Donna Edwards (D-MD., 4th District) Single Mom Fighting for Social Justice and Change

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2008 Elections : NOW PACs Profile

Donna Edwards (D-MD., 4th District)
Single Mom Fighting for Social Justice and Change

February 13, 2008

As exemplified throughout her life, Donna Edwards is a person of resilience, determination and commitment. In this year's heated primary race in Maryland's 4th District against incumbent Rep. Albert Wynn - a supporter of multiple Bush policies - Edwards proved to be a strong candidate with a proven record of success, and the experience, initiative and accountability that Maryland residents deserve.

Brought up with a military background, Edwards grew up traveling throughout the United States and in many other countries. "I had to be versatile, and I couldn't be shy," Edwards has said of the upbringing that ingrained in her a welcoming acceptance of diversity.

As a sibling to five other children and the daughter of an Air Force member, the vivid memories of the tragic fates of many who served in the Vietnam War have never left her. When Edwards graduated high school, she was offered an opportunity to join the Air Force Academy's first class to ever admit women. Instead she chose to attend Wake Forest University, where she was one of only six black women in her class.

Edwards attended the Franklin Pierce Law School in New Hampshire, where she developed her love of law and public interest. While raising her son, Jared, and pursuing her political dreams, Edwards never forgot the values that her parents passed down to her. "My parents taught me to be a person and to be a parent," she said. "I learned the importance of giving something back to your community and your country from them."

Realizing that battered women didn't have any legal or political support, she co-founded and served as the first executive director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. Later she received national recognition for her leadership in the successful fight to pass the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, which provided comprehensive funding to shelter and services for victims of domestic violence and their children.

Edwards also led efforts to reform the U.S. campaign finance system and lobbying laws after the House banking scandal. She aimed to improve these laws first through the group Public Citizen and then as executive director of the Center for a New Democracy. In addition, Edwards spurred a national effort to force pharmaceutical companies to open markets for generic anti-arthritic medications.

Since 2000, Edwards has served as the executive director for The Arca Foundation in Washington, D.C., where she gained national prominence as a strategist on issues such as: "living wage" campaigns, the independence of the federal judiciary, ending capital punishment, protecting Social Security and international labor and human rights.

After her son decided on a college, Edwards focused her efforts on running for the U.S. House of Representatives.

"I want to represent Maryland's 4th Congressional District because I believe I represent the hopes and values that are the core of the Democratic Party - for workers, for families, for our country," she said. "I believe that we need to return the voices of ordinary people to the Democratic Party."

On Feb. 12, Edwards defeated Wynn in the Maryland primary by a wide margin. Wynn had been a proponent of regressive policies, which in part spurred Edwards to run against him. During his congressional career, Wynn voted for Bush's bankruptcy bill, to pass the Republican Energy Bill, weaken the Endangered Species Act, drill for oil in Alaska's protected land and give billions of dollars in tax breaks to oil and gas companies. Wynn also called Edwards and her supporters a "left-wing conspiracy" out to unseat him.

As a single mother who has "defeated the odds" her entire life, Edwards is a strong advocate of providing health care for those who can't afford it, funding adequate school resources, and working for human rights and women's rights. NOW PAC has been proud to support Donna's campaign and we look forward to working with her in Congress.

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