. But you can still be a leader and not have that type of title. And then there was another thing, so I had dinner with a girlfriend within the last year. And we were talking about my oldest is now 18 and finishing up her first year in college.

Tony Sipp:

Nice.

Cynthia Vasquez:

But at the time we were talking about career paths and things like

Tony Sipp:

That.

Cynthia Vasquez:

She said, well, because I was always of that mindset, and I think my daughter was too, was kind of like you choose a path and you stay on it.

Tony Sipp:

And

Cynthia Vasquez:

I should know of all people that that’s

Tony Sipp:

Fairly

Cynthia Vasquez:

True. But what she said to me was, “Just decide what you want to do next.”

Tony Sipp:

I love that.

Cynthia Vasquez:

It was simple. And all of a sudden, even for me, it became so clear as far as I don’t have to choose what my next step isn’t going to be forever. It’s what I want to do next. And it’s okay to change your mind and move away from something and do something else. I mean, even with other parts of your life, it’s just one of those things. It’s a choice. So you say, “Oh, I’m so busy. I’m so busy. I’m so busy.” But you’re making a choice to do those things instead of something else.

Tony Sipp:

Exactly.

Cynthia Vasquez:

So as long as you own it, then we’re good here. But it’s important that you –

Tony Sipp:

Accountability.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Yeah. But it’s important that you recognize that that is a choice that you’re making. And I’m not saying it’s It’s good. I’m not saying it’s bad. It’s just it’s your choice and it is what it is. And maybe it’ll help you put things into perspective because you’re choosing to do something versus something else.

Tony Sipp:

It’s intentional choices and I’m trying to move more intentionally as well moving forward and making those choices, but I’d love that. I love that. You don’t have to decide the rest of your life right now. Just decide the next…

Cynthia Vasquez:

Yep, the next step.

Tony Sipp:

That’s beautiful. That’s beautiful. All right, so what I’m going to do, I’m going to ask you, as I like to do, some kind of lighthearted rapid fire questions. Are you ready?

Cynthia Vasquez:

Sure.

Tony Sipp:

All right. If you could implement one thing immediately for Mission Viejo, what would it be?

Cynthia Vasquez:

I would create more resources for families.

Tony Sipp:

Ooh, I like that. Okay.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Working families.

Tony Sipp:

Working families. Love it. Love it. What’s a skill from your paralegal background that translates directly to public service?

Cynthia Vasquez:

Well, let’s see. I would have to say probably my analytic skills as far as just asking questions, trying to look at things from different perspectives, research, definitely research.

Tony Sipp:

Who’s someone in your life who shaped who you are today?

Cynthia Vasquez:

Let’s see. Gosh, that’s a good question. I would have to say it was my dad because he was very much… He grew up in a time when they were sharecroppers in Texas.

Tony Sipp:

Oh, wow.

Cynthia Vasquez:

When we were kids, he would tell us stories about how he would have to physically fight his way to get to school.

Tony Sipp:

Oh, wow.

Cynthia Vasquez:

And so he actually stopped going to school in the third grade. And so that’s as far as he went in school. And so it was just one of those things that obviously he dealt with a lot of racism. He was actually

Tony Sipp:

Darker

Cynthia Vasquez:

Than I was and he really got it back in middle of Texas in the 1930s. And so I think that his sort of just resilience, I guess, really I do think helped shape me and just that thick skin that you develop. And it’s one of those things, especially now being in politics, that if I had grown up in a different way as far as not having experienced racism, that I probably wouldn’t be as tough or resilient as I have been over the last four years because it’s not like it stopped once

Tony Sipp:

I got

Cynthia Vasquez:

Elected.

Tony Sipp:

No, it magnifies.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Yeah. I mean, it comes across on the dias regularly. I often get comments from people that say, “Wow, I can’t believe that they said that to you, ” or that tone or whatever, a lot of microaggressions and –

Tony Sipp:

Yes, so much.

Cynthia Vasquez:

All of it. So much.

Tony Sipp:

All

Cynthia Vasquez:

Of it. So yeah, I would have to say that my dad, and it’s funny because when you have that certain background, you’re actually a lot tougher than people think.

Tony Sipp:

I love it. I love it. Good luck. Yeah, yeah. It’s so true. It’s so true. It’s funny. I know we spoke a little bit about talking about this show, but what you just said is something I was thinking about too. People don’t know how tough you really are. If they’re looking at your appearances, they don’t know what you’ve been through. They don’t know what it took you to get to where you are, especially a person of color. You had to do extra, extra, extra to be as just close to where everybody else is. Which is why I love doing that because I’ve always been underestimated, which thank you for underestimating me because you just gave me an advantage. Totally. Over you. It always gives me an advantage, almost always. So it’s just we’re built tough. We’re built thicker because we’ve been through more-ish. Yeah, completely.

And you have a whole community that’s behind you. This is why I love talking to you because when I feel like I’ve lost a sense of community, I come back and I’m like, no, I’m not the only one out there that wants to make a change and make things better. So thank you for being here. But what does community mean to you personally?

Cynthia Vasquez:

I think that it means we create space for everyone.

Tony Sipp:

Yes.

Cynthia Vasquez:

Very direct way of just making sure that people are heard. You can’t have community with one voice without hearing different perspectives. So community is a population of people.

Tony Sipp:

Yes, it is. Oh, this is fun. I’m so excited. I know why I am because you’re just speaking my love language. What would your Girl Scout troop say is your superpower?

Cynthia Vasquez:

Gosh, everyone’s going to say, I don’t know. I don’t know.

Tony Sipp:

Picture them right now. The whole troop, they’re standing in front of you. Yo walk out of the room, they’re talking about your back, they’re whispering. What are they saying?

Cynthia Vasquez:

It’s hard to tell. I don’t know. It’s funny because it’s like I do this thing at their school sometimes and I’m wearing my city council hat, so I’m doing that. And other times I’m there as a parent and being whatever classroom helper, so I’m wearing my mom hat. So I don’t know, maybe wearing lots of hats. Maybe that’s my superpower wearing lots of hats.

Tony Sipp:

I like it. I like it. You’re multi-talented and you get involved. Why does local government matter to you right now?

Cynthia Vasquez:

It’s where it all starts from the ground up.

Tony Sipp:

This

Cynthia Vasquez:

Is the place where it affects your everyday life. If you’re driving down the road and you fall into a pothole, that’s local. Or you see a dilapidated building or something that’s unsafe, then that’s local.

So there are lots of things that affect your day-to-day life. And so even with your community, one of the things that I was able to succeed in this council and getting a five-zero vote on was to get something like immigration rights added to our city’s website, which doesn’t sound like a big deal in other places. But here in South Orange County and specifically in Mission Viejo, that is a big deal. And I know that there are people out there that were trying to politicize that and basically saying, “Oh, you’re trying to encourage people to break the law.” Well, no, knowledge is power. And the more information people have, the better. It’s a what to do if X happens or resources in case something happens. I mean,

Tony Sipp:

It

Cynthia Vasquez:

Takes to help people not

Tony Sipp:

Evade

Cynthia Vasquez:

The law. It’s to help them figure out what should they be doing, what should they be doing next, or how to help other people that may have experienced something.

Tony Sipp:

I appreciate you. You’ve given me some fuel and my fire because I like to influence people. I like to use my platform to make a difference. Clearly, this is something we’re passionate about and that something that really matters to us and that we want to make a difference in the rule of law. I’m glad I’m not alone in the struggle and what we’re facing and that we can do it. Stay the course, stay passionate. We can make that change and vote. Forgiveness sake, get registered and vote.

Cynthia Vasquez:

I think it’s important that people speak up. Yes.

Tony Sipp:

It’s

Cynthia Vasquez:

Like the whole campaign of see something, say something.

Tony Sipp:

Say something. It

Cynthia Vasquez:

Does translate over to something like this, that you see a social injustice, then hey, you’re going to do something about it. How you go about that, it’d be in a variety of different ways. You could call a local elected, you could investigate something on your own. You can see what organizations can help you with something or involved. I mean, there’s a lot of different paths you could take. It’s just a matter of doing a bit of legwork. And again, so you can’t complain if you’re not willing to do something about it.

Tony Sipp:

And on that note, that’s how we’re going to leave the show. Where can people get in contact with you if they want to reach you?

Cynthia Vasquez:

Okay, let’s see. On the campaign side, if you’d like to donate, because campaigns don’t run on their own.

Tony Sipp:

No, they do not. It costs money.

Cynthia Vasquez:

You can go to cynthiavasquez.com. Let’s see if you are a constituent like would reach me on my elected official platform. You can reach me at [email protected]. If you are interested in talking about e-discovery or digital forensics, you can reach me at [email protected].

Tony Sipp:

And how do we spell Cynthia Vasquez for the listeners?

Cynthia Vasquez:

Yes, I should do that too. I know. I assume everyone knows. It’s just C-Y-N-T-H-I-A and then last name is V as in Vasquez, which is A – S-Q-U-E-Z.

Tony Sipp:

Excellent. All right, folks. There’s a lot of alerts there. I know. It’s our show for today. So we will see you next time on The Paralegal Voice. Have a great day.

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