OpEdNews - Page 3 of Article: The Final Stretch: Linda Milazzo's "Conversation With Marcy Winograd"

As a child, my father, a former professor at New York's CCNY (the poor man's Harvard), would always ask me what I was reading. Literacy was highly valued in our home. Even when my father was ill with Parkinson's Disease, bed-ridden and struggling to stay awake, he'd suggest books for me to read. He 'd say, "You're interested in international law? Go to the third shelf in the den and pick up the book that's third in from the left-hand corner." For my father, books were great friends. Because of his influence, I 've been reading and writing poetry since the age of twelve. I remember as a very young child playing Debussy's "The Sea" and writing about the waves crashing on my bedroom door.

A few years ago, I started performing poetry with the Hyper Poets at the Rose Cafe in Venice. A bit Bohemian, I suppose, but the feeling of coming together with other writers and performers was inspiring. As a Congresswoman, I'd like to ask my constituents to share their own stories to support certain bills. Stories can be incredibly persuasive. As an English teacher, I always emphasized the intense power of narrative.

A-n-d... I love animals. To relax, I walk my daughter's dog... a little rescue named Sparky, who's an overly active (understatement) Jack Russell Terrier. Or... I hang out with my three cats... also rescues. I even read animal magazines. So... as you'd be right to assume, I 've included an animal rights platform in my legislative agenda. It 's on my web site (winogradforcongress.com). I never want to see relief organizations and government agencies abandon animals again in a disaster. I applaud the recent passage in the House of The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Act (H.R. 3858), co-authored by Tom Lantos and Christopher Shays. It definitely needed to be done.

LM: And for the hundreds of volunteers on your campaign... Anything you want to say to them?

MW: My message first and foremost is THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND COMMITMENT TO PEACE. We could never have done this without launching a tremendous grassroots campaign involving hundreds of precinct walkers and phone bankers. It takes courage to challenge an entrenched incumbent, but it also takes courage to work for the challenger and believe in the dream ... peace, democracy, constitutional freedoms, a sound foreign policy that rejects pre-emptive war and embraces diplomacy, and a beautiful earth for our children and their children to inherit.

And on that note... Thanks so much for speaking with me. Now I 'm off to the campaign trail to join them. It's time to get out the vote!
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California 's Primary Election is June 6th. Additional information on Marcy Winograd 's campaign can be found at: winogradforcongress.com

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