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SALT LAKE CITY — A newly-organized group in Utah pushed for a town hall meeting with Sen. Orrin Hatch Tuesday, saying it was frustrated with the senator’s policies and decisions.
“I think that what we all want is accountability and access,” said Madalena McNeil of Utahns Speak Out. “I just don’t feel that it’s too much to ask that an elected representative take one evening to make (himself) available to the people.”
McNeil said Hatch staffers told her he was not considering scheduling a town hall while in Utah.
The group had set up an event on Facebook, which had over 400 planning to attend the hypothetical town hall meeting and another 1,400 interested in attending as of late Tuesday night.
McNeil suggested Hatch should be more open to spending time hearing from his constituents on the issues that concern them, including several of President Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees.
She expressed particular reservations about the qualifications of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General and Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary.
“I don’t feel that being a major donor to education makes you qualified to lead a department,” McNeil said. “I don’t feel that (DeVos) proved that she was qualified in her confirmation hearings.”
McNeil’s group is one of several trying for face time with their elected leaders as the new administration takes shape.
Another group demonstrating against Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act showed up on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Tuesday to make their voices heard to a handful of senators, including Hatch.
“If you’re not making yourself available to people, they’re going to make themselves available to you,” McNeil said of that demonstration.
A statement from Hatch’s office noted the senator’s efforts to hear the public’s concerns.
“In the last year Senator Hatch has held approximately 30 health care-related meetings and events, visited every county in the state, and held more than two dozen public forums where he has spoken directly with Utahns about his efforts to represent them in Washington,” the statement read. “He will continue to do so, and appreciates any and all opportunities to receive input from Utahns.”
The statement did not directly address McNeil’s request for a town hall meeting.
McNeil said she would maintain pressure on the senator to meet soon in a group setting with his constituents.
I feel like that’s important because I think your representatives should be held accountable to the constituents,” McNeil said.
