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Oct 27, 2008 7:01 pm US/Eastern
Campaign '08: The Race For U.S. House Dist. 18
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Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Has Been In Congress For 19 Years
She's Being Challenged By Annette Taddeo
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
AP
She's been in Congress nearly two decades and she has no intention of slowing down. 56-year-old Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is being challenged in the 18th Congressional District by 41-year-old Annette Taddeo.
Ros-Lehtinen tells
CBS-4'S Peter D'Oench that she's built a solid reputation as a fighter for South Florida with a long list of accomplishments.
In 1989, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was the first Hispanic woman elected to Congress. She says she deserves to stay based on her accomplishments and unfinished business.
"I've been around the block a few times. People know my record. They know what Ileana Ros-Lehtinen stands for."
She's a ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, an anti-communist hard liner who is now fighting to resuscitate the economy.
"I'm for small business. For lower taxes. Less regulation. I'm fighting for the middle class and strong families," said Ros-Lehtinen.
These are words echoed by one of her campaign commercials.
Ros-Lehtinen is married to Former U.S. Attorney and wounded Vietnam Vet Dexter Lehtinen.
She says she wants to help struggling middle-class families and find ways to retrain people who have lost jobs. She touted her accomplishments to CBS4's D'Oench.
"Well I think my biggest accomplishment is my ability to bring home federal dollars to the district. That's why I brought millions of dollars to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Miami Children's Hospital. The Keys for the waste water project." She added, "I got almost $50 million to clean up the Miami River, for dredging the river deeper, now there are huge holes for boats to go through."
It's a project she says has lead to many more jobs for her district, which she says she fights for every day.
"I'm very much of a grass roots down home legislator. My constituents are my number one priority. I'm not a partisan person. I work with the Democrats all the time in Congress," explained Ros-Lehtinen.
"We need somebody who's going to be a fighter for Dade County and I think people have seen in Ileana Ros-Lehtinen a fighter," said added.
Ros-Lehtinen has been blasted by her Democratic opponent Annette Taddeo for her ties to President Bush.
"I know people talk about sending a message to President Bush, but Bush is not on the ballot and I think people have seen in me a person who will fight for issues away from the party. I don't care what my opponent says. She distorts my record. She just says she is angry. We don't need angry people in Washington. We need people who are problem solvers," said Ros-Lehtinen.
Voter discontent with the economy and a strong democratic base could keep some votes away from Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Though she has a strong lead in the polls, she refuses to be overconfident.
Among other priorities for Ros-Lehtinen, she favors setting up a national catastrophe fund, she wants to improve college financial aid programs, she wants to raise the minimum wage, she favors anti-hate crime laws and she voted for the Emergency Economic
Stabilization Act of 2008.
She came here from Cuba in 1960 at the age of 8 and grew up in Little Havana and Westchester. She is a former school teacher and principal. She is against stem cell research and was for the government's intervention in the Terry Shiavo case.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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