By Tom Reed:
I spent last Saturday holding four town halls across my district in western New York. As many of you might have seen, those town halls drew a large attendance. Although it might have been difficult to see how a productive conversation could have resulted, these events allowed for us to have a dialogue and find common ground on the difficult issues facing our great nation.
It has been, and will always be my policy to listen to my neighbors in New York’s 23rd District. Even if we have different points of view, I value the input and suggestions on how to solve problems. I firmly believe that holding town halls is one of the best ways to be accessible to those we represent. We have held over 200 town halls in all 11 counties in my district. Holding a public forum where we can gather and formulate productive dialogue is the best way for my office to be responsive to the needs of those we work to serve.
I always look forward to having a dialogue with members of the community, both those who agree with my stances and those who do not. I care about hearing from all sides. I always encourage people to exercise their first amendment rights and come to a town hall meeting or to one of our offices to express their views. Our office takes the input from our constituents to DC to create fair public policy that will benefit everyone.
I care deeply about being accessible to those in my district. I am proud of this fact. I will never shut out my constituents just because we disagree. I firmly believe that you can’t represent people unless you talk with them and listen to them. This isn’t just a platitude. I truly care about what people think. As a result, this type of open conversation allows for a stronger democracy and more responsive government.
As a result of those 200 plus town halls, and countless tele-town halls and public forums, I have a better understanding of what my constituents need and expect from their government. I heard great ideas on how to best amend the ACA. I can now take these ideas and discuss them with the Ways and Means Committee. I will work to make sure the best ideas are implemented into law. This is how government should work and needs to work. For too long Washington has not listened to the needs of average Americans. I ran for office to change this. I will always work with those I represent to find common ground and echo their needs in Washington.
Public input is the cornerstone of our democracy. Despite the perception of the recent town halls, once you cut through the static and noise we were able to have a civil and respectful conversation. This is what I will always strive to do. It is the best way to strengthen our democracy and make Washington work to benefit the American people.
