CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Two hundred West Virginians were among 12,000 people holding a rally backing health-care reform in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

Gary Zuckett, director of the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, said everyone gathered in a park beside the Everett Dirksen Senate Office Building, near the national Capitol.

Howard Dean, a physician and former Vermont governor who unsuccessfully ran for president in the 2004 Democratic primary, spoke to the crowd.

"We then met with Senator Rockefeller," Zuckett said. "We had a lot of union people with us.

"We had 150 people at our town-hall meeting with Rockefeller in the Senate office building. We thanked him for introducing the health-care reform bill in the Senate."

Rockefeller then met privately with West Virginia AFL-CIO leaders Larry Matheney and Kenney Perdue, as well as Elaine Harris from the Communication Workers of America.

"We filled the whole Senate park," Zuckett said. "We had 7,500 lunch boxes delivered to the rally. But they ran out quickly."

Sam Hickman, director of the West Virginia chapter of the National Association of Social Workers; and Rick Wilson, a state leader of the American Friends Service Committee and Economic Justice Project, also traveled by bus from Charleston to Washington.

Hickman said, "Rockefeller is very strongly in favor of a public option for health care and is really sticking to that position ...

"So many people were vilifying that public option, it was almost off the table. Rockefeller brought it back as a viable alternative," Hickman said.

Letters supporting Thursday's rally also came from Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., and Reps. Nick J. Rahall and Alan Mollohan, both D-W.Va.

Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Two hundred West Virginians were among 12,000 people holding a rally backing health-care reform in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

Gary Zuckett, director of the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, said everyone gathered in a park beside the Everett Dirksen Senate Office Building, near the national Capitol.

Howard Dean, a physician and former Vermont governor who unsuccessfully ran for president in the 2004 Democratic primary, spoke to the crowd.

"We then met with Senator Rockefeller," Zuckett said. "We had a lot of union people with us.

"We had 150 people at our town-hall meeting with Rockefeller in the Senate office building. We thanked him for introducing the health-care reform bill in the Senate."

Rockefeller then met privately with West Virginia AFL-CIO leaders Larry Matheney and Kenney Perdue, as well as Elaine Harris from the Communication Workers of America.

"We filled the whole Senate park," Zuckett said. "We had 7,500 lunch boxes delivered to the rally. But they ran out quickly."

Sam Hickman, director of the West Virginia chapter of the National Association of Social Workers; and Rick Wilson, a state leader of the American Friends Service Committee and Economic Justice Project, also traveled by bus from Charleston to Washington.

Hickman said, "Rockefeller is very strongly in favor of a public option for health care and is really sticking to that position ...

"So many people were vilifying that public option, it was almost off the table. Rockefeller brought it back as a viable alternative," Hickman said.

Letters supporting Thursday's rally also came from Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., and Reps. Nick J. Rahall and Alan Mollohan, both D-W.Va.

Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.