Kesten Campaign Announces Healthcare Rallies in SD40
Rallies will advocate for a special legislative session to pass the Reproductive Health Act and the NY Health Act
August 20, 2018: The Kesten Campaign announced today two healthcare rallies leading up to the September 13th Democratic primary. The rallies, focusing on reproductive healthcare and single-payer healthcare, will be held on August 26th and September 6th, respectively.
The purpose of the rallies is to insist that Governor Cuomo call a special legislative session of the NYS Senate in order to pass both the Reproductive Health Act and the NY Health Act. Both pieces of legislation have passed in the NYS Assembly, but have not been brought to a vote in the NYS Senate.
The Reproductive Health Act essentially codifies Roe v Wade into NYS Law. On August 26th, NARAL, Pro-Choice America, The People’s Defense, MoveOn, and other progressive grassroots organizations will hold a national day of action to support Roe v Wade and to oppose the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The day of action, which is also Women’s Equality Day, is being hosted by groups, candidates and individuals in all 50 states. The Kesten campaign will host a rally in Mt. Kisco onAugust 26th as part of the national day of action. The rally, which is registered with MoveOn.org, will take place in front of the Mt. Kisco Public Library from 3-4pm. The event listing can be found here.
The NY Health Act would establish a single-payer healthcare system that would provide comprehensive, quality healthcare for all New Yorkers. The bill has passed the NYS Assembly four times. On September 6th, the Kesten campaign will hold a rally in support of the NY Health Act and demand a special legislative session to pass the bill. The rally will be held in front of the Putnam County Courthouse in Carmel on September 6th from 5-6pm.
“Too many New Yorkers are one accident or illness away from losing everything they’ve ever worked for. The New York Health Act makes sure that won’t happen. If people are government’s priority, then this is simply the right thing to do,” said Kesten. “The Reproductive Health Act will give women control of their bodies. There can be no equality as long as a woman’s right to reproductive health is in the hands of others. An executive order, we’ve learned from the Trump administration, isn’t worth the paper it is written on. This must be law, every woman in New York deserves this.”
About Robert Kesten
Over the course of a decade, Robert has been a consultant for PDHRE, the organization behind the United Nations Decade on Human Rights Education. Previously, he ran the Center for Screen Time Awareness in Washington, DC, where he advocated for a FCC Task Force on the impact of screened media on children’s health.
He has been actively engaged in government at the local, national, and international levels. A Democratic District Leader in the Town of Lewisboro, he has worked with U.S. Senators Tom Daschle, Harry Reid, and Paul Simon as well as for NYS Senate Minority Leader Manfred Ohrenstein, where he was also active in the NYS Democratic Senate Campaign Committee.
His international efforts include advising the U.S. government during the break-up of the Soviet Union. He was also engaged in encouraging democratic institutions during the Arab Spring in both Egypt and Tunisia and last year worked to assist Mountain View, California (home to Google) on becoming a Human Rights City.
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