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I wasn't elected to avoid conflict. I was elected to represent the people of the 2nd District.

I did not know what my future was going to hold.

I just was not going to subject my record to the bleak prospects of a primary election.

I am not the candidate of career politicians in Washington.

I don't go to Washington to represent the president; I go to represent the people of this district.

One of my few shortcomings is that I can't predict the future.

If you're going to do something to hurt the district I represent, I can't vote for it.

The very fact that I became mayor in 1977 conveys how you can't figure out what the people will do. Nobody thought I would be elected. When I entered I got four percent of the vote in the first poll, four percent.

We're representing our districts. I make decisions on my district.

I'm not going to run for political office.