I came up in a family oriented towards the sick, so I always felt an obligation for doing something.

We're going to have to look very seriously at what we're doing right or wrong because we just keep losing.

There are still traces of discrimination against race and gender, but it's a lot different than when I started out. It just comes quietly, slowly, sometimes so quietly that you don't realize it until you start looking back.

There is not an issue that a woman cannot bring a perspective to.

I came up in a family oriented towards the sick, so I always felt an obligation for doing something.

All issues are women's issues - and there are several that are just women's business.

During the election, I had three male opponents and we went into a runoff. The front runner for the men was a native of Dallas who had run at large before, but I had a higher profile than him from my community service.