FOXNews.com: Rising GOP star Mia Love glides into the spotlight at convention

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Rising GOP star Mia Love glides into the spotlight at convention Aug 28th 2012, 19:47 TAMPA, Fla. –  Mia Love isn't a household name yet.  But by the end of the Republican National Convention, she could be, as she prepares to deliver what is poised to be a breakout speech Tuesday evening in Tampa.  Her profile and backstory alone have made her a compelling presence in the conservative movement. She is a first-generation Haitian-American, a Mormon and a small-town Utah mayor. Love, who is black, is also running for Congress in mostly white Utah. If elected, she would be the first black Republican woman ever to serve in Congress.  At her address Tuesday, the mayor of Saratoga Springs will present herself to the nation as the embodiment of the American Dream -- and touch on themes of self-reliance, small government and fiscal responsibility.  The 36-year-old mayor, who is in an uphill race against popular incumbent Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson in her state, said in a brief statement she'll also discuss President Obama's "disastrous policies" and "make the case that the best way to shore up that dream and return our country to prosperity is to elect real leaders like Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan."  But convention organizers are putting the spotlight on Love's personal story, even airing a video before she speaks about her.  This is Love's story: Her parents had $10 in their pockets when they left Haiti for the U.S. 39 years ago. Her father worked several jobs to support the family, including paying for his daughter to attend the University of Hartford, where she graduated with a degree in fine arts.  "I remember taking my dad to college with me on the first day of orientation and he looked at me very seriously and he said 'Mia, your mother and I have done everything we could to get you here. We've worked hard. We've never taken a handout. You're not going to be a burden to society. You will give back,'" Love said in an interview Tuesday with Fox News.  "It actually stayed with me," she said.  Love, who was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised primarily in Connecticut, moved to Utah in 1997 and married Jason Love. She converted to Mormonism, and served on the Saratoga City Council for six years before running for mayor.    Love, a favorite among the Tea Party movement, champions fiscal responsibility and limited government. Her chief mission, she says, is to run a "fiscally sound city."  "It's not rocket science," she told Fox News. "The most I've done is really step out of the way and allowed the economy to thrive ... allowed businesses to come and add resources."  She describes President Obama's vision for the country as a "divided one."  "If you listen to even the vice president's comments when he comes out and he says 'They want to put ya'll back in chains' ... it's inappropriate," she said, referring to Vice President Biden's controversial remarks two weeks ago in which he told voters that Romney planned to "unchain Wall Street" and that "they're gonna put y'all back in chains."  "People just want opportunity," Love said. "They don't want a handout."  Love's convention address Tuesday is also expected to highlight her Mormon faith -- a valuable addition to the evening's program that could help dispel any public misperceptions about Romney, who is also Mormon.  "I think that the Mormon faith is really -- you're going to find a lot of similarities with any Christian faith," she said.  Most importantly, however, Love says she wants her speech to "remember the America that we love and know."  "I want to get back to that," she said.

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