Why did you want this job?

• Position: SOUNDBITES: State Legislatures asked some legislative leaders about their frame of mind as they head into the 2011 sessions - Discussion

Idaho Senate President Pro Tem Robert Geddes: I grew up in a politically active family. My father served in the Legislature for 24 years. I guess part of me continues to have him as my role model. I've served 16 years, and I'll turn 55 next year. I've tried to balance that with a profession and family. It's rewarding. It gets into your blood and you always think you could do a little more to make our society better.

Florida House Speaker Mike Haridopolos: I love my state and my family. As the son of an FBI agent and a college instructor, I believe in public service. I wanted to lead as Senate president because I have a conservative vision for our state and felt that now, more than ever, we need leaders who recognize that people spend money smarter than a large bureaucratic state. These are tough times, and if we lead in an inclusive, unselfish way, anything is possible.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan: I am asking for my constituents' support because we have some great challenges facing us that can be best addressed by experienced leadership.

New Jersey Speaker Sheila Oliver: I sought public office because I want to help create an inclusive environment where all ideas can emerge and be respected. I want to establish, in no uncertain terms, that leaders in public office need not conform to stereotypical images that portray them as self-serving and self-promoting people who don't care about their constituencies. And just as important, I want to help establish the fact that women and people of color are capable of accomplishing anything and everything possible.

Q. What's your vision for the state?

Geddes: I'm a conservative Republican. My vision is that we need to continue to do what we can in three key areas: public safety, infrastructure needs and education. Everything else is probably not as high a priority. Certainly we have responsibilities in other areas, but in my opinion in those other areas we have diminished people's ingenuity and personal responsibility. We cannot continue as a state to do as much as we have done in the past. That means we're going to limit our resources to what people have the ability to pay for rather than saying this is nice program and should be funded. So my vision for Idaho is to continue to be fiscally responsible and to evaluate all the programs we have in place to determine if they're necessary and still functioning as they're supposed to. The ultimate question is whether we still can afford them. We...