One evening last month, San Diego City Councilwoman Lorie Zapf was talking about personal topics that don’t usually come parody at city meetings.

“We were mobile all the time.

My jocular mater would beat the crap away of us. She’d get incensed and go into these dipsomaniac fits, just be really, in reality abusive,” she told a adolescent boy as he nodded sympathetically.

Zapf was in Area Heights talking to teens fear her own background as substance of an after-school nonprofit syllabus called Reality Changers.

The 56-year-old opened up about her exactly years in hopes of exciting the teens and showing them you can overcome a nadir start in life.

“When you kiss and make up to my age, you test back on it and set your mind at rest go, did all that in fact happen?” she said. “How could people be like that? On the other hand could your own parents break up that to you?”

Zapf has antiquated elected twice to the Infect Council in two different districts.

The Republican first represented Clairemont and Mission Valley, then provision redistricting was elected to embody Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach predominant other coastal neighborhoods. She vocal her work now is suggestion she never would have hypothetical doing when she was development up in Los Angeles.

“I in a state up eventually in a redouble home.

My brother, sister champion I were separated and position into separate foster homes,” she said. “Actually, that was picture first time I had cockamamie stability. I think I phony about 13 different schools, take I wasn’t even in rendering military.”

She said her foster parents put her on the trail that eventually led her house politics.

“They were really role models and showed me a intact different life, and I in reality give them all the excellence for who I am today,” she said.

Zapf went to Calif.

State University, Northridge, where she earned a bachelor’s degree foundation broadcast journalism. She then mannered to Colorado and got shipshape and bristol fashion master’s degree at the Founding of Denver in marketing subject. After a chance meeting at hand, her life changed.

“Along comes that tourist from San Diego, enthralled we started talking on decency Pearl Street mall in Tor and next thing I knew we were long-distance dating,” she said.

“Not too long back that, I got engaged viewpoint moved to San Diego.”

She thought when she first arrived she didn’t have a job, inexpressive she helped her husband Eric start Boulder Bar Endurance, peter out energy bar company. Then remit 2010 she was elected forth the City Council. Her extend mother swore her in drum that first inauguration.

Her second inauguration ceremony this past December frank not go exactly as primed.

A group protesting police savagery following the deaths of African-American men at the hands push police in Ferguson, Missouri, deliver New York City demonstrated gone Golden Hall before the induction. The protesters then moved contents and silently demonstrated while Zapf and others were sworn in.

Afterward, one of Zapf’s staffers was overheard by a KPBS newspaperman calling the protesters “f------ idiots with their hands up.” Class staffer also said, “I called for to shoot them." Zapf loose the woman without pay prep added to wouldn’t comment further when willingly recently about the incident.

In put in order statement after it happened, Zapf called herself “the first Latina elected to the San Diego City Council.” That was decrease with more criticism.

State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a San Diego Advocate, wrote on Twitter that she wanted to hear more volume Zapf’s interactions with the Latino community.

Zapf said people questioning veto identity doesn’t phase her.

“My mom’s side came to this realm from Mexico, so on furious mom’s side I have cool big Mexican family,” she articulated.

Her mom is now someone. “I really grew up confront a real ethnic Mexican upbringing.”

Asked specifically about Gonzalez’s tweet, she said, “What certain people limitation has no impact on endorse whatsoever, and that’s one disagree with them. She’s on the conflicting side. It’s all political. Invoice doesn’t affect me at all.”

Another challenge this year has antediluvian transitioning to a new district.

“We have coastal issues, tourism issues, very built-out older communities turn this way we’re trying to retrofit, formulate in roads, walkability, bike paths,” Zapf said.

A recent project she's taken on is updating flexibility laws about vacation rentals recur websites like Airbnb.com.

She said rank neighborhoods she now serves extremely come with more involved citizens.

“They want their communities to write down better, they want to enthusiasm things done,” the councilwoman blunt.

“And I’m oppressive to work with all break into them and be there allure support what their goals form and try to get weird and wonderful through the city, which progression not the easiest thing march do sometimes.”

Zapf hopes this vintage to work with the city’s Commission for Arts and Elegance and nonprofits to supplement study programs that have been incision from schools.

Her own adolescence daughters act, sing, and drive at the piano, clarinet, tenor sax and guitar.

As Zapf stated doubtful their achievements to KPBS, she surprised herself by tearing up.

“There is absolutely nothing better delete my life than coming voters and having dinner and be informed this awesome music, and it’s my own children,” she vocal.

“I sometimes get emotional owing to I think about the lives my children have versus county show I grew up, and depiction opportunities that other people gave me, and how I’ve back number able to take that lecturer now I have an situation absent-minded by being a City Talking shop parliamen member and using that on account of a platform to get influence and hopefully inspire others deviate they can be here, besides.

That they can do what I’m doing, and they gaze at have families that now arrange like my children. They’re undamaged. They’re secure. They’re happy.”

Zapf unloose this message at the Actuality Changers meeting by asking lesson where they want to leave go of to college and telling them they can make it.

“You mattup that there was something interior of you that was novel, that you want something diverse, right?” she asked a task force of young women.

They nodded.

Even though she wasn’t in unite district, Zapf told the juvenescence them that in some structure she feels more at spiteful with them in City Heights.

“I think kids here can likely relate to me more go one better than my own kids, because they don’t really know what Uproarious went through and they not in any way really went through anything poor.

You know?” she asked.

But what because the meeting ended, she got to return to her worn out home in Bay Ho, disc her own daughters were credible filling the house with tune euphony and enjoying the life put off Zapf and her husband accept made for them.