They Refused to Read Your Letters in August. We Return in September.
Se Negaron a Leer Sus Cartas en Agosto. Volvemos en Septiembre.
The Division 1 seat on the Marin Healthcare District board is vacant. Dr. Hess has put forward his name for appointment, and at the August 11 meeting the board declined to read or enter the letters you sent. So we say it again — on the record, at the September board meeting. This page builds a one-page letter, in your name, from your own opinions.
El asiento de la División 1 en la junta del Distrito de Salud de Marin está vacante. En la reunión del 11 de agosto, la junta se negó a leer o registrar las cartas que ustedes enviaron. Así que lo decimos de nuevo — en el registro, en la reunión de septiembre. Esta página crea una carta de una página, a su nombre, con sus propias opiniones.
Thank you to every neighbor who submitted a letter for the August 11 meeting.
Gracias a cada vecino que envió una carta para la reunión del 11 de agosto.
Your letters were received — and the board refused to read them or entertain them in the public meeting. That refusal is now part of the story. The letters below are rewritten so the request to be read aloud is explicit, on the record, and harder to ignore at the September meeting. Check the September date and Zoom link →
Sus cartas fueron recibidas — y la junta se negó a leerlas en la reunión pública. Esa negativa ahora es parte de la historia. Las cartas de abajo piden explícitamente ser leídas en voz alta en la reunión de septiembre. Vea la fecha de septiembre →
Why the seat is still empty
Por qué el asiento sigue vacío
When Director Ramirez resigned in July, the board could have appointed someone to Division 1 until December. On July 14 the board discussed it without a vote. Some directors preferred to let the November election decide; one said he would “much prefer appointing someone than having the county appoint somebody.” A director also said “it’s been hard to get really good people to run for the district board.” Later that meeting Dr. Hess put his name forward: he is a physician with an M.D. from Penn State and an M.P.H. from Harvard, and lives in Division 1. The next day he applied in writing, and the district confirmed it received his application. On Aug. 11, when Dr. Hess asked about the appointment, the chair said the “general consensus” was “that the election would be in November and we would let that decide that.” The July 14 minutes record no vote or decision, and the board has not taken up an appointment since. Division 1 has had no representative on the board since July.
Cuando la directora Ramirez renunció en julio, la junta podría haber nombrado a alguien para la División 1 hasta diciembre. El 14 de julio la junta lo discutió sin votar. Algunos directores preferían dejar que lo decidiera la elección de noviembre; uno dijo que “preferiría mucho más nombrar a alguien a que el condado nombrara a alguien”. Un director también dijo que “ha sido difícil conseguir gente realmente buena que se postule para la junta del distrito”. Más adelante en esa reunión, el Dr. Hess ofreció su nombre: es médico, con un título de medicina (M.D.) de Penn State y una maestría en salud pública (M.P.H.) de Harvard, y vive en la División 1. Al día siguiente envió una solicitud por escrito, y el distrito confirmó que la recibió. El 11 de agosto, cuando el Dr. Hess preguntó sobre el nombramiento, la presidenta dijo que el “consenso general” era “que la elección sería en noviembre y dejaríamos que eso lo decidiera”. Las actas del 14 de julio no registran ninguna votación ni decisión, y la junta no ha vuelto a considerar un nombramiento desde entonces. La División 1 no ha tenido representante en la junta desde julio.
The fiscal standard
El estándar fiscal
The hospital should be asking for what it needs, not what it wants.
El hospital debería pedir lo que necesita, no lo que quiere.
Their own admission
Su propia admisión
It admits that it does not need the tax — it just wants a cushion.
Admite que no necesita el impuesto — solo quiere un colchón.
That is why neighbors are writing again: fill the seat on the merits — not as punishment for opposing a blank-check tax.
Por eso los vecinos escriben de nuevo: llenen el asiento por méritos — no como castigo por oponerse a un impuesto de cheque en blanco.
Tick your opinions. Every box you tick becomes a paragraph of your letter, in the first person. Untick it, and it never appears. We put no words in your mouth.
Tell us where you live. The Marin Healthcare District has five divisions. Your address or town decides which director receives your letter. Division 1 is vacant — those letters (and any without an address) go to the Board Chair.
Pick what stands out about Dr. Hess. His bio appears in your letter only in the details you choose — pick one, several, or none at all.
You edit, then you send. The letter appears in an editable box. Change anything. Then email it to your director (copy to the campaign), or copy or print it. Nothing sends unless you send it.
Step 1 · Your opinions, your letter
Open each group. Every ticked box becomes one paragraph. To keep your letter to one page, it includes your first five ticks (plus the Ask and your own words).
Health–wealth finding: Chetty R, et al. “The Association Between Income and Life Expectancy in the United States, 2001–2014.” JAMA. 2016;315(16):1750–1766 — Harvard-led analysis of 1.4 billion tax and mortality records. Harvard Gazette summary →
More at About Dr. Hess. Pick nothing and your letter simply carries no biography paragraph.
Step 2 · Who receives it
One district, five divisions: the Marin Healthcare District is the whole map; Divisions 1–5 are the seats within it. Division 1 addresses are checked against 3,760 real county parcel records in your browser.
Marin Healthcare District — 2022 approved division map · official copy at marinhealthcare.org
By generating a letter you share the details above with the campaign so we can track support for the appointment. We never share your address, and we send nothing on your behalf — you send the letter yourself.
Step 4 · Two letters, ready together — read, edit anything, then send
Your letter goes to both by default — untick either to narrow it:
⬅ To the Healthcare District Board
➡ To the Marin IJ (Readers’ Forum)
Opens addressed to opinion@marinij.com, copied to the campaign. 250-word limit. The IJ requires your name, address, and daytime phone for verification — only name and hometown are published.
If your mail app cuts a letter short, use Copy and paste it into a fresh email instead.
Multiply your letter — share it
One click posts the call to action (not your personal letter) on the platforms Californians actually use — so your neighbors can write theirs too.