EDITOR: On May 4, I went to Sacramento along with other American
Cancer Society volunteers to meet with our state legislators as
part of the American Cancer Society
’s Legislative Day event. Going to the state Capitol isn’t
something I do all the time.
EDITOR:
On May 4, I went to Sacramento along with other American Cancer Society volunteers to meet with our state legislators as part of the American Cancer Society’s Legislative Day event.
Going to the state Capitol isn’t something I do all the time. I’ve never given much thought to meeting with my Senator and Assemblymember. But I had the opportunity through my volunteer work with the American Cancer Society. I believe our elected officials need to hear from us, their constituents, if we want them to do something about cancer in this state. I’m glad I went and urge your readers to do the same.
Before we went in for our meetings with the Assembly members, Sen. Deborah Ortiz spoke with us about her reasons for working so hard on education and health issues. She believes that being an excellent lawmaker requires more than legislative skills, it means making the government work for the people.
I was very well received by Assemblymember Simon Salinas and his staff. Being and advocate was easier than I thought. Our legislators and their staff were very interested in hearing what I had to say. They asked a few questions, and we talked for a few minutes about the issues I raised, which were proposed cuts in important cancer programs. Mr. Salinas sees the need for cancer research to continue as well as the need for the IMPACT Program and the Every Woman counts programs. I learned that he wants to know how we feel about issues, so they can do their best to represent us.
I thank Assemblyman Salinas and Senator Ortiz for meeting with me and making me feel comfortable. I thank the American Cancer Society for giving me the chance to learn more about the legislative process and our elected officials. I strongly recommend to all your readers that they consider a trip to Sacramento, or at least the district office of our local legislator John Laird. He was in committee meetings all day and couldn’t meet with us.
Linda Roma, Morgan Hill
