I have chosen Maxine Waters as a leader that I not only found with great leadership abilities but also a very morally sound person with many common-sense leadership skills and beliefs. Congresswoman Maxine Waters has been considered by many to be one if not the most powerful women within American politics today. She has gained this respect by being fearless and remaining on the right side of history. Maxine Waters has been a solid candidate for women’s rights, and the protection of children. She has also made it clear where she stands on the issues of injustices of the poor and people of color.
Maxine Waters was elected in November of 2016 to her fourteenth term to the U.S. House of Representatives. She represents the 43rd Congressional District of California and represents a substantial part of South-Central Los Angeles to include portions of Westchester, Watts, and Playa Del Rey. Congresswoman Waters is a ranking member of the House Committee on Financial Services. Congresswoman Maxine Waters is not feigned of heart and will not back down and is not afraid of tackling controversial issues, she has more than 37 years of public service and has a fantastic ability to perform grassroots organizing.
Before her election to the House of Representatives in 1990, Congresswoman Waters was already attracting national attention for being a no-nonsense, style of politics. She has been the driving force behind some of the most forward-thinking legislation that California has ever had the pleasure of having in office in prior years. Congresswoman Waters has legislated for a state-wide Child Abuse Prevention Training Program. She has also legislated for the prohibition of strip searches for citizens by police for crimes of which are non-violent misdemeanors, and she introduced the nation’s very first plant closure laws.
Congresswoman Waters has served as a highly visible member of the DNC (Democratic National Committee since 1980 and was a key leader involved in five presidential campaigns. The campaigns that she was involved with were those of Sen. Edwards Kennedy in 1980, Rev. Jesse Jackson which was from 1984-1988, and President Bill Clinton as he became president between 1992 and 1996. She was extremely instrumental in the appointment of Mayor Maynard Jackson, and the creation of the National Development and Voting Rights Institute.
Congresswoman Waters strongly believes in the seeing is believing train of thought when it comes to convincing her colleagues to pass a bill of providing more funding for her districts. She has on more than ten occasions brought multiple government officials along with policymakers to here South-Central L.A. district which gives her more leverage when appealing for more resources. Some of the well-known people consisted of Vice President Al Gore, President Bill Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, Henry Cisneros who was the Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development, and Alan Greenspan.
She is the co-founder of Black Women’s Forum, which is a non-profit organization which consists of more than 1,200 African American women who reside within the Los Angeles area. She has also been an advocate for international peace, human rights, and justice. She was a leader in the movement to end Apartheid. She stood firmly against the overthrow of the democratically-elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti. She is in strong support and remains very vocal when it comes to expanding access to health care services. She has led the way in the development of the Minority AIDS Initiative in 1998 which was formed to address an alarming spread of HIV/AIDS within the African American, Hispanic and other minorities. Under her leadership funding for the initiative increased from $156 million in 1999 to an increased amount of approximately $400 million.
Congresswoman Waters has been the leader in the efforts to diminish foreclosures which as a result would keep American families in their home as the country was in the middle of an economic crisis. Waters authored what is known as the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which allowed states to obtain grants, which was also extended to local governments and nonprofits which assisted in stemming foreclosures, home abandonment, and blight which helped restore neighborhoods. The combining of funds Congresswoman Waters was able to secure funds in the amount of $6 billion for that program.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters has an unwavering vision and continues to remain an active leader of residential communities and remains on the forefront of environmental issues and remains aggressive in advocating for solutions to mitigate harmful impacts of the LAX airport planned expansions. She consistently tackles significant matters relating to economic development, poverty, and equal justice for people of color, women, children, and people with no resources.
