Jessica Vazquez is the second daughter and fourth child of Genaro and Rosamaria Vazquez Mendez. She was born and raised in El Paso and has devoted her career to making El Paso a safer place as Assistant District Attorney. She is now running for Judge of the County Criminal Court at Law Number 4, El Paso’s domestic violence court and continues to inspire all those she encounters with her relentless dedication to our community.
Tell me about your parents.
My parents are from Mexico – my Dad was born in Noche Buena, Zacatecas, and my Mom was born in Santa Barbara, Chihuahua. My Dad went to medical school, there were very limited. When she was studying, she was given the option of becoming a teacher, a nurse or a secretary. She picked nursing but what she really wanted to do was to be an accountant. My parents met within the Doctor-Nurse circles and when they were in Chihuahua, my Dad was accepted into a residency program in Ohio. He called my Mom that day, to ask if she would marry him. Thankfully, she said yes and they were married in June of 1970, just before they moved to Ohio. My Dad spoke very broken English and my mom even less, so they experienced some very difficult times in addition to the challenging weather. However, this experience only strengthened their bond and they have always worked very hard to instill their legacy of family and faith in us.
Who is your role model and why?
Growing up it was my Dad, he made me want to go into Law. He opened his practice in El Paso in the early 80s and there were always people coming up to him and saying, “Dr. Vazquez I just want to say thank you…” To this day, I have a friend from The Junior League who remembers my Dad saving her life, and she’s my age. The impact that he had is amazing. Like my father, I always wanted to do something that would help people.
Why did you choose Law?
It’s my version of helping people. When I went to Law School I actually thought I would focus on International Human Rights Law. I took a lot of classes on the Rwandan Genocide and the International Criminal Court. For me, it is always about having the ability to help others. When I became an Assistant District Attorney, what I loved was that you had the opportunity to follow a case, see it through and see the impact of it; you really feel like you’re making a difference.
What motivates you?
That satisfaction of knowing that you did a job well. One of the things people confuse about Assistant District Attorneys is that we are only there to convict people. That is a common misconception; our job is to seek justice. Ultimately, you have to trust our judicial system. I have a great respect for how our system works; it’s unparalleled. You have a group of our peers listen to the case, and ultimately make the decision for the community. Whatever the outcome, it’s the right result.
What are you passionate about?
Giving back to the people of El Paso! I LOVE our community and am in a ton of organizations like The Junior League, The Rotary Club and The Lions Club. We do really great projects. For example, we recently hosted a dinner event at one of the battered women’s shelters, where you just sit and listen to peoples’ story and lend your support. In a small way you made that person’s day better.
Why did you choose El Paso to call home?
My parents moved here in the early 80s…it’s where I’m from, it’s what I know, I grew up here. When you’re a kid you don’t really appreciate it – the food, the culture, and the people are what make El Paso special. As a child, I would ride my bike down the block without a care; it’s always been a very safe city. El Paso is like family to me. As an adult I have become a bigger part of the community and appreciate all it has to offer. El Paso is growing a step at a time; we’re moving in the right direction and I’m proud to be a part of that process.
How do you choose to give back to the community?
For several years, I have held leadership roles or membership in a lot of organizations that I previously mentioned. In these organizations, we strive to improve our community and do so with considerable success. One organization I haven’t mentioned that I am very excited about is the Exchange Student Committee. It’s a U.S. Diplomatic Program that brings exchange students to El Paso and sends American students abroad in order to foster a better understanding of each other’s cultures. We are currently are hosting a Brazilian student and last year I was a Counselor to an exchange student we hosted from Belgium.
What are you a longtime supporter of?
I am a longtime supporter of The Center Against Sexual and Family Violence.
Is there an achievement you are most proud of and why?
A few years ago, I was selected as The Outstanding State Attorney by the El Paso Bar Association. That was very humbling because it’s a selection by your peers. We have a lot of outstanding attorneys in El Paso, I was really honored.
So you are running for Judge of County Criminal Court at Law #4…why that court?
This is our Domestic Violence Court. I am very passionate about it; it’s our best opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives. In El Paso we can have multiple generations – grandparents, cousins, nieces and nephews – living in one house. If you can eradicate violence in the home, it’s going to make everyone’s life better. Everybody deserves to get their day in court on both sides of the law and I don’t believe that is currently happening in this court. When it was initially created in 2008, it was intended to be a beacon of how Domestic Violence would be handled by addressing a greater number of cases, but somewhere along the way I think that got lost. We are squandering our best chance to make a difference; it isn’t working, not the way it was intended to. I have been an Assistant District Attorney now for seven years. I have been there long enough to witness this and think somebody needs to do something and make it right; apparently that somebody is me (Big smile).
We know some candidates run negative or derogatory campaigns. Why have you chosen the proverbial high road?
Aside from my values, I just don’t see the value in it. The people of El Paso deserve more. I think getting to that point of negativity is taking away from the actual issues: the issues people need to know about the court, know why they need the court, know what the court can do for them. I think the reality is that most people in El Paso don’t really know what the courts do and don’t really know how they impact their lives. The court is there to provide a public service and the Judge is a public servant the same way I am right now, the same way your police officers are. We are there to provide a service, this service has an opportunity to make our community better. Why muddy that with anything else?
What changes do you hope to make if elected Judge?
The largest issue is just making sure that we are able to resolve cases in a timely manner. There’s a report published by the County Commissioners called The Judicial Transparency Report. In this report, they publish analytical data on each court and the Domestic Violence court consistently has a large percentage of cases that are over a year old. There is no justifiable reason for that. I really want to get the Court to a point where it runs efficiently and actually resolves cases within an acceptable time frame. If something happens today and there isn’t resolution for 2 or 3 years, at that point everybody feels like they have been forgotten by our judicial system. People shouldn’t feel like the system is failing them or that they don’t matter. The people of El Paso deserve to have their cases heard and resolved in a time frame that reflects that someone is listening.
What sets you apart from other candidates?
It’s my drive to want to work hard and do my work well. It’s my desire to make the Domestic Violence Court work the way it was intended to. I want to make the court a leader in how we can treat domestic violence cases. I want to make sure that everybody has their day in court, and that the victims and the accused all have their voices heard. I want to make that difference. It’s not going to be easy because there’s a big backlog of cases, but I want to tackle that and do the work in order to get the court where it’s supposed to be. I also want to start a court-administered treatment program, because often it’s not just violence for violence sake, there’s something else that incites violence. If we can get people some help early, then hopefully we can help stop this epidemic that plagues our community. If you think of the ripple effect that having a positive impact on one person’s life can have on our community, then we have a real opportunity to make all of El Paso better.
As a young woman whose values are obviously deeply rooted in leadership, do you have anything special to say to the next generation of women leaders?
It’s so easy as a woman to talk ourselves out of taking big leaps forward. Historically, we’re taught ever since we’re little to be more cautious with risks and that leads to a natural aversion. I really think there’s great value in trusting yourself. Be confident in making your decisions, own them. There is a great quote I’d like to share:
“Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them”
-Unknown
How do you hope to be remembered?
I guess this depends on how this turns out, right? (she laughs). If I am lucky enough to be elected, I’d like to be remembered as a good, fair, and hard-working judge who made a difference.
Who would win in Spiderman vs. Batman?
(She laughs) I would probably say Batman. He has so many more resources!
