Latest news with #OlympicCollege
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The power remains with the people as we speak up
Last Saturday I celebrated National Women's Day with hundreds of citizens from the Sixth Congressional District, participating in a town hall with Congresswoman Emily Randall. The community participation far exceeded the venue capacity of 300 people at the Olympic College theater, resulting in a subsequent Town Hall discussion with an additional 300 people, who were willing to wait more than an hour to participate. It's clear that the people of the Sixth Congressional District realize that there are big problems happening in the other Washington that impact everyone living here. As I listened to stories of veterans, federal employees, service members, students and retirees, the urgency in the room was palpable. Our community is gravely concerned by the immediate and future impact of decisions made by executive action and Congressional inaction. I hope that our community continues to stay engaged and willing to share stories with the power to effect change. The power of a democratic republic lies with the people, by design. I encourage my community to continue speaking up about the impact of legislative decisions before any more rights are removed. I am grateful to live in a community that cares deeply about the needs and rights of all people and hope that more elected officials will intentionally listen to citizens, here and nationally. The diversity of our voices is important. Laura Rarig Pugh, Bremerton This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Community participation in Kitsap shows power of democracy | Letters
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Massive turnout at Democratic lawmakers' town halls as Republicans hide from voters
As Republican lawmakers dodge in-person town halls, avoiding direct engagement with voters furious over the Trump administration's devastating policies, LGBTQ+ Democrats like Washington Rep. Emily Randall and Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan are doing the opposite. They're meeting people where they are and making themselves accessible. Keep up with the latest in + news and politics. Randall, the first out queer Latina elected to Congress, hosted a morning town hall Saturday at Olympic College in Bremerton, Wash. that filled up in minutes. Rather than turning the overflow crowd away, she immediately held a second session. 'I want to hear from everyone who took the time out of their day to be here,' she wrote on social media. That same day in Wisconsin, Pocan, who is gay and served as the previous chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, held a town hall in the small village of Belmont, strategically placing the event as close as possible to the district of his Republican colleague, Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who has refused to hold town halls of his own. Despite the town's population of just over 1,000, hundreds showed up — some forced to stand outside and peer through windows to hear him speak, Madison's WKOW reports. He listened as constituents voiced their fears about Trump's proposed Medicaid cuts, including a mother who worried her disabled daughter would lose access to essential care. Pocan used the event to call out Van Orden directly. 'If you don't have town halls, if you don't have ways to communicate with constituents, you're not really doing your job,' he said. Related: Why queer Democrat Emily Randall says she walked out of Trump's presidential address Meanwhile, Republicans are actively avoiding these conversations. House Speaker Mike Johnson has advised GOP lawmakers to skip town halls altogether, dismissing them as 'political theater.' Some, like Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga, have opted for telephone town halls to control questions and avoid the intensity of public scrutiny. 'I know this may not be satisfactory to some who would like to just create a scene,' Huizenga said, downplaying concerns from his constituents, CBS News reports. A large crowd of constituents stands in line awaiting entry to Olympic College theater to hear Rep. Emily Randall take questions at a town Randall But Democrats aren't backing down. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has encouraged members to engage directly with voters and expose the real impact of Trump's policies. 'House Republicans and Donald Trump have proposed the largest cut to Medicaid in American history,' Jeffries warned on Thursday. 'Republicans are trying to rip healthcare away from tens of millions of Americans. Children will be devastated. Families will be devastated. People with disabilities will be devastated. And older Americans will be devastated. Hospitals will close—including in rural America—all across the country and nursing homes will shut down. Those are the implications of the House Republican budget, and every single Democrat [is] going to continue to stand against it.' Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has openly mocked Republicans for hiding from their constituents. 'Anyone who lets this stuff be an excuse to hide from the public and stop doing town halls is not cut out for the job,' she wrote on X. Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ro Khanna, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have floated the idea of Democrats hosting town halls in Republican districts to offer voters a chance to be heard when their representatives refuse to show up, MSNBC reports. Randall's town halls came just days after she joined fellow Democrats in walking out of Trump's joint address to Congress, where he attacked gender-affirming care and celebrated Medicaid cuts.
