Nurse Rally Support For Healthcare Bill, Elk Grove Legislators Demur at State Convention

By Michael Monasky | May 22,2017 |   The exit of John Burton as chair of the California Democratic Party marks the end of an era ...



By Michael Monasky | May 22,2017 |  

The exit of John Burton as chair of the California Democratic Party marks the end of an era of old political influence, hearkening back to a time former State Treasurer Jesse Unruh famously claimed that “money is the mother's milk of politics.” 

Burton, 84, a wealthy political boss with powerful connections, has had great.influence on California's legislative landscape over seven decades dating to 1965, when he was first elected to the assembly.

His vice-chair and hand-picked successor was Eric Bauman, the chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. In his bid for the state chair, Bauman told the electrified crowd just before the election on Saturday evening at the Sacramento Convention Center that “the road map for the Democratic Party” included support for Black Lives Matter; public, not private schools; and “health care for all” through the passage of SB 562, The Healthy California Act.

Bauman's opponent, Kimberly Ellis, is the former director of Emerge California, a group that supports female candidates for public office. Political firebrand Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator, introduced Ellis at the podium saying she “personifies the essence of [former Watergate member of Congress] Shirley Chisholm.” 

Ellis declared that “the Democratic Party stands at a crossroads...at this moment, all eyes are on us...it's about the heart and soul of the Democratic Party.” 

Ellis invoked the need to protect women's right to choose contraception and abortion, and expressed support for SB 562, The Healthy California Act, as did her opponent, Eric Bauman.

In the final vote, Bauman narrowly edged out Ellis, although Ellis has not yet conceded. 

Elk Grove's representatives in the State Senate and Assembly, Dr. Richard Pan and Jim Cooper respectively, were in attendance at the convention during the rivals remarks. Both legislators, both of whom have not read the bill, did not sponsor SB 562, and said they would reserve comment until after the appropriations committee meets this week. 


Conversely, State Senator Toni Atkins, author of the Healthy California Act, told a Capitol gathering sponsored by the California Nurses Association on Friday that “the ACA is in trouble.”. 

She said “if New York can pass universal health care so too can California...We are dead serious because we want no more deaths” due to poor access to health care resources. 

CNA executive director RoseAnn DeMoro told the crowd “you must take the lead, because the legislature won't; they let people die and suffer.” 

Former Ohio state senator Nina Turner also addressed the supporters of the Healthy California Act on Friday.  Adding a personal experience with the crowd, Turner noted she lost her mother, age 42, when she was just 22, due to a brain aneurysm.

“The darkness is but a womb; you must push and breathe," Turner said. "I am an angry black woman with a cause.” 



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3 comments

Unknown said...

SB 562 is an absurd piece of legislation. As mentioned in the Sac Bee, this would increase the annual deficit by at least $50 billion/year (http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article152059792.html). Cooper and Pan are smart to hold off on deciding because anyone who votes for this bill obviously doesn't care about the well-being of California.

Unknown said...

Money isn't everything. Morality matters too. That being said, please look into alternative medicine. Alternative medicine is where real health is at. The big pharma deathcare system is a murderous fraud. Ah Thank you

Unknown said...

I hope free speech allows my comment to be seen ;)

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