The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington)
April 1, 2006

Cheers: If there were a local award for the most indefatigable, unpaid, single-issue citizen lobbyist, Mary Ann Newell of Vancouver would at least be a finalist and probably the winner.

This week she had another payoff for her efforts to get mercury out of places it should not be. Newell was in Olympia to participate as Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a bill barring vaccines with more than a trace of mercury for pregnant women and children younger than 3.

Newell has been on the campaign since the mid-1990s, when mercury leaked from amalgam fillings in her teeth, leading to a saga of medical problems, a parade of specialists and the world of politics. Anyone who has run for the state Legislature here in the past 10 years has probably been subjected to her horror story and statistics about mercury's dangers.