A veteran, a farmer, the executive director of a social services agency, and a fellow in a prestigious presidential management training program will share their stories of the impact of President Donald Trump’s cuts to the federal government in a special panel discussion set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6. U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Potterville, has also been invited to participate.
The event is sponsored by the 7th Congressional District Democrats. The location will be shared shortly before the event with those who sign up in advance.
“This panel is the perfect opportunity for folks to come together and hear from those in their community how their ways of life, from their jobs to the programs they rely on, are being gutted by Republicans and the Trump regime,” said Liam Richichi, chair of the 7th Congressional District Democrats. “Republicans continue to flood the news cycle with chaos and avoid town halls, hoping that you don’t hear the real stories of their harmful policies. With this event, we’re making sure the administration, Republicans, and their billionaire buddies are forced to look their fellow Americans in the eyes when they tell them they’re taking their jobs, health insurance, or food assistance,” .
The confirmed participants include:
• Andrew Lennox of Hamburg Township, a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, who began a career with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Ann Arbor as an administrative officer in their primary care department. He was fired from his post in February just two months after starting the job, but later rehired.
• Christopher Pumford of Howell, who was fired by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, then rehired, then refired. Christopher Pumford is a former Presidential Management Fellow, the U.S. government’s premier leadership development program for advanced degree holders. He grew up in Howell, attended Hartland Consolidated Schools and graduated from the University of Michigan.
He received a master’s degree in international relations from Tufts University; completed a Fulbright grant in Morocco; and was honored in the U.S. Congress for his advocacy work for Afghan refugees.
• Peggy Vaughn-Payne, executive director of the NorthWest Initiative, Lansing, which, until recently, had nine paid staff and nine volunteers or interns delivering services to 5,000 people. The services included an outreach program with a mobile farmers’ market, a nutrition education program for children, and an adult jail diversion program. After cuts to SNAP-ED and AmeriCorps, the program now has 2.75 employees, forcing it to cut its mobile farmers’ market and food distribution programs.
• Mark Zacharda, a third-generation farmer who farms land near Ovid and Laingsburg in Shiawassee County. His farm produces corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, and straw, but his livelihood is jeopardized by the Trump regime’s trade war with China, a large export market for farm products.
U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Potterville, received a hand-delivered letter inviting him to the event; a chair will be reserved for him.
The panel will be moderated by Brian Kelly, vice president of Local 704 of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 1,000 Environmental Protection Agency workers that protect the Great Lakes and the people of Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Ohio.
Capacity for the event, which is free, is limited. Attendees are asked to register here to receive the location of the event 24 hours in advance: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/barrettimpact.
The 7th Congressional District includes all or part of the counties of Eaton, Clinton, Genesee, Ingham, Livingston, Oakland, and Shiawassee.
