Randy Villegas Holds ‘Guaranteed Healthcare Town Hall’ In CA-22

Randy Villegas Holds ‘Guaranteed Healthcare Town Hall’ In CA-22, Holds Valadao Accountable for Gutting Medi-Cal

“Valadao promised over and over again he wouldn’t vote for cuts to Medi-Cal…but when the time came to stand up for working families, he caved.” 

Bakersfield, CA – Yesterday, Randy Villegas, Democratic congressional candidate in CA-22, held his ‘Guaranteed Healthcare Town Hall’ in Bakersfield. Randy spoke to a packed crowd in Bakersfield about his focus on reversing Valadao’s devastating healthcare cuts, working to lower costs for working families, and fighting to guarantee healthcare for all. 

You can find additional photos here. 

Randy was joined by Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17) and Sandy Reding, President of the California Nurses Association. The town hall, focused on health care access for one of the most medically underserved regions in the country, comes following David Valadao’s deciding vote for the largest cut to Medicaid in history. 

“I grew up right here in Kern County. I’m the son of two hardworking immigrant parents and I grew up in a family that had to work hard every day, just to survive,” Randy Villegas said. “And when one of us got sick, our family relied on Medi-Cal, the very same program that is now at risk because of DC politicians like my opponent, David Valadao. That’s why this fight is personal for me and for all our neighbors across the Central Valley. I will fight for healthcare as a human right in Congress because nobody – whether you're here in Bakersfield or Fresno or anywhere in between – nobody should have to choose between rationing their medicine and paying their mortgage. Nobody should have to choose between paying for their groceries or seeing a doctor, and nobody should have to fight cancer and their congressmen at the same time.”

During the town hall, Randy took ten questions directly from voters and community members in CA-22 impacted by Valadao’s vote to cut healthcare for nearly 70,000 people in the district with the highest Medicaid enrollment rate in the country, while David Valadao has refused to hold a public town hall in a decade. Of those impacted by Valado’s cuts, 82 percent of those reliant on Medicaid are Latino, and 87 percent of children in the district relied on the program. These cuts also threaten $90 million for hospitals in the district. 

“I’m talking to everyone in this campaign because Valley fever, diabetes, and cancer don’t care who you voted for in the last election or your party ID,” Randy Villegas said. “But everybody gets sick, which is why we need health care for all. Your mortgage, your bills, your utilities don't ask you for your party ID, and neither will this campaign because we are focused on fighting for every working family across the valley and beyond.”