SLIDESHOW: Ballardites show support at healthcare vigil

More than 100 Ballard residents convened on Ballard Commons Park Sept. 2 for a vigil to show support for healthcare reform and honor those who are suffering under the current system.

"It's time for people who are pro public-funded, universally-available healthcare to show their faces," said neighborhood resident Lew Isaac. "There are too many people left out. The wealthy can afford healthcare, but everyone in the middle has to struggle."

Isaac said she believes it is hard to get real reform because the corporate interests of insurance companies fight against it to improve their bottom line and profits.

The vigil was part of more than 300 vigils held nationwide through organization by MoveOn.org.

During the vigil, attendees lit candles, shared their stories about the current healthcare system and signed a large banner.

Jo Ardinger, organizer of the vigil, told the crowd the stories of everyday people in the current healthcare system are what mandate reform. The vigil was held to hear those stories, she said.

The public debate over healthcare reform has been raging all summer on cable news outlets and at town hall meetings across the country. U.S. Congressman Jim McDermott held a town hall meeting on the subject earlier this week at the University of Washington.

The event also served as a eulogy for Senator Ted Kennedy, a leading proponent of healthcare reform, who died Aug. 25. Isaac was holding a cutout of a teddy bear with a bandage she dubbed TeddyCare in his honor.