Citizen Action is defunct. For more information about its successor, see USAction (Nonprofit)
Citizen Action was a national center-left consumer advocacy group created in Washington, D.C. in the 1970s by Ralph Nader, a political activist and attorney, and activists from the radical group Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Citizen Action supported a number of far-left policy proposals, including single-payer (government-owned) healthcare.
At its peak, Citizen Action had numerous state-level affiliates, many of which are still in operation, most notably Citizen Action New York. It closed in October 1997 following a number of campaign contribution scandals and the loss of financing from prominent liberal groups. [1]
The group was originally headed by Heather Booth, a political activist who later led many prominent advocacy groups on the Left. Booth founded the group’s successor, USAction, in 1999.