DUNES CITY, Or. - A small town city council on the Oregon Coast has tossed its hat into the ring on national health care reform.

KVAL's Tom Adams says Dunes City officials want to make a lot of noise--so someone in Congress will pay attention.
   
"What are they (Congress) afraid of?  Why are they afraid of a fair debate and a fair discussion?" asks community activist and retired attorney, Rand Dawson.

There's no discussion of pot holes or police commissions in this community.  Dunes City is going right to the top of the list.

"Oregon needs a voice and I think we've got good people in the Senate and Congress and hopefully, they'll pay attention," says Mayor Eric Hauptman.  Last week, all seven city councilors passed a resolution calling for national health care reform.  
They want Congress to lay all the cards on the table, including universal health care.

Dawson tells KVAL News, "If we're going to have reform, instead of just more of the same dressed up as reform, then we need to have a fair discussion."

Cynics may ask, how can a tiny town of 1,200 have any effect on the debate over health care reform?   Resolution backers say, you have to start somewhere.
Councilors believe Dunes City is the first in Oregon to take this step.  One councilman says the issue hits very close to home; he sees the fallout of the costly health system, every day.

Dr. Peter Howison says over half of all bankruptcies in the U. S. are from people with medical bills and adds, "We don't need people to declare bankruptcy.  We need people working.  This is part of the overall solution to our economy I think, too."

Organizers say they are grandparents, not ideologues.   They just want the people on Capitol Hill to pay attention.  "I don't care what it is, but I think you've got to discuss all options and that's being killed, and I think that's wrong," explains Ralph Farnsworth,
a retired insurance agent and city council supporter.

For the folks on the street--the vote Thursday night strikes a chord.  Resident Candi Martinez says, "Yeah, it would be a big help and if a little town does it, the bigger towns will go for it."
Resident Paul Verville adds, "It's a problem.  Half the population doesn't have health insurance around here."

Reporter Tom Adams asked Farnsworth today, "What do you say to the skeptics who are thinking, doesn't Dunes City have something else to do...other issues?  He answered, "Yeah--they probably do.  We'll get to those later."

Another councilman, Richard Koehler, says Dunes City is not done with health care. Koehler explains another town hall meeting is likely to be held but no date has been set.