A VOICE FOR SENIORS and those who care about them.

I am a senior citizen. I was born in 1933. I grew up in the Great Depression. I remember the Hoover houses and played along Buffalo Bayou in Houston when that was also where the homeless lived. I am the child of two union members: my father an oil worker and my mother a railroad employee. They both came from families of very modest means: my father forced to leave school after the eighth grade to help support his widowed mother and my mother one of three young children raised by a widow.

I never lacked for the essentials of life, but learned not to expect too much…something most Depression children share. I grew up never far from the idea that I should not take for granted what I had…that it could all be snatched away in the twinkling of an eye. And I grew up mindful of the price of war as the carnage of WWI was still very much in the public consciousness.

I was fortunate to get a good education at a public school and was able to get a college and seminary degree, due not so much to my own effort, but to my parents’ belief in education. They both wanted me to have a better life than they had. I have, indeed, had such a life!

That isn’t to say that everything has gone as planned. Few lives progress on an even path, but I have been able to come through those middle years with the love of my children, a caring wife, good health, and a determination to make my senior years as productive as possible. I do not think of retirement, as I can play only so long and then I want to be at improving my mind or the community I live in. I don’t think one can retire from being a responsible citizen.

It is for this reason that I have run for political office. I haven’t run because my ego drove me to, but so that the voters in, first the 26^th district, and now in the 32^nd District, would have someone to vote for…a choice instead of a blank place on the ballot. I believe my party owes the voters a complete slate of candidates. And I believe they deserve the best candidate.

I have not won these races, though I came in second in a three-man race last time around only to lose in the runoff. In all these races I have had support from a small group of friends and family who helped financially and otherwise. There is nothing more gratifying than to offer oneself in public service.

I have learned from these past campaigns that I need to be more aggressive in giving people the opportunity to support my candidacy both in volunteering their time and their money. I am not asking anything for myself, only offering you the opportunity to be a part of rebuilding our community to reflect our shared higher values. That’s why I am communicating with you now. I would like to be your Congressman.

However, my final decision to run will be influenced by your response to this letter. As a clergyman and senior citizen, I believe I will make the best advocate for all the people of the 32^nd District…those of us who are advanced in years but also the families that are challenged not just to take care of children but to care of older parents. As America ages, it needs a voice that knows first-hand what aging brings to the family…a mind that has experienced the broadest range of human experience.

Most in Congress get there by way of business or the practice of law. Few come by way of the clergy. Maybe it’s time for a different option. I would not want, however, to be judged by some doctrinal standard - that would only serve to divide us - but by my commitment to make this world a better place for us all. I believe that there is a need for a voice tuned particularly to the struggles of families as they try to cope with the challenges of today’s economy. We much move beyond the legislative to the lives impacted by our laws. We must be about the work of the people, so that no one is left behind and that we fulfill the moral challenges to which our God and our Constitution calls us. And I believe I am the best person to do that. Can I count on your help to make it possible?

Stephen L. (Steve) Love