Eileen Fleming, an independent and registered nurse running for the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida, says on her website that if she's elected, she plans to donate all of her take-home pay to finance Habitat for Humanity homes for qualifying single-parent families and veterans in the district she serves. She reports that she has volunteered with Alzheimer's patients since 1998 and in 2000 founded a reading buddy program at schools in her area.
In anticipation of the November 6 congressional elections, HuffPost Women spoke with her about who she is, why she's running and how to get involved with her campaign.
What's your favorite quality in another person?
Honesty.
What three words best describe you?
Driven, passionate, focused.
What's your biggest flaw?
A flaming temper when confronted with willful ignorance and hypocrisy in high places.
What failure are you most grateful for?
My first marriage -- which ended after 13 years and a lot of maturing.
If you weren't you, who would you be?
Somebody just like me.
If you could live anywhere, where would that be?
On a mountain that looks out on a river and an hour's drive away from a big city.
What woman do you most look up to?
Dorothy Day!
What's the best advice you've ever been given?
A Jewish Grandmother once told me to always follow my heart and listen to my conscience, and if I must beg anyone for forgiveness afterwards- BEG!
What's your joy trigger?
MUSIC and Activity! When I have to do housework, I tune in satellite radio to BB King's "Bluesville," when I do Pilates I switch to Siriusly Sinatra and when I am driving or roller blading it's classic rock and lots of Dylan.
What is your favorite book?
The first one I wrote, but as I am writing my fourth maybe that will change--but when it comes to other authors, my pick is John Irving's "A Prayer For Owen Meany."
What is your favorite album?
I cannot claim ONE favorite album, because it changes according to my mood, but I am always in the mood for Bob Dylan.
Where did you have the best meal of your life?
At my kitchen table when my daughter began to feed herself.
What is your favorite thing you've ever worn and why?
I live in yoga pants and camisoles for comfort.
What talent do you wish you had?
I love music, but I can't carry a tune or tell one note from another.
What quality or accomplishment do you want people to know you for?
The writer of a great Palestinian American novel and the only reporter in the world who documented the freedom of speech trial of Israel's Nuclear Whistle Blower, Mordechai Vanunu.
What makes you feel the most free?
Writing/speaking my heart.
Why are you running?
Knowledge brings responsibility and my seven investigative trips to both sides of The Wall in Israel Palestine since 2005 have convinced me that what endangers this homeland most is America's foreign policies-specifically collusion in Israel's Nuclear Ambiguity [deceptions] and the sustaining of the ongoing 45 years of military occupation of Palestine.
As Jonathan Ben Artzi, a nephew of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, [who spent eighteen months in jail for refusing to serve in the army] spoke regarding the occupation of Palestine:
"Sometimes it takes a good friend to tell you when enough is enough. As they did with South Africa two decades ago, concerned citizens across the US can make a difference by encouraging Washington to get the message to Israel that this cannot continue. If Americans truly are our friends, they should shake us up and take away the keys, because right now we are driving drunk, and without this wake-up call, we will soon find ourselves in the ditch of an undemocratic, doomed state."
What is the most important issue for women in this election?
Most likely same as for men-good jobs, a roof over [their] head, health care and quality education for their children.
How can readers get involved in your campaign?
Read me and contact me through:
http://www.eileenfleming.org
http://www.wearewideawake.org/