HEALTH CARE WAKEUP &
MARCH In MILL VALLEY TOWN PLAZA
The
“Wakeup and March” on Oct. 15 in the charming town
of Mill Valley was a striking success with attendance of more
than seventy persons, many of them newcomers to this movement.
We gathered
in the town plaza in the center of town. Member Don Cohon produced
his lime-green 1953 Ford truck, which was festooned with OneCareNOW
banners. Beloved Mill Valley musician and soccer coach Dave Fromer
opened with a singalong of well-known folk songs, culminating
with a heartfelt rendition of “Health care in our nation,
it’s broken and it’s sick,” sung to the tune
of “This Little Light of Mine.”
Greg Brockbank, Marin HCA Co-Director
Greg Brockbank,
co-director of HCA-Marin, mastered the ceremonies and ushered
the speakers on and off the soapbox, which was especially made
for the occasion by Rich Martini. Jared Huffman, Democratic candidate
for Assembly, spoke first. Jared is a very strong supporter of
single payer, and in this Blue region, he is assured of election.
As an NRDC lawyer specializing in water, he plans to work closely
with Sheila Kuehl on both water and health care. Supervisor Susan
Adams, RN, PhD, followed. Before election to the Board, Susan
was a professor of nursing and a nurse-practitioner and can always
be counted on for a rousing speech, which because of her years
of practice comes from intimate experience with the health-care
system. Susan has been the leader in the Marin County Board of
Supervisors’ endorsements of 921 and 840.
Jared
Hoffman vows to promote single payer in the Assembly.
Following
the elected officials, a doctor, a nurse, and a philosopher (who
in her instruction of ethics to doctors watched their ethics dilemmas
multiply in recent years) took the stand -- Larry Rose, MD; Essie
Blau, RN; and Joan Holtzman, PhD, who were all brilliant, pithy,
and brief. Esther Wanning, co-director of HCA-Marin, wound up
with appeals, after which we seized our signs and marched the
length and breadth of downtown Mill Valley, singing our signature
song, “This Plan is Your Plan, This Plan is My Plan.”
We were led by accordionist Ellen Karel, the song’s creator,
and drummer Joanie Levinsohn.
Nurses who support Single Payer Campaign
