My grandmother had great influence on me. She was secretary of state in the 1970's, and that's when I was born. She showed me the importance of public service, and she was admired by people regardless of their political party.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
My mother, she worked in the mayor's office in Chicago when I was growing up and has been in democratic politics for a long time.
I was raised on the values of speaking up and making a positive difference in a very political family that believed in the importance of public service.
My mother was a politician in my formative years.
I think my uncle was probably the biggest influence in my life. We grew up in the same house, and he was just a really great, hard-working, honest, ethical person.
I am involved with politics today because of the inspiration I received from Ronald Reagan.
My grandmother was a huge influence on me and the fact that there was this very strong, rather formidable presence of women in my life has been an enormous value.
My mother was the influence on me - my father was absent. He was a diamond dealer; he was doing wonderful things in the background, and women were left at home. So my mother really was in charge of everything: the ballet, dance lessons, piano lessons, and latkes.
My major influence was my ten years older sister.
My father was my main influence. He was a preacher, but he was also a history and political science teacher, and since he was my hero, I wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a teacher.
My mother was the influence in my life. She was strong; she had great faith in the ultimate triumph of justice and hard work. She believed passionately in education.