One of my earliest memories is of my grandfather, a Swedish immigrant, sitting me down in front of our television in a trailer in Clewiston, Florida to watch President Nixon announce his resignation.
"This is important. This is history. You watch this. You remember this." he said in his gruff Scandinavian accented english.
Little did I know then that I, a child from the segregated southern sugar cane fields that would move to the housing projects of Seattle, would grow up to dedicate most of my adult life to American politics.
I have decided to take a hiatus from what has been and exciting, challenging, maddening, and fulfilling career in politics. As I look forward to the next chapter in my life, I want to write about and share some of my experiences.
My career in politics lasted for 16 years, so for the next 16 days I will write once a day about some of the people I worked for and the moments that shaped me politically.
This is not going to be a "tell all" series. Rather it is a chance for me to reflect on my life to this point and give me a place to build from as I decide what is next for me.
I hope you'll join me on this retrospective and maybe get some new insights into our politics and our system, good and bad.