National Nurses United

News Briefs 4 N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5 C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E M any CNA members are active in lobbying for pro-patient legis- lation or supporting candidates who listen to nurses. Max Anderson, a critical care RN for over 25 years, took his activism a step further when he ran for and was elected to the Berkeley City Council last November, becoming one of a handful of RNs around California holding elected office. On top of all that, Anderson served as a delegate to the 2005 CNA convention. California Nurse sat down with Anderson re- cently to ask him about his work, his thoughts on the Nov. 8 special election, and what nurses need to do to trans- form the American healthcare system. Q: How did you get involved in elec- toral politics? A: I've always been kind of a political animal. I was involved in local political struggles in Philadelphia for many years, and when I moved out here, that didn't change. I got involved locally. I was on the planning commission for eight years, and after that was elected to Berkeley's rent stabilization board for eight years. I decided it was time to express myself in a larger arena. I haven't regretted it. Q: How do you feel your perspective as an RN has affected your positions on policy and your approach to legislation? A: Being an RN, and embracing a car- ing philosophy about the world we live in and the people who live in it, cer- tainly laid an ethical groundwork for my political activities. About 15 years ago, I went through graduate school at UC Berkeley in public health and city planning, which also broadened my perspective about the role of health in society. My philosophy as an RN got en- hanced and expanded by understand- ing more broadly public health concepts that come into play, whether we're talking about our lack of a na- tional public health program, notably single payer, or whether we look at pub- lic health concerns about exposure to pollutants and other things in the com- munity that have affected the general well-being of people. Q: What issues are closest to you? A: Number one, providing opportuni- ties for young people, which have been sorely lacking, for education, jobs, hous- ing, and the things that matter in terms of making life livable. Also the struggle to reduce the involvement and the ex- tent to which people are driven toward the military as solutions, social and eco- nomic, to their conditions in this coun- try. My nursing and public health background also makes me keenly aware that what we eat, how we exer- cise, what access to healthcare in the communities, transportation, and hous- ing—all those things constitute a broad mosaic of what it means to be alive and living in a healthy environment and try- ing to prepare for the future as well. Locally, I think this community, like many other communities, struggles to maintain affordable housing and access to city services. The recent years have seen pretty staggering budget deficits at the local level. Over the last three or four years the City of Berkeley has been no different from other jurisdic- tions in having to cut services and take a long hard look at how to close the gap between revenues and services. And at the end of the day, if we don't do something about single payer and really changing this archaic system that serves no one well except the pharma- ceutical companies and the huge healthcare industrial interests, we're going to be in serious, serious trouble as time goes along. Nurses to me are well positioned to help make that change. They're well informed, they're well organized to play an important role in establishing healthcare for all and a Nursing Counsel Max Anderson, RN and Berkeley city councilman, talks about why it's critical for nurses to plug in, not check out.

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