Latest news with #People'sTownHall
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Indiana Democrats hold People's Town Hall in Terre Haute
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)— On Friday, the Indiana Democratic Party and local leaders are gathering at the Vigo County Public Library to host a People's Town Hall. According to the news release, this town hall is intended to discuss the real-world impacts of Republicans' cuts to Hoosier healthcare, nutrition benefits, and more. This event is in response to GOP Rep. Mark Messmer not holding his own in-person town hall due to the Republican mandate. According to Politico, this mandate was put in place after the backlash of in-person town halls with Republican lawmakers. Some members in attendance for the panel include State Representative Tonya Pfaff and Indiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Tallian. The former state representative Dave Crooks will be moderating the town hall. 'Extremists in D.C., including Rep. Messmer, voted to rip away health care coverage and food assistance from Hoosiers in order to fund tax cuts for their wealthy donors. Voters in Indiana are demanding to be heard,' said Indiana Democratic Party Spokesperson Sam Barloga. 'Rep. Messmer has been a cheerleader for Trump and Musk's dangerous tariff agenda. He is sitting idly while Hoosier jobs are at risk. Our first People's Town Halls in Bloomington, Lafayette, and New Albany showed the anger and frustration Hoosiers are feeling. They want to be heard, and their Republican representatives are hiding from them. If Rep. Messmer refuses to hold a public, in-person town hall and answer to Hoosiers' pressing concerns, voters will look to leaders who will.' The event for the voters in Indiana's 8th District will be held at the library's main branch located at 640 Poplar Street. It will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and those who wish to participate can RSVP at this link. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rep. Mike Rodgers no shows Opelika town hall
OPELIKA, Ala. (WRBL) — In East Alabama, frustration is growing over what some residents call a long silence from their elected representative. Thursday night, one organization decided to hold its own public meeting. Indivisible Auburn-Opelika invited community members to the Opelika public library. While, residents filled the room, one man was noticeably absent. Representative Mike Rogers was invited to the 'People's Town Hall,' but declined to attend. Some point to a statement by house speaker mike Johnson discouraging republicans from attending town halls. But organizers say Rogers' absence is nothing new. Indivisible Auburn – Opelika steering committee member, Lee McInnis, said, 'So as far as I can tell, Mike Rogers hasn't held a town hall meeting in eight years. So I don't think Mike Johnson saying anything would have necessarily dissuaded him from having. But I think it breaks the basic social contract that our elected representatives have. They were elected to represent the people of the third District of Alabama. If he is not going to meet with a broad spectrum of his constituents, he does not know what his constituents think and he does not know how to represent.' This event gave experts and community members alike a chance to speak on federal issues and their experiences, from healthcare to national security. Speakers also criticized Rogers' voting record, including his support for cutting Medicare and Medicaid and voting to overturn the 2020 election results after January 6. McInnis said, 'We wanted an opportunity to address Congressman Rogers to express to him our concerns about the direction the administration has been going in the first three months of its time in office, and to tell him that he does not necessarily have the support and concurrence of the entirety of the third Alabama Congressional District.' Organizers say a full video of the event will be sent to Congressman Rogers' office. Whether he watches or not, these residents say their message is clear. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Congressman Mike Rogers expected to be no-show at Opelika town hall
OPELIKA, Ala. (WRBL) – With an empty chair on stage reserved for Congressman Mike Rogers, dozens of East Alabama residents are expected to gather Thursday evening at the Opelika Public Library for a 'People's Town Hall' — an event organized by Indivisible Auburn-Opelika to give local voices a platform amid what organizers say is a lack of public engagement by their representative in Washington. Dr. Nicole Carter, a pediatrician who lives in Lee County, emphasized the importance of public and nonpartisan dialogue. 'Many of us in Alabama's 3rd Congressional District are worried about the decisions being made in D.C. and how they are impacting our families and our community. We had hoped to have Congressman Rogers join us for a town hall where we, his constituents, could ask real questions and share our concerns with him,' Dr. Carter told WRBL. Carrie Cole, Communications Director for Rep. Rogers, responded to WRBL's inquiry about the Congressman's absence: 'Congressman Rogers lives in the district and is in near-constant contact with his constituents and local leaders. The Democratic Party has encouraged activists to hold events that they have branded as 'town halls' in an effort to ambush Republican members of Congress. We welcome any constituents to contact any of our three offices.' Dr. Carter says she has tried to contact Congressman Rogers to express her concerns. 'I call his office nearly every single day. No response back.' As a pediatrician for two decades, public health and science policy — are areas she is eager to discuss with Congressman Rogers. Though Rep. Rogers (R-AL) declined the group's invitation to attend, organizers say the event will move forward with community speakers and an open mic session where constituents can share personal stories and pose questions they say deserve answers — particularly on issues ranging from health care to environmental policy to overseas military spending. The event will be livestreamed and, according to organizers, shared with Rep. Rogers' office. 'In his absence, we still hope to provide a nonpartisan, open forum for the community to gather and share their own stories and experiences,' said Dr. Carter. Rogers has represented Alabama's 3rd Congressional District since 2003, making him one of the more senior members of the House Republican Conference. He currently serves as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Whether or not Rep. Rogers responds to the video or the statements collected at Opelika's town hall remains to be seen. One message is clear: the conversation will continue — with or without him. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tim Walz names the three mistakes Democrats made in the last election
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who ran as Kamala Harris's vice presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket in last year's election, has identified three key areas that he believes their campaign failed to address, leading to the party's disastrous defeat to Donald Trump and JD Vance in November. Speaking to The Washington Post after a 'People's Town Hall' event in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday, Walz said he believed the Democratic mission to stop Trump floundered because they failed to reach Latino voters, did not do enough to acknowledge voters' anger about the war in Gaza and did not have a sufficiently agile media strategy. 'People ran what they had in the moment, what they thought was best, but I do think it's irresponsible to not look back and say, 'OK, what could we do to win?' Walz told the Post. 'It's not enough to blame something else. I don't blame the voters. I blame: What did we not do? I put my suggestions out there. If those aren't the ones that are chosen, I work as hard as I can for the ones that were.' A popular figure when he hit the national stage last summer thanks to his attacks on Trump and Vance as 'weird', voters also responded to Walz's folksy personal manner and relatable back story as a high school teacher and football coach – but ultimately he and Harris fell short. On their inability to match Joe Biden's outreach to America's Latino citizens four years earlier, Walz reflected: 'I think especially with the Latino community and an immigrant community, these are driven people to succeed, and that is the American Dream. 'And I think sometimes we're a little bit, we're a little bit too much, you know, you should be ashamed for being successful.' On public opposition to Israel's military response to the events of October 7, 2023, which led to heckling at Harris's rallies over the Biden administration's perceived inaction to prevent the bloodshed, Walz said: 'It needs to be spoken that there's the angst over Gaza and things that needed to be addressed. 'I think we have to understand: How do we articulate that we're better for that? It's obviously self-evident now that for folks in Gaza, Donald Trump's not going to be the [one] to help them. We got to make sure that they believe that we would have been.' On their campaign's failure to engage with new media, Walz acknowledged that Trump had been astute in taking advice from his teenage son Barron Trump about appearing on Joe Rogan and Theo Von's influential podcasts, which helped him to secure the support of their young male listenerships. Walz regretted that he and Harris had not been 'looser' in their approach and revealed that he had discussed how best to reach young men via the media and platforms they enjoy with his own son Gus Walz, who suggested there is a perception among his peers that right-wing politics is more fun. 'Trump doesn't know squat about football, but he shows up at football games,' the governor said. 'He doesn't know squat about NASCAR, but he shows up at NASCAR. We do know those things, and we should be out there. 'I'm not saying it's me – send Cory Booker out to do these things. Send Elizabeth Warren; she knows basketball… We should do more of the spaces where they're at authentically, not performance-like.' Democrats from Walz to the progressive duo of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have increasingly taken to holding town hall events in red states since Trump's inauguration, responding to angry scenes at equivalent Republican gatherings going viral in which constituents have been seen confronting and often berating their representatives over the administration's actions, particularly in relation to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) instigating mass firings of federal workers. 'Donald Trump did a wonderful job of articulating why these people are angry,' Walz told the Post, pointing to the crowd attending his listening tour. 'He's done nothing to improve that, and they don't believe we have either. That's what I'm trying to figure out.' He admitted that he doesn't have the answers and conceded that 'the guy who got his ass kicked in the last election' may not be the right message-bearer right now but said he believed there was value in taking part in events that are effectively serving as group therapy sessions for disaffected voters.
The Independent
11-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Tim Walz names the three mistakes Democrats made in the last election
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who ran as Kamala Harris 's vice presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket in last year's election, has identified three key areas that he believes their campaign failed to address, leading to the party's disastrous defeat to Donald Trump and JD Vance in November. Speaking to The Washington Post after a 'People's Town Hall' event in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday, Walz said he believed the Democratic mission to stop Trump floundered because they failed to reach Latino voters, did not do enough to acknowledge voters' anger about the war in Gaza and did not have a sufficiently agile media strategy. 'People ran what they had in the moment, what they thought was best, but I do think it's irresponsible to not look back and say, 'OK, what could we do to win?' Walz told the Post. 'It's not enough to blame something else. I don't blame the voters. I blame: What did we not do? I put my suggestions out there. If those aren't the ones that are chosen, I work as hard as I can for the ones that were.' A popular figure when he hit the national stage last summer thanks to his attacks on Trump and Vance as 'weird', voters also responded to Walz's folksy personal manner and relatable back story as a high school teacher and football coach – but ultimately he and Harris fell short. On their inability to match Joe Biden 's outreach to America's Latino citizens four years earlier, Walz reflected: 'I think especially with the Latino community and an immigrant community, these are driven people to succeed, and that is the American Dream. 'And I think sometimes we're a little bit, we're a little bit too much, you know, you should be ashamed for being successful.' On public opposition to Israel's military response to the events of October 7, 2023, which led to heckling at Harris's rallies over the Biden administration's perceived inaction to prevent the bloodshed, Walz said: 'It needs to be spoken that there's the angst over Gaza and things that needed to be addressed. 'I think we have to understand: How do we articulate that we're better for that? It's obviously self-evident now that for folks in Gaza, Donald Trump's not going to be the [one] to help them. We got to make sure that they believe that we would have been.' On their campaign's failure to engage with new media, Walz acknowledged that Trump had been astute in taking advice from his teenage son Barron Trump about appearing on Joe Rogan and Theo Von's influential podcasts, which helped him to secure the support of their young male listenerships. Walz regretted that he and Harris had not been 'looser' in their approach and revealed that he had discussed how best to reach young men via the media and platforms they enjoy with his own son Gus Walz, who suggested there is a perception among his peers that right-wing politics is more fun. 'Trump doesn't know squat about football, but he shows up at football games,' the governor said. 'He doesn't know squat about NASCAR, but he shows up at NASCAR. We do know those things, and we should be out there. 'I'm not saying it's me – send Cory Booker out to do these things. Send Elizabeth Warren; she knows basketball… We should do more of the spaces where they're at authentically, not performance-like.' Democrats from Walz to the progressive duo of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have increasingly taken to holding town hall events in red states since Trump's inauguration, responding to angry scenes at equivalent Republican gatherings going viral in which constituents have been seen confronting and often berating their representatives over the administration's actions, particularly in relation to Elon Musk 's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) instigating mass firings of federal workers. 'Donald Trump did a wonderful job of articulating why these people are angry,' Walz told the Post, pointing to the crowd attending his listening tour. 'He's done nothing to improve that, and they don't believe we have either. That's what I'm trying to figure out.' He admitted that he doesn't have the answers and conceded that 'the guy who got his ass kicked in the last election' may not be the right message-bearer right now but said he believed there was value in taking part in events that are effectively serving as group therapy sessions for disaffected voters.
