TIGblogs - Julia Barry

I learned this morning that Congresswoman Stephanie Tubb Jones passed away Wednesday evening. Although I never personally met Stephanie, I can't help but be inspired by her ten years of political service in Washington and the way she rose from a career in social work and law to her seat in the House of Representatives. And because only 16% of our Congress is comprised of women, I have the utmost respect for each of them that represents us. I'm sorry that there's one less woman in Washington today.

If you have personal memories about Stephanie, Senator Hillary Clinton is collecting them at her website. I wrote about what a pleasure it was to work with Stephanie when she gave us an interview for our Letter to Congress website. Her passing makes the interview even more precious.

In honor of Stephanie Tubb Jones, I'd like to pose women in politics as Friday's story idea. Are there any women in politics that you particularly admire? How do you feel about the comparatively low participation of women in politics? What political issues get you fired up? Is it important to you that women be involved in politics? Why or why not?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.