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NewsBriefs.2:Sept 9/30/08 1:38 PM Page 8 Electing Candidates Who Care f you know how to count to 435 (the number of members in the U.S. House of Representatives) and to 100 (the number of members in the U.S. Senate), you understand that passing national singlepayer healthcare reform legislation, HR 676, means we must elect legislators who support single-payer healthcare. To that end, we've identified a number of key Congressional races throughout the country where voters have an opportunity to elect single-payer-friendly lawmakers and hopefully tip the balance in Washington, D.C. toward the only type of reform proven to work. I DEBBIE COOK California's 46th District Debbie Cook, the mayor of Huntington Beach, symbolizes the smart economy that single-payer healthcare, alternative energy, and environmental stewardship can create. She began her career as an environmental activist and moved on to focus on the healthcare problems plaguing her community. An outstanding candidate proudly running on a platform of single-payer healthcare, she is aiming to unseat Dana Rohrbach- Straight to the Source If you want to fix healthcare, why not go to an RN? What in the world is an RN doing running for office? Ask Bill O'Neill and this Vietnam vet, journalist turned judge, and now pediatric emergency department RN will counter by wondering why more RNs aren't running for office. If the nation is serious about fixing healthcare, why not put those with direct healthcare experience in charge? Should O'Neill be elected in November, healthcare reform will play center stage in his first term's work. O'Neill is based in Wickliffe, Ohio and running in its Congressional district, located in the far northeastern corner of the state and bordering both Lake Erie and neighboring Pennsylvania. Plenty of O'Neill's future constituents are hurting for healthcare. The U.S. Census Bureau said that as of 2007, fewer Ohioans are receiving health benefits through their employers and the ranks of the uninsured are growing. Overall, 1.1 million Ohio residents are not part of any private or public plan with which they can pay for healthcare. O'Neill is particularly concerned about the estimated 240,000 Ohio children with no health coverage at all. He has seen first hand how the lack of preventive care for kids can be costly for all – our system and our families – in addition to the health of our youngest and most vulnerable patients. "I've seen kids with asthma come in [to the ER] and they haven't had a rescue inhaler available for days," he shared. "I favor the Medicare model," said O'Neill, as he reflects on all the possible fixes available for the broken healthcare system in Ohio and the nation. "I work evenings and weekends caring for ill and injured children in the pediatric emergency department of Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights. This work on behalf of kids is not only satisfying intellectually and personally, it has provided me with direct insight into one of our most pressing struggles right now, that of providing excellent healthcare to all our citizens." Justice and equality have been the two lynchpins of his political philosophy for many years, and he knows healthcare policy must reflect those ideals. O'Neill is also the father of four, and raised his children as a single dad after his wife died in an automobile accident in 1995. His commitment to serving his family, his community, and nation is unwavering. So running for a seat in Congress seems a natural progression for such a devoted private and public servant. The 14th district race is significant and highly anticipated for advocates of guaranteed healthcare because it is so winnable.Victory is by no means a slam dunk, but incumbent Steve LaTourette is a scandal-tainted Congressman in a district that is trending blue, and O'Neill will be his first strong opponent in years. Few candidates have the depth of background on healthcare issue that O'Neill has cultivated in his work as a pediatric emergency room RN.Even fewer candidates combine that expertise with an ability to advocate for guaranteed healthcare on the single-payer model and the gravitas that comes from having served as a judge and veteran. —donna smith 8 REGISTERED NURSE W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G er, one of the most conservative members of Congress. Learn more at www.debbiecookforcongress.com or donate at www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18872 ANDREA MILLER Virginia's 4th District When asked why she supports HR 676 and guaranteed healthcare, Andrea Miller has a simple answer: "Because I don't have health insurance." Miller also added, "When an injustice burns in your chest, you feel compelled to work passionately for change." Miller is taking on J. Randy Forbes in a district with one of the highest percentages of African-American residents in the nation that is still represented by a Republican. Her message of peace and healthcare justice is resonating with both black and white voters in this underdeveloped region, and her campaign appears poised to be part of a historic realignment of Virginia politics. Learn more at www.andreamiller.us/ or donate at www.actblue.com/page/teamandrea630 BILL O'NEILL, RN Ohio's 14th District The House needs more registered nurses, and more healthcare activists, vets, and journalists. Bill O'Neill is all of these. His home state, Ohio, has more than one million residents without access to healthcare, including nearly a quarter-million children. As a nurse, O'Neill knows that the only way to guarantee a single standard of care to all of them is through an expanded and improved Medicarefor-all system, like the one proposed by HR 676. Learn more at www.oneill08.com or donate at www.actblue.com/contribute/entity/18159 CHELLIE PINGREE Maine's 1st District Chellie Pingree is an entrepreneur and small business owner, one of the groups that will most benefit from the simple and efficient mechanisms contained in HR 676. As the former CEO of campaign finance group Common Cause, Pingree is also familiar with the lobbying and campaign tactics of the insurance and pharmaceutical industry—and knows what it will take to beat them. Learn more at www.chelliepingree.com/ or donate at www.actblue.com/contribute/entity/17915 SEPTEMBER 2008