The Allegan County Democratic Party’s plans for a town hall meeting at Wayland Middle School Monday night went awry when one of the two congress critters refused to show up.
The public debate was supposed to be between Third District Congresswoman Hilary Scholten, a Democrat, and Fourth District Congressman Bill Huizenga, a Republican.
But, as retired Hopkins Elementary Principal Mary Howard posted on Facebook Monday:
“I went to my first town hall meeting tonight. The Allegan County Democratic Party invited Bill Huizenga to come to Wayland and talk to his constituents, listen to their concerns and answer their questions.
“He said no. He said he is reaching more people with his ‘virtual/phone town hall meetings.’
“Let me tell you my story. I ‘attended’ one of his virtual town halls a few weeks ago. I chose one that was targeted at seniors since, unfortunately, I am one. I wanted some sort of confirmation that my social security would be protected, after all I have contributed for over 35 years.
“Took me awhile to get on the call and then after about 10 minutes I was kicked off. Not sure why, but it took another 10 minutes to get back on. There was a spot to submit questions, so I decided to submit one. The immediate response was that I had already submitted too many questions and would have to wait three minutes and try again. Hmmm….I had not yet submitted a question.
“Oh well, I don’t give up easily. For the next 30 minutes or so, I tried to submit a question only to be told I had already asked too many. Never did get to ask anything. I was hoping for another chance tonight since Mr. Huizenga is supporting the ‘big, beautiful bill’ that includes cuts to services that seniors depend on every day.
“HOWEVER, I did get to meet the woman who will be running for his seat next time… SHE was there and I will be listening to her. Time to get involved locally.”
