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Avoiding town hall forums hurts Stefanik

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro (Photo provided)

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik shouldn’t refuse requests to hold town hall forums in the northern New York congressional district she represents. By not showing up at a forum Wednesday in Glens Falls — organized by political critics, drawing about 300 people — she made it look like she’s either afraid or dismissive of them.

Protesters have been carrying picket signs around New York’s 21st Congressional District and posting repeatedly on social media to ask Stefanik for town hall meetings. It’s hard to know what proportion of her constituents share this view, but it’s substantial. As of Monday morning, our unscientific weekly Web Poll shows about 28 percent supporting the protests and 5 percent supporting the message but not the methods, versus 65 percent not supporting it.

The Republican representative slammed the protesters in a Facebook post Feb. 14, calling them “a small number of activists” who “hijack and ambush community events for the sole purpose of political theater.”

Maybe, but so what? Political theater is as old as politics. Election campaigns, debates and press conferences are that.

These town hall meetings are not the kind of political theater Stefanik can control very well, but meeting with constituents on their terms is part of the job she signed up for.

There’s no question that the citizens demanding these forums largely disagree with her on federal policy. Yes, they’re organizing via national liberal channels such as MoveOn.org that are committed to defeating her in the next election. And yes, the choice of setting does not play to her advantage — probably intentionally. If her political opponents want to make her look bad in public, on camera, a town hall forum is a good way to do it.

In our experience, Stefanik is a cautious personality who strictly controls her communications and public image. She’s not comfortable with improvisation, with answering questions on the fly. Enterprise reporters, like many people in the district, have had multiple experiences of her not answering our questions.

But how will she get better at this weakness if she avoids such situations? The more she puts it off, the bigger the issue becomes in the public mind. That doesn’t help her or the people of the North Country.

Her protesters have not been violent. They’re largely baby boomers, and they were civil — albeit firm — at Wednesday’s forum. What’s the worst that can happen?

1. She will have to listen to people criticize her.

2. She will have to listen to people complain about the president, who’s a member of her party.

3. She will be asked questions on issues she’s unsure about.

4. She will bend under pressure and say something she later regrets.

None of these is a killer.

Plus, she already has numerous methods of communicating with constituents that play to her advantage. Franked mailers, email newsletters and media press releases get her words out without opportunity for public scrutiny. Those aren’t wrong, and neither is a town hall.

At a time when a preponderance of Americans are dissatisfied with the Washington “elite,” it’s a test to see what kind of public servant she is.

It’s important to note that Stefanik listed hosting town hall meetings as one of the “best practices for millennial engagement” in the “Millennials & the GOP” report issued this month — part of her role as the 32-year-old chair of the House of Representatives’ Millennial Task Force. She didn’t write, “Just show up to the ones dominated by members of your own party.” For her to refuse town hall meetings now looks hypocritical.

We see her refusal as a missed opportunity to show a brave face and tackle the job head-on. She could show us, warts and all, that she stands together with her constituents. No matter how many emails and letters her office answers or how many private meetings she holds with individuals and organizations, a no-show at a town hall meeting implies she doesn’t care about constituents who disagree with her. That may not be a fair assessment — we’re sure she does care — but actions speak louder than words.

We ask the congresswoman to engage millennials — and all other generations — at town hall meetings throughout the district, rebuilding trust with the “untapped” as well as the “tapped” electorate. We’d like to see her hold a town hall meeting in each county she represents, starting with the village of Lake Placid in her home county of Essex.

Voters elected Elise Stefanik to the House, and they deserve the courtesy of a face-to-face conversation. If that is too much to ask, they may look for a new representative in 2018.

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