Amador County - Amador County Supervisor Brian Oneto was among the many elected officials who attended a rally in French Camp last Friday urging the federal government to choose the area as the site for a proposed medical facility for veterans. Newly elected Assemblywoman Alyson Huber and Calaveras Supervisor Steve Wilensky were also reported to have attended. An estimated 200 people gathered in a parking lot by San Joaquin General Hospital to show their support. The rally comes in the wake of efforts by Democratic Congressman Jerry McNerney of Pleasanton and Chula Vista Democrat Bob Filner. Together they are urging Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shineski to reconsider a decision by his predecessor to transfer the existing nursing home and outpatient care center off the Livermore campus and into San Joaquin or Stanislaus County. Both men outlined their recommendation for the new facility, which would also serve veteran’s in Livermore’s aging current facility if it closed. Veterans Affairs is studying various sites for a new hospital and will make a decision within 60 days. If approved, the new facility would open in 2015. The proposed facility is being praised by officials from Livermore to the Mother Lode for its central location and a projected 900 new local jobs. "We have to provide the best possible health care for our veterans," said McNerney, a member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. Elected officials from Manteca, Tracy, Stockton and Lodi city councils also appeared onstage to plead their case. In a letter to Shinseki, McNerney said that “America's veterans made a solemn promise by wearing the uniform of the United States and serving in harm's way overseas…we owe it to them to do everything we can to provide adequate health care when they return home.” Story by Alex Lane