Thoughtful Leadership
for Camarillo’s Future.
Meet Sylvia C. Garcia
Sylvia C. Garcia, a third-generation Camarillo resident, U.S. Army veteran, nonprofit director, and community advocate, now runs for Camarillo City Council District 2 to bring an independent, research-driven voice to protect what makes Camarillo home.
I am a third-generation Camarillo resident. My grandparents came here in the 1950s and made Camarillo their home. My grandfather was a painter, and my grandmother cleaned homes and worked in packing houses to help support their family.
I grew up here and attended First Lutheran School on Arneill Road, where I was sponsored by Pastor Hiepler. Longtime Camarillo residents may remember the Scripture messages that appeared on the church's roadside sign on Arneill Road for decades.
I was raised through kinship adoption by the woman I have always known simply as my mom.
My mother adopted us as a single woman in the 1980s, when it was extremely difficult for a single parent to adopt. She advocated fiercely for us and, through her actions, taught me what it means to stand up for someone you love.
Years later, while I was serving in the Army and my grandmother developed Alzheimer's disease, I watched my mother become that advocate again.
Long before I ever thought of myself as an advocate, I had been raised by one.
I spent ten years in the U.S. Army, years I sometimes describe as the best of times and the worst of times. Military service was difficult, but it also gave me friendships I treasure, experiences I never would have had otherwise, and a greater appreciation for home.
In the military, your statehood becomes part of your identity. While stationed in North Carolina, I was proud to be from California. More than anything, I missed Camarillo.
And after years away, I understood home differently.
I came back to the place my grandparents had chosen for their family, where my mother raised me, and where I had spent so many years wanting to return.
Coming home changed the way I looked at Camarillo.
It wasn't simply the city where I happened to live. It was the place my grandparents chose for their family, the place where my mother raised me, and the place I had spent years away from wanting to return to.
I left Camarillo to serve my country. I came home understanding just how much this home was worth protecting.
