Rep. Kyrsten Sinema likes to stay busy. Aside from being a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, she’s a college professor and a lawyer. After graduating from college at the age of 18, she began a career in social work as a way to help those in need.

"The goal of social work," she said," is to create social justice." And that's why she went into politics.

"Over the years as a social worker, I became more and more upset about the injustice in my community. To create systemic social justice, I had to have influence over policy at the state level."

She saw the state's Clean Elections system as a way for her to run - and win - a seat in the House so she could work to create the social justice she cared so much about. "People like me -- I'm trained as a social worker and have worked as a social worker in Phoenix for ten years -- would never have the financial resources to run otherwise," she said.

With her background in social work, Rep. Sinema has made it her priority to work on issues in the legislature that benefit marginalized and oppressed people in her district and across the state. Her opinions on criminal justice, immigration, and lesbian and gay rights issues are heard even louder because she has a seat in the legislature.

"The best thing about running Clean is that when you're in office, no one can pressure you to vote in a certain way. [Recently] I had to vote on a bill to benefit Cox Communications and I was able to vote no on that bill. They tried to stop and see me, but I told them I would vote no."

"I can treat every single person who walks through my door the same because I'm not beholden to special interests."

With Clean Elections, Rep. Sinema is accountable only to voters and she knows she has to focus on their needs - or she'll stop getting their $5 contributions. "I know that in two years, I have to get back out to those doors and talk to those same voters and they're going to tell me if they are happy with what I've done or not," she said.

When she's not in the state house, Rep. Sinema is an adjunct professor of social work at Arizona State University and practices criminal defense law in the Phoenix community. She serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations and chaired the campaign that defeated the same-sex marriage ban on the Arizona ballot in 2006.

Rep. Sinema was recently elected to a third term in 2008. She presently serves on the Judiciary and Appropriations Committees.

"I am going to use Clean Elections until I run for an office that doesn't have the system," she said. She's in good company. In 2008, almost 400 Clean Elections officials were sworn into office free of special interest influence.