I’ve heard some of my friends praise Hillary Clinton for her public service but then question if we are ready for such a strong female leader.

I’m married to a strong woman, Wilma Webb, who served in the Colorado state legislature for 13 years and fought to get the Martin Luther King Jr. state holiday established long before other states came on board. With the Democrats in the minority, she also got laws passed to protect the poor, minorities, women and gays from discrimination.

Strong women have been my role models since my youth and I think it’s about time we have a resilient, intelligent woman leading our country. Women like this – women like Hillary Clinton – know how to get things done.

And I think voters agree with me.

Many African American families, including my own, had a very strong matriarch who pushed her grandsons towards education and careers. And when we sassed her, we knew we’d be sleeping on a porch or ducking a frying pan aimed at our heads. She ruled with an iron fist and love because she wanted us to succeed.

I credit my grandmother, Helen Williams Gamble, with keeping me on the straight and narrow through high school; on the path toward college; learning about political activism by her example; and eventually entering politics.

Having served three terms in the state legislature myself, I was stunned when Wilma, first elected in 1980, brought home stacks of documents to study each night. My male counterparts often left the stacks where they first landed.

Wilma felt she needed to be twice as prepared as her male counterparts so they could never say she wasn’t prepared. How many women can relate to that feeling — even in 2015? Why do some continue to question Hillary’s ability to lead, because she is a woman?

It is no secret I backed Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid in 2008, to the chagrin of some of my Democratic friends who were early backers of President Obama. My thought then — as is now — is that Hillary’s expansive knowledge of domestic and foreign policy and commitment to social justice issues makes her more than qualified for the job.

When Obama was selected as the Democratic nominee in 2008 in my hometown of Denver, I was full of pride that the country was ready for an African American president. I think in 2016 we’ll take the next step and nominate an accomplished woman leader.

Wellington Webb served as Denver’s first African American mayor, from 1991-2003. He is the only mayor to be elected president to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Conference of Black Mayors and the National Conference of Democratic Mayors.