U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett is hosting his first-ever town hall over the phone instead of in-person. The event is set for 7:10-8:10 p.m. Monday, March 10. Those wishing to attend must register here.
Republicans were advised by the National Republican Congressional Committee last week to not hold in-person town hall events; instead, representatives are turning to virtual town halls.
Judy Daubenmier, chair of the Livingston County Democratic Party, said a phone-in town hall will allow Barrett to “avoid accountability.”
“He’s not going to hear about how people are being impacted by the coming cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, which we know are coming,” Daubenmier said. “Tom Barrett needs to look people int he eye and say, ‘Yeah, I agree, we ought to cut your Social Security.’ But he doesn’t have to do that when he’s on the phone. He can’t see anybody.”
Daubenmier said some constituents have found Barrett difficult to reach. A recent letter to the editor criticized Barrett for being difficult to reach, as well as for not having an in-person town hall.
In reporting by WKAR, Rep. Barrett’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Michael Gordon, responded to claims that the town hall was made virtual due to a national Republican strategy saying, “I read that in Politico [but] I haven’t been a part of any meeting that they told us not to do town halls. We’ve been planning this, I think, for over two weeks.”
Gordon told WKAR that the move to virtual was to make the meeting more accessible.
“It gets the congressman in front of more people,” Gordon said. “This town hall can hold up to tens of thousands of people versus where if we go to a city hall we could fit 100 people. This allows for more people and then also it allows the congressman to speak to you from where you’re at.”
