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Coming to Terms: Rebecca Cohn hopes to win Jim Cunneen's seat.
Citizen Cohn
Valley Democrat readies a run in the state political arena
By Steve Enders
It's already getting to be a crowded race, as candidates line up to make a push for Assemblyman Jim Cunneen's 24th District seat in Sacramento. Term limits will force the Republican out of office in 2000.
Add Saratogan Rebecca Cohn's name to the list. Cohn will be vying for the Democratic nomination. The March primary will sort the field out, and the seat will be up for grabs in November 2000.
Rebecca Cohn, 45, a native Californian, grew up in Texas and was close to politics from an early age, she said, growing up near a ranch owned by Lyndon Johnson.
One day at a picnic, Cohn said, she lined up with other children to shake Johnson's hand. When he came to her, she tried hiding her black fingers, stained from long days of picking pecans. She said she had to pick the nuts so she could buy school lunches.
"He took my hands in his hands and unfolded my fingers. Then he told me not to be ashamed, that hard work was nothing to be ashamed of," Cohn said. "I've worked hard. I've had two successful careers and I have a passion to do this."
Cohn, a physical therapist for seniors and children by trade, said she "saw the writing on the wall" in the early 1980s when the healthcare industry began rapidly changing. She knew her job was going to change along with the healthcare system, so she decided to go back to school and begin taking business classes. Soon after, she began focusing on the industry and public policy as it relates to healthcare.
It was then that she got her first doses of true politics, as she lobbied nationally on behalf of women and families.
In the early 1990s, she was appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly to the California Industrial Medical Council, where she helped develop guidelines for treating common workplace injuries and also helped create the state's medical examiner competency exam.
Most recently, Cohn has worked as an international business consultant, providing services to some of the world's top firms.
"Healthcare is in such a crisis," she said. "The HMOs are failing--it's one of the big crises in the state. Millions don't have health insurance." Besides making healthcare a priority, Cohn said, she'll focus on education and make an effort to help California's troubled schools. "I'd like to see us make a better investment," she said. "[Education] has an impact on all of us. If we're not producing well-educated kids, it impacts every aspect of our lives. We really need to make a serious investment in education."
Cohn has one son, a high school junior, and lives with her husband, Ron, near West Valley College.
She hinted that she'd like to spend more money on the state's community college system, and allow for more teachers and professors to secure tenured positions. Now, she said, too many good professors are teaching only part time and are having to hold down other jobs on the side to make ends meet.
Finally, Cohn said, her platform will include making an effort to fix the area's worsening traffic situation, saying that Silicon Valley needs more transportation dollars from the state.
"I'm somebody that's lived in Saratoga for quite a while. I'm a neighbor, I'm a citizen. I want to keep a good quality of life. I'm used to hard work. It's time we had a different voice than what we've had for a long time. I also think we need a woman."
Cohn is planning many appearances over the coming months and will start locally at the West Valley Democratic Club in the home of Zara van Wichen on Oct. 27. For information, call van Wichen at 379-1213.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
