Why I Admire My Congresswoman Virginia Foxx

Monday, August 27, 2007

Posted by Don Clark -- http://wataugarepubs.blogspot.com/

Several years back, I was serving on numerous local, state, and national committees that advocated for the mentally ill. The advocacy work took me to Raleigh as well as Washington, D.C. to interact with our legislators.

On these visits, the lawmakers always greeted me with respect. However, when they ushered me into their offices, there was the feeling everything was on auto pilot, choreographed and repeated with thousands of other constituents. Having grown up in Washington, D.C. and later with a job that brought me into personal contact with many members of congress, I was accustomed to the mechanicalness of those interactions.

Then Virginia Foxx was elected to the Assembly. I had followed her career from being a staff member at ASU, to president of Mayland Tech. I admired her for her accomplishments, but we never had personal contact. Finally, I visited her in her office in Raleigh.

There to my surprise, I met a real person; not one ounce of phoniness. I will always remember how genuinely respected I felt that day. I was quickly convinced she really wanted to know what I knew about the mentally disabled with whom she could help. Here was a politician who was not just going through the motions. Over time, I grew to know that we shared the same goals for our state and the nation. I have had the good fortune to hear numerous colleagues of hers who confirm that she is the same genuine hard-working person she was in Raleigh. She is admired in the Congress by people I admire. I surely hope we will keep her as the longer she stays in Washington, the better she can represent us.