National Nurses United

I t's 1 p.m. on a Monday, and in just the last 24 hours, Dotty Nygard, RN has already worked a 12-hour shift in the emer- gency department at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital, taken a cat nap, woken up again to make a 7 a.m. meeting to represent a colleague as part of her chief nurse rep duties, attended a basic life support class to keep up her certification, and reviewed voter registration data with her campaign manager. It's just another day in the life of Nygard, a full-time RN running a real grassroots cam- paign for Congress. "I expected to be working on other people's campaigns, but I did- n't think I'd be the one running!" laughed 61-year-old Nygard, who is first vying in June 2018 to win the Democratic nomination for California's 10th Congressional district before squaring off against the Republican incumbent in the November 2018 general election. Her district covers the Central Valley cities of Tracy, Manteca, Modesto, and more. National Nurses United proudly announced in May that it is endorsing her for the seat. "It's time the people of the 10th District had someone representing them in Washington who will fight for them. Dotty Nygard is that person," said Deborah Burger, RN and NNU copresident in a statement. A big Bernie Sanders supporter during the November 2016 presi- dential election, Nygard remembered being sorely disappointed and upset by his primary loss, but also incredibly inspired by his words to help build the movement and support political revolution. Nygard, a 30-year ER nurse in the California Central Valley city of Tracy, vowed to dedicate her time to helping vote in likeminded elected officials, to encourage everyone to vote and participate in our democracy, and to volunteer with progressive campaigns, such as winning Medicare-for-all healthcare at the state and federal levels. "I thought, This party needs a lot of work!" said Nygard. "It's going to be a process." One of the first things she did after the election was contact a local figure who had twice run unsuccessfully (but come close once) for her Congressional district to find out when his campaign was starting up and how she could help. He didn't respond. Time ticked away. He still didn't respond to a second query by Nygard. "Then a couple people started asking me, 'Why don't you do it, Dotty?'" she said. Yes, why shouldn't she? After all, Nygard has the passion, the smarts, and experience in civic life. As an ER nurse who sees daily the suffering of working people in her district, she is deeply connect- ed to and enjoys the respect and trust of her community. One of her favorite activities is knocking on constituents' doors, personally talk- ing with them, and learning about the issues and concerns they face in their lives. She is adamant about advocating for regular, hard- working folks in the Central Valley who simply wish for good, safe, living-wage jobs, who want neighbors to show respect for one another, and who want to preserve and be good stewards of the rich agricultural land that defines that region of California. As someone who was instrumental in helping organize her hospi- tal in 2012 despite heavy union busting by management and then survive tough negotiations for a first contract, Nygard has the grit and determination to fight against formidable foes. 18 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G J U LY | A U G U S T | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 BE THE CHANGE Dotty Nygard, RN is kicking her patient advocacy up a notch and running for U.S. Congress. BY LUCIA HWANG

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