Remembering Gina Sasso

Gina was a socialist who opposed capitalism and imperialist wars, and saw no difference between the two parties of the ruling class. She ran for Berkeley City Council on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket, and has served on the Commissions on the Status of Women and Commission on Labor.

She organized for women's rights as part of the Pro-Choice movement, and was a former union shop steward, representing her fellow workers. In recent years she especially advocated for the rights of disabled people, and worked for Easy Does It, including as executive director.

She was deeply concerned about the inequalities in public health, as evidenced by the differences in mortality rates between the wealthy and those living in poverty. She believed health care to be a human right, one she herself did not have adequate access to in the end.

She also opposed treating drug addiction as a crime, and recognized the "War on Drugs" as a war on the working class and people of color, as she witnessed its devastating impact on her community. Her candidacy for city council was endorsed by the Berkeley Cannabis Club.

She advocated for tenants' rights, rent control, and affordable housing, and strongly opposed the methods by which developers gentrify neighborhoods to drive out the poor. Having experienced homelessness herself, she supported the use of eminent domain to take over vacant houses for the purpose of housing the homeless.

As a member of the People's Park Defense Union, she was a staunch defender of People's Park against development together with her husband Michael Delacour, one of the original founders of the park.

Her political actions were driven by a deep love for humanity, which was particularly exemplified in the respect with which she treated children. She was a mother and grandmother, and she knew how to make everyone she interacted with feel special.

Listeners of Berkeley Liberation Radio 104.1 FM will remember her as "Rambling Rose".

Gina died suddenly last week of complications from pneumonia and lack of health insurance, at the much too young age of 49. Her death is a terrible loss to the movement, and we will miss her dearly.