After requesting for weeks that U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Howard Township) hold a town hall to hear their concerns, constituents in his 5th Congressional District have decided to schedule one on their own.
With or without him, they said, the town hall will go on at 2 p.m. Saturday in 111 Forum on Penn State’s University Park campus.
And it looks like it will be without him.
‘Unfortunately, the organizer of the meeting decided to begin advertising this event before they were able to confirm the Congressman’s attendance,’ Thompson’s communications director Renée Gamela said in an email. ‘He has a previous commitment on Saturday and politely declined the invitation.’
Dozens of residents of the district have twice rallied at Thompson’s Benner Pike office, most recently on Thursday night.
Marc Friedenberg, of Ferguson Township, said residents have been calling, emailing and visiting Thompson’s office to discuss their concerns but have been unable to schedule meetings with him. He also claimed that in requesting a town hall with the Congressman, residents have been told by Thompson’s staff that ‘he will not offer a venue for ‘paid activists and political opposition’ to create a ‘spectacle.”
Friedenberg helped to organize the town hall by selecting the date, time and location, working with university staff to schedule the space, and sharing a Facebook event. But, he said, it has been a grassroots effort, and everyone involved is a resident of PA-05 and not a paid protestor.
‘The initial impetus for the event was making sure we had a town hall during this week’s Congressional recess,’ Friedenberg said in an email, adding that he was inspired by the Missing Members of Congress Action Plan, which aims to hold lawmakers accountable for not being accessible to the public.
The local effort is part of a national wave of citizens asking lawmakers to hold town hall meetings to hear about a range of concerns since the election. Some Republican lawmakers, including President Donald Trump, have claimed, mostly without evidence, that those attending the town hall meetings that have been held included paid protestors from outside the legislative districts and states in question.
The location for the local town hall holds 369 people, and Friedenberg said it was moved to there from another location after it became clear the first room’s capacity of 155 would not be large enough. Since Thompson will not attend, constituent comments will be recorded and sent to him for review and response.
Because of the limited space, organizers encouraged attendees to RSVP through the Facebook event for the town hall.
Gamela said Thompson has not ruled out hosting a town hall and that he recognizes that there are constituents who have concerns that should be addressed.
‘He has offered personal meetings with constituents until an event is scheduled,’ Gamela said. ‘Unfortunately, the individual planning Saturday’s event declined.’
Friedenberg took issue with that.
‘Constituents have been demanding a town hall with Rep. Thompson for months, to no avail, and this is consistent with the ‘paid protestor’ comment,’ he said. ‘I have also requested a personal meeting, both through the Congressman’s Web site and even again via an email sent [Thursday], and haven’t received a response.’
He added that he was told over the phone by Thompson’s scheduler that the Congressman’s schedule is full until April.
‘The larger point for me is that holding personal meetings… is very different from holding a town hall,’ Friedenberg said. ‘It’s trying to play ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ Town halls are a basic part of our democratic heritage, and every Congressman should have them.’
In November, Thompson won his fifth term representing Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District.
The 5th Congressional District is Pennsylvania’s largest geographically and represents Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Venango and Warren counties, and parts of Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Huntingdon and Tioga counties.
