GRASS VALLEY, Calif. March 14, 2017 – Congressman Doug LaMalfa will be holding a town hall in Nevada County on Saturday, March 18, at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. The Republican legislator agreed to hold a town hall after meeting with representatives of the Nevada County Indivisible groups at a closed meeting of the Mountain County Water Resources Association on February 24th.
In a press release, he stated: “As in previous years, we are scheduling town hall meetings throughout the district this spring as we work our way through the legislative calendar. For the first of these events, I invite constituents from Nevada County and the surrounding regions to join me for an in-person town hall meeting in Grass Valley on March 18th. I plan to have a productive discussion that revolves around the start to the 115th Congress and our goals moving forward with the new Administration. I look forward to seeing you all there and hearing your ideas and concerns.”
The Nevada County Republican Party is also reaching out via email and calling the event “a very important and unique opportunity to participate in and witness a major political event first hand and locally.”
In an email blast sent today, Bob Hren, the Chair of Nevada County Republican Party, wrote: “Law enforcement, the fairgrounds, and Congressman LaMalfa’s staff have developed a solid plan to help the event run smoothly. It is important that we have a large turnout to show our unity, strength and support for our Congressman.
Some law enforcement town hall rules that will be enforced:
– No large signs will be allowed inside. Hand-held signs of 8-1/2 x 11 inches are OK.
– No large flags will be allowed inside. Personal, hand-held flags with NO sticks are OK.
Attire: Conservatives are all being asked to wear attire that reflects a flag motif or the colors red, white, blue.
Set-Up: The typical opposition/protest groups will try to dominate the event. We must show up in large numbers to show we are strong too. The best way to assure seating is to volunteer for the set-up effort. For that, a list of approved set-up personnel is being compiled by Don Bessee. Only persons who are on the set-up list will be provided with the details for arrival location and early admission time for set-up.”
Hren concluded the email with: “If you do not participate in the set-up, then plan to arrive very early to secure a place in line. Doors are expected to open at about 11:15 am, and the meeting at noon, but lines will form much earlier.
Get out and show our support for our Congressman, and by association, for our President.”
It appears obvious in the Republican instructions on “set-up” that the Congressman’s office has provided for packing the audience with supporters. I don’t see how this is a benefit to the Congressman. The objective of a town hall is to hear the broad spectrum of constituents and to engage in this discussion by answering questions – particularly tough questions. If the audience is packed with supporters tossing him soft-ball questions, it seems like it is a waste of his time
I couldn’t agree more. Obviously, he doesn’t really want to hear from his constituents, just his supporters. His mind and ears are probably both closed.
Call LaMalfas office in Auburn to voice your concerns over this exclusionary “production” and that it is not what he promised at the water conference
530 878 5035….Auburn office #
Excellent comments, but I will be attending as it is important that we all be there to represent our “America”.
Hope everyone has the opportunity to attend.
I will attend. I’d like to hear his stance on why he supports allowing the mentally ill purchase guns.
I tried to volunteer to set up, just to get ensured of getting a seat, but was turned down after Bob Hren’s group discovered I was not a Republican.
So get there very very early and stand in line with a smile and kind words, of course about your commitment to our community. Get there early and stand in line. Can’t make it any clearer. –Arlene