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Solidarity is the basis of my politics.

I entered politics from a completely different background from other people in this field, and that has helped me to see and deal with things differently.

I was really fascinated by politics. It always has been part of my view that politics really is a calling or you wouldn't go into it, because it's demanding and potentially has a toll on you and your family.

My passion for strengthening the community and making peoples' lives better is stronger now than when I first got into politics.

I got into politics when I was eight years old.

When I was 15 years old and in the tenth grade, I heard of Martin Luther King, Jr. Three years later, when I was 18, I met Dr. King and we became friends. Two years after that I became very involved in the civil rights movement. I was in college at that time. As I got more and more involved, I saw politics as a means of bringing about change.

I had no intention of entering politics, but then the force of events led me to become involved in politics.