“Nurses Say Vote No in November” Tour Against Governor’s Special Election

Media Advisory - Photo Opportunity
October 24, 2005

32 Cities 29 Days- Hundreds of Nurses
Standing up to Arnold Schwarzenegger

The California Nurses Association’s (CNA) statewide “Nurses Say Vote No in November” tour arrives in Lancaster and San Bernardino today part of a campaign to visit 32 cities in 29 days to rally support against Arnold Schwarzenegger’s special election this November.

The “RN RV” brings nurses across the state to meet with other nurses, talk to the public, and participate in rallies and phone banks to convey the nurses’ concern about the election. The RN RV is accompanied by a mobile billboard carrying the “Nurses Say Vote NO in November” message.  Similar billboards are up in dozens of locations around the state.

CNA is urging voters to reject all measures on the ballot to send a clear signal to Governor Schwarzenegger and his corporate donors. “The special election is illegitimate, 60 per cent of Californians opposed having an election, and a colossal waste, at least $45 million in public funds and hundreds of millions more in advertising are being wasted,” said CNA President Deborah Burger, RN.

Special emphasis is being placed on opposing Prop.75, which would stifle the voice of nurses in healthcare policy and political debates and Prop.78, which undercuts efforts to expand patient access to expensive prescription drugs.

“Proposition 75 is a tremendous threat to patients in California.  If nurses cannot engage in the political process, drug companies, HMOs, hospital chains, and nursing home corporations will have a green light to roll back vital patient protections,” said CNA President Deborah Burger, RN.  “Schwarzenegger doesn’t want to hear from nurses, teachers, firefighters, and cops and he doesn’t want the rest of California to hear from us either.  We urge Californians to vote NO in November.”