SacBee: A Republican Congressman hosts a town hall for his constituents and he’s the bad guy? | Opinion

Lebron Antonio Hill

“I am not a Kiley ally, nor am I here to defend any of his beliefs or policies or misstatements. Attacking a man who provided direct access to thousands of constituents is what I have a problem with.”

“Kiley represents one of the largest districts in California, which goes all the way east to Lake Tahoe, north through Plumas County and stretches southward all the way to Death Valley and Inyo County. Doing a tele-town hall was Kiley’s way to include everyone in his district, not attempt to get out of accountability.”

“[I]nstead of hiding from the ‘Where’s Kiley” critics,’ his meeting was so well attended that it crashed the phone system. He could’ve used that as an excuse to quit, but he extended an extra 30 minutes. He took live questions and engaged with incredibly critical voters rather than taking pre-screened softball questions. 

“It was only a month ago when Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) held her own town hall. The format was a 40-minute virtual meeting where her Chief of Staff Jeremy Marcus was the one asking her questions from constituents. She was clearly reading scripted answers. Was there any uproar from liberals then? If we’re going to hold one congressperson’s feet to the fire for a supposedly poor town hall, let’s make sure we do it to everyone.”