She has been re-electeded twice. California Assemblywoman Helen Thomson, D-Davis, RN, who followed a path to the state Legislature through a series of local offices, starting with school boards, said she never possessed what she thought of as political ambitions. Clearing the obstacles Thomson, who was not working when she ran for school board, said she is not sure she would have run if she had been balancing a job and family responsibilities. Not all the time you put in is running the campaign. It s not over once you win.
Nurses say there s no getting around the time demands of running for office.
But they also say their profession helped prepare them for the grueling demands of the campaign and the job. Even more daunting than finding time is the prospect of finding money, nurse candidates said. Roit, who has seen hundreds of letters requesting campaign donations, said her own was the most difficult letter she ever had to write. McCarthy said that she needs to be reminded about 90 percent of the time to canvass for money at fund-raisers. But all candidates say fund raising becomes easier the more they do it.