The death of her 17-year-old son Trayvon Martin in 2012 left the country reeling, even more so when the Florida man who shot the teenager was acquitted of a second-degree murder charge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sybrina Fulton, though, did not let her pain overcome her. She has since become a nationally renowned activist and is culminating her efforts into a race for the District 1 Miami-Dade County Commissioner seat, her first election bid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wanted my life back and this (campaign) is probably the closest I\u2019m going to get to having my life back,\u201d she said. \u201cI don’t want to feel like I lost. I lost my son. I don’t want to lose my life as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fulton\u2019s opponent, Mayor Oliver Gilbert of Miami Gardens, is serving his second term and is a former council member and assistant district attorney. Fulton says she is not to be underestimated, adding that as a new politician, she can see issues with a fresh perspective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fulton plans to focus on crime, but said she also wants to create better services for the elderly, the youth and the working class people of Miami-Dade County, where she was born and raised. Affordable housing and stricter gun laws are also priority issues on her platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m going to really just listen to the people and be the voice of the people,\u201d said Fulton. That’s very hard when you’re already a politician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA lot of times you\u2019re already in the midst of a lot of things that\u2019s going on. You can\u2019t bring a new vision to the table and new leadership because you’re already a part of it,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fulton announced her decision to enter the race in May. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although she\u2019s never held office, she worked for the county she wishes to represent for 24 years, for several agencies including solid waste, transit, aviation and as a hearing officer in the housing department, a role similar to a judge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She left her job after Martin\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fulton is one of many mothers of slain black boys and men to run for office recently. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., was elected in 2018; her son Jordan Davis, like Martin, was shot in 2012 at the age of 17 by a Florida man who alleged Davis\u2019 music was too loud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lesley McSpadden, whose 18-year-old son Michael Brown was shot and killed by a Missouri police officer in 2014, lost her run for office in April. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But Fulton is confident. She calls herself \u201cthe people\u2019s politician.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.nabjmonitor.com\/2022\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/080919_SybrinaFulton_mar_04-1024x726.jpg\")