Primary Election Date: 06/05/2012
General Election Date: 11/06/2012

Who Am I?

Dr. Susan L. Adams, Ph.D., RN, NP is a nurse, an educator, a mother and grandmother, and currently serves as President of the Marin County Board of Supervisors. Susan is a candidate for Congress in the open seat in the new 2nd Congressional District which stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon Border.

As a maternity clinical specialist and a women’s health nurse practitioner, Susan has dedicated her life to building healthy families. As a public servant, Susan has worked to create healthy communities.

Susan and her family have deep, multigenerational roots in Northern California – she’s a 4th generation descendant of a Mendocino ranching family, and her relatives still run the farm. Susan attended nursing school at San Francisco State University, and she completed both her master’s and doctoral degree in nursing at UCSF. Her clinical practice and research focus was child-bearing women with a special interest in addiction and recovery during pregnancy and motherhood. Susan has taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels on women’s health and maternity care. She is an adjunct professor at Dominican University Graduate Nursing Program.

Susan’s 33 years of experience in the healthcare field is what shapes her perspective as an elected official. In her nine years on the Board of Supervisors, Susan has earned a reputation for innovative solutions to local problems: creating the Marin Clean Energy authority to move the county off the fossil fuel grid; establishing innovative “therapeutic justice” programs that reduced recidivism in local jails by 85% and psych emergency visits by 55%; building the Marin Health & Wellness Campus with tobacco settlement money to provide quality health care to all residents regardless of income.

Susan is running for Congress to make California’s communities healthier, greener and more sustainable. Susan will work hard to rebuild thriving economies, protect health and access to quality care, apply innovative solutions to public safety and implement clean renewable energy programs which will benefit communities for generations to come.

Susan has served at the National Association of Counties on the Health Steering Committee, was appointed to the California Chief Justice’s Task Force on Mentally Ill Offenders and has served with county supervisors in all 58 California counties on the State Association and serves in a leadership position for the National Association of Counties Health Committee. She currently chairs the Marin Board of Supervisors, the Marin Housing Authority, the Marin Transit District, the Disaster Council and serves as Director of Emergency Services.

Why Am I Running?

As a mother, a nurse, an educator and an elected official, I’ve dedicated my life to healthy families and healthy communities. Now I’m running for Congress in the new 2nd District to use my experiences as a nurse and county Supervisor towards healing the problems that face us.

As a maternity nurse, I’ve worked in the clinic providing care to women who were dealing with addiction and recovery during pregnancy. I’ve been at the bedside bringing new life into the world and on the other end of the spectrum, caring for the dying and assisting their families through the grieving process. I was at the bargaining table, leading the effort with the California Nurses Association to build the first shop contract for nurses at UCSF. I’ve changed bedpans, started IVs, worked mandatory doubles and have the real world experiences of a working single mom.

As a local elected official, I’ve seen firsthand how the dysfunctional decisions made in Washington and Sacramento affect our communities – at the local level where the services are actually delivered. In Marin County, we are one of the only counties in California that’s above the red line. We have a balanced budget and as President of the Board of Supervisors, I’m accountable for every penny spent. We’re responsible about balancing the books and we have had to make painful cuts.

Even in the midst of our belt tightening, as Marin County Supervisor we:

created the Marin Clean Energy Authority, creating green energy jobs and moving us towards getting off the fossil fuel grid;
established a comprehensive health and wellness center for all of our residents utilizing tobacco settlement money;
instituted therapeutic justice programs which have reduced recidivism by 85%;
implemented a nationally recognized Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps; and
constructed non-motorized bike/pedestrian infrastructure that is moving people out of their single occupancy vehicles.

As Supervisor, I have not accepted the County’s car allowance nor do I participate in the pension program because I believe you don’t ask others to sacrifice without being willing to forgo some things yourself. My constituents are concerned about how precious taxpayer dollars are being spent. There are many ways to cut spending without sacrificing important safety net programs – and I would bring my Marin County experience to Congress.

We face a number of urgent challenges in our district and in our nation today.

We need to heal the economy

This recession is sapping the life-blood out of people and communities across the 2nd Congressional District. Families are struggling to make ends meet; many are living paycheck-to-paycheck, working multiple part-time jobs just to get by. I believe the government has a role to play in creating jobs while also improving and upgrading our increasingly dilapidated infrastructure. Currently on the North Coast many of our greatest public works projects are deteriorating, putting our water supplies and roads in jeopardy, and thus our people at jeopardy as well. We can and must invest in our infrastructure and create jobs at the same time.

We need to heal income inequality

We also need to address the glaring income inequality in our nation. Half of our population lives on less than $510 a week and wages have been stagnant for years. The price of basic goods and necessities, like food and gas, continue to skyrocket. For many, the promise of the American Dream is beyond reach. So many people tell me they fear that their children will not do as well as they have. Yet for the top 1% of income earners – as well as for major corporations — this past decade has been a great success. It is high time that we reform our tax code to ensure that the wealthiest individuals and corporations pay their fair share.

We need to heal our healthcare system

As someone who has spent a lifetime fighting for healthy communities and healthy families, I want to use my experience as a nurse and leader to make access to health care a top priority for my District. In our rural communities, the need for comprehensive healthcare remains a serious problem. In Marin County, I led the effort to use tobacco settlement funds to create the Health and Wellness Center where residents now have access to quality health care in a central location. Prevention and early detection are critical components in an effective system of care across the life span. This can be accomplished through a robust primary care program where everyone has a medical home and the provider and patient manage the care in partnership. Investing in primary care has demonstrated that costly visits to emergency rooms are greatly decreased.

The Affordable Care Act made a good start on reforming our health care system. But we have a long way to go to achieve the level of care that so many other nations take for granted. I support the Expanded and Improved Medicare-For-All Act, which would expand Medicare to all of our citizens.

We need to heal our environment

From the majestic redwoods and National Forests, to the bounty of the coastline and fishing communities, to the interior valleys and farming communities, the North Coast hosts an incredibly diverse and rich natural geography. Sound management of our natural resources has always been a critical issue and continues to be so today as the region increasingly relies on tourism. Restoring the health of our watersheds is critical to the lifeblood of communities up and down the coast.

I support the Northern California Ocean & Coastal Protection Act that would permanently prohibit oil and gas drilling off the coasts of Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte Counties to protect the unique and dynamic marine environment along the northern coast of California.

During my watch as a county supervisor, and with the support of a visionary community, Marin County has implemented a plastic bag ban, created a nationally recognized Integrated Pest Management ordinance that removes toxics from our environment, successfully launched the Marin Energy Authority with a goal of moving toward fossil fuel independence, studied the potential for carbon sequestration in conjunction with our agriculturalists and became one of the first counties in the state to ban the growth of GMO crops.

I am proud of my record as a steward of the planet and will continue to bring policies that are in synch with my healthy people-healthy communities vision.

We need to heal our divisions

I can’t remember a time when our political leadership at the national level has been so divided against itself. It often seems that our national leaders are completely out of touch with our daily concerns here in our communities and are not paying attention to their own polls which are saying what the American people would like to see accomplished.

I have strong democratic values and will never waver on issues such as a woman’s right to choose what happens to her own body or the need to protect the quality of our air and water or that public education as well as access to health care should be a right for all and not a privilege for the few. I also believe that different points of view should be heard and that an elected representative’s role is to try and bring people together to forge a solution with which most parties can come to consensus. True leaders are able to do this. As an example, I was able to bring a non-permitted asphalt plant and a community opposed to its expansion together – saving jobs by allowing the plant’s continued operation but ensuring that the plant’s community neighbors were safe by requiring new pollution controls and other conditions.

Washington is broken, and we need leaders who can work together to find solutions and get our economy back on track. I’ve had success as a pragmatic leader at the local level in bringing parties together.

Here in Northern California we’re moving forward. We’re innovators and healers. We’re leaders and organizers. I believe we can bring California’s innovative and creative energy to solving the nation’s problems – if we stay focused on building healthy people and healthy communities.

My perspective as nurse, an educator and a local elected official differentiates me from the other candidates in this race. While there are plenty of lawyers and millionaires in Congress already, there are few nurses with strong working class values. I hope you’ll join me in saying it’s time we send a nurse to Congress to help heal the House and our Nation!

Hold Me Accountable!

Jobs and the Economy -- On the North Coast, jobs are our number one concern. People talk to me about jobs more than any other issue, with health care a close second. Families are struggling to make ends meet; many are living paycheck-to-paycheck, working multiple part-time jobs just to get by.

I believe the government has a role to play in creating jobs while also improving and upgrading our increasingly dilapidated infrastructure. Currently on the North Coast we have billions of dollars of unmet infrastructure needs. Many of our greatest public works projects are deteriorating, putting our water supplies and roads in jeopardy, and thus our people at jeopardy as well. We can invest in our infrastructure and create jobs at the same time.

Health Care -- Health care is one of the primary concerns of residents on the North Coast.

The Affordable Care Act made a good start in addressing the lack of access to affordable health care. Because of that health care reform legislation, patients will no longer be denied coverage due to preexisting conditions and insurance companies will not be able to cancel policies of people who get sick. Young adults will be able to stay on their family insurance plans until age 26 and seniors on Medicare will pay less for their prescription drugs because the Medicare “donut hole” will be eliminated.

But we can – and must – do more. I support the Medicare-For-All proposal which would expand Medicare to all of our citizens. Medicare is one of the most successful government programs because it ensures our seniors have access to the best care available. It is time to expand this important program so that all of citizens benefit from the best health care system in the world.

In Marin County, I led the effort to use tobacco settlement funds to create the Health and Wellness Center in San Rafael. Residents of Marin now have access to quality health care in a central location. I support investing in primary care for our young children so we can detect conditions that can be treated early to avoid emergency room situations later.

Preventative care is a critical component for adults as well. However, in our rural communities, the need for comprehensive healthcare remains a serious problem. As someone who has spent a lifetime fighting for healthy communities and healthy families, I want to use my experience as a public leader on health care to make preventative care a top priority for my District.

That is why I believe strongly in ensuring community clinics are a vital part of health care access, especially in our rural communities. I will lead the effort to expand this vital service throughout the district to ensure all our residents have access to vital health care services.

My DFA values:

As a mother, a nurse, an educator and an elected official, I’ve dedicated my life to healthy families and healthy communities. As a maternity nurse, I’ve worked in the clinic providing care to women who were dealing with addiction and recovery during pregnancy. I’ve been at the bedside bringing new life into the world and on the other end of the spectrum, caring for the dying and assisting their families through the grieving process. I was at the bargaining table, leading the effort with the California Nurses Association to build the first shop contract for nurses at UCSF. I’ve changed bedpans, started IVs, worked mandatory doubles and have the real world experiences of a working single mom.

I have strong democratic values and will never waver on issues such as a woman’s right to choose what happens to her own body or the need to protect the quality of our air and water or that public education as well as access to health care should be a right for all and not a privilege for the few. I also believe that different points of view should be heard and that an elected representative’s role is to try and bring people together to forge a solution with which most parties can come to consensus. True leaders are able to do this. As an example, I was able to bring a non-permitted asphalt plant and a community opposed to its expansion together – saving jobs by allowing the plant’s continued operation but ensuring that the plant’s community neighbors were safe by requiring new pollution controls and other conditions.

My Campaign is People-Powered!

My campaign doesn't have insider connections or wealthy benefactors or personal wealth, as some of the other candidates do. What I do have is the enthusiasm and support of thousands of people throughout the North Coast.

Right now we're reaching out to voters to get signatures that will allow the campaign to avoid paying a filing fee. We're going door-to-door, tabling in front of independent markets and attending tons of community events.

We are running an aggressive grassroots effort through Primary Day. In all my races, I've been underfunded but the grassroots effort has carried me to victory every time. I'm depending on the grassroots support of people across the district to get to the November runoff.