Mia Love Sets New Precedent – Black, Mormon, Republican Congresswoman
Ludmya Bourdeau Love, more commonly known as “Mia,” was born on 6 December 1975 to Mary and Jean Maxine Bourdeau in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents emigrated from Haiti in 1973 leaving their two oldest children behind. Love recalls that her birth occurred prior to the expiration of an immigration law in 1976. After the family moved to Norwalk, Connecticut, her parents brought her older siblings from Haiti.
Love attended Norwalk High School, and graduated from the University of Harvard where she actively participated in the Hartt School’s Music Theatre program, and received a degree in the performing arts. She later worked at Sento Corporation and the Ecopass Corporation. She was also a flight attendant with Continental Airlines.
Her Political Prowess
To say that Mia Love has a passion for politics is somewhat of an understatement. She served as the community spokesperson in an effort to get the developer of her neighborhood in Saratoga Springs to spray against flies, and in 2003 she became the first female Haitian-American elected official in Utah County, Utah, after winning a seat on the Saratoga Springs City Council. She took office in 2004, and after serving 6 years on the council, she was elected Mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, with an 861 to 594 win over her opponent, Jeff Francom. She served as Mayor from January 2010 to December 2013.
In 2012 she was the Republican Party nominee for the United States House of Representatives in Utah’s 4th congressional district. She was also a speaker at the 2012 Republican National Convention.
On 18 May 2013, Love announced that she would once again run for Congress in 2014, and on 26 April 2014 at the Utah Republican Convention, she won the Republican nomination in the 4th Congressional district. Following the mid-term elections held on 4 November 2014, Love is now the representative-elect for Utah’s 4th Congressional district. Once she is sworn in as a member of the United States Congress, she will be the first Haitian American and first black female Republican ever elected to Congress.
She had previously stated that if she were elected to Congress, she would “join the Congressional Black Caucus and try to take that thing apart from the inside out.” She further described the Democrat-dominated Caucus as being characterized by “…demagoguery. They sit there and ignite emotions and ignite racism when there isn’t. They use their positions to instill fear. Hope and change is turned into fear and blame. Fear that everybody is going to lose everything and blaming Congress for everything instead of taking responsibility.” Now is her opportunity to be the shining light upon the hill and fulfill her promises.
Remaining True to Her Faith
Love had been raised Roman Catholic all of her life. After graduating from college in 1998, she became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her job as a flight attendant afforded her the opportunity to move to Utah where she was able to be closer to the temple and learn more about her new found faith. She was attracted to the Church’s teachings on eternal marriage and respect for women.
Upon moving to Utah she was able to get an apartment with a Utah woman she had known as a nanny in Connecticut. She was also referred to Jason Love whom she had met briefly when he was serving his mission in Connecticut, to help her move in. They soon began dating, and in December 1988 they were married. They have three children: Alessa, 14; Abigail, 11; and Peyton, 7.
Love is pro-life and has been endorsed by the Susan B. Anthony List. She also supports domestic energy exploration, local control of education, Second Amendment rights, and state control of public lands.
In a recent People.com article, Love is quoted as having said in one of her debates with Democrat opponent Doug Owens:
I love the story of David and Goliath, because in that story, David turns toward Goliath … toward a seemingly impossible challenge. That’s the type of confidence we need to have as we take on the Goliaths of our debt, out-of-control spending, Obamacare and that Godzilla we call the federal government.
Love also recently told Newsweek, “I’m perfectly comfortable in my skin. My parents always told me, ‘In order for people to see you as an equal, you need to act as an equal and be an equal.'”
