Two weeks ago at the Greenwich Public Library, about 12 constituents attended Rep. Elise Stefanik’s mobile office event to express their concerns about serious issues. Stefanik staffer Stacie Dina, left, regional director out of the Glens Falls office, explained to Greenwich Mayor Pam Fuller why the congresswoman was not present. (Photo provided — Kathleen Phalen-Tomaselli, The Post-Star)

GREENWICH — It was a sunny June afternoon. A blue-and-white cumulus-dotted sky painted the historic village in shades of nostalgia, and there was no sign of previously threatened storms.

Turning into this quaint community after about a mile and a half on state Route 29, the Greenwich Public Library on Main Street — the afternoon destination for more than a dozen Washington County residents searching for answers and the NY-21 Mobile District Office van — was easy to find.

But parking lot construction surrounding the library made it difficult to see any sign of the 1 p.m. event for Rep. Elise Stefanik’s constituents.

The white NY-21 Mobile District Office van christened by Stefanik, R-Willsboro, in Glens Falls City Park two years earlier was not in plain sight, or perhaps not there at all.

There were no exterior signs inviting the public inside, or even a note on the door pointing constituents in the right direction.

When parking was still available on a side street right next to the library, coupled with a lack of activity (there was no one even walking down the street), it felt a bit like wrong day, wrong location, or both.

Perhaps a deterrent for the timid, it took a bit of searching to find the event. If not for a knowledgeable librarian who pointed toward the community room to the left of the library’s entrance, some may have gone home, not realizing they walked right past the Mobile District Office session.

“I was surprised there was no sign on the sidewalk inviting people in,” said Mary Lou Stern, a longtime Greenwich resident who attended, prepared with a list of her concerns. “And Stacie (Dina, regional director from the Glens Falls office) seemed surprised there were so many of us; she said people usually have an issue they need help with. She was taken a little off guard.”

A few present at the library gathering said they thought Stefanik would be there.

“I was told that Elise was going to be here today and I cancelled everything on my agenda and I lost a day of work,” one woman said to Dina. “I came with a list of questions, Stacie. I would like to ask my elected official these questions and she’s really the only one who can answer them.”

Others like Stern, her husband, Alan Stern, and her sister, Jill Nadolski, knew the congresswoman would not be present but believe she needs to come to such events.

“It’s like ripping off a Band-Aid — it hurts at first. She’s avoiding town hall meetings, from what we’re seeing,” said Stern.

Another woman interjected: “Let the steam get blown off, like a pressure valve.”

“It might behoove the congresswoman to make time to come to this area,” she said. “The EPA, immigration — it seems to me those are issues that affect this area. It might be wise to come to this area at least once.”

Dina repeated on several occasions that Stefanik’s district is large and that she meets with constituents in smaller groups.

NY-21 is actually comprised of 710,842 people spread out over 15,114.9 square miles. That’s 47 people per square mile.

“The manner in which she has chosen to hold face-to-face meetings with groups of 10,” said Jim Raid of Cambridge, “it would take her 112 terms to meet with all of us. That’s a real issue. If she continues to take two steps back from confronting us, we are just a widget with a face, not a person.”

According to Stefanik’s spokesman, Tom Flanagin, the Mobile District Office was Stefanik’s idea as a way for staff to help constituents fill out forms, like Medicare or veterans’ paperwork.

The Greenwich session at the library was set up in a round-table format, but Flanagin said the structure varies by location, staffer and needs.

“Our district staff handle them and it rotates,” he said by phone on Thursday. “It’s a great way to get out to the rural areas … the mobile office made 66 total stops since 2015.”

At a bit after 1:30 p.m., after discussions regarding Stefanik’s vote in favor of the American Health Care Act that was passed by the House in May, one woman stood, apologizing that she had to leave, but life and kids needed her attention.

“Health care’s terrible,” she said as she exited the windowed 10-by-12 room.

Another attendee said she wanted to change the topic from health care to environmental and immigration concerns.

“I’m here to take your concerns back to her,” said Dina, Stefanik’s staffer who admitted to the group that she was relatively new to her job.

Launching the Mobile District Office made good on a campaign promise that topped the congresswoman’s to-do list. And at its July 2015 kickoff, Stefanik said she would be traveling with the van around the state for its introduction in other locations.

Perhaps that’s why constituents believed she would come along with the mobile office to personally hear their concerns, or they just believe it is her responsibility to be present.

Greenwich Mayor Pam Fuller, who arrived about halfway through the session on June 20, said being present is part of being an elected official.

“I think that it’s part of her job. I don’t advocate screaming and yelling, but civil discourse, it’s her responsibility to be there,” Fuller said this week, adding that she does not agree with Stefanik politically. Fuller is a Democrat.

During the mobile session, Fuller expressed to Dina her concerns about the Greenwich community and her frustrations with Stefanik not visiting or personally responding to her concerns.

“I wish she would come here, I haven’t heard from her. She does not do town halls and she doesn’t know us,” she said. “Other Congress people have found time to meet with people here.”

Dina again said, “She has a large — a huge — district. I wish this was a more condensed district.”

Obviously triggering a sensitive topic, several people began talking at once and someone asked Dina why Stefanik only meets with small groups.

“That’s all that fits in her office,” Dina said.

“There are other places to meet,” Tracy Frisch of Argyle said. “She needs to change this.”

Dina responded, “She believes this is working.”

“We are seeing it differently,” Frisch said. “There are meeting halls that fit 1,000 people. She should meet with as many who want to come to a town meeting.”

Referring to a tightly planned town hall in Plattsburgh earlier this year where 100 people were chosen from a lottery draw, those at the mobile office session said they want everyone to have a chance to talk with her.

“A public forum is an opportunity for more people to engage with her,” said Stern of Greenwich. “Getting to her office staff is easy, but she makes it difficult to meet with her other than on her very specific terms and in very small groups of people.”

Alan Stern of Greenwich added, “The perception is as if it is a gatekeeper process to meet with her.”

“That is quite different than a public forum,” he said.

Alan Stern continued.

“I have a general impression that if you ask the staff substantive questions, they say, ‘I’m not aware of her position on that,’ “ he said.

“I’d like Elise Stefanik to take a public stance on immigration in the North Country,” said Mary Lou Stern.

And for a time, the discussion turned to agriculture, immigration and concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Is she going to straddle the line or shine a spotlight on it?” a woman asked, referring to racism in the area.

“I can pass that along to her. I know she would not condone that,” Dina said. And in a somewhat disjointed followup, she said, “The district is so large and so all over the place. We have these farms, we have these workers, but we do have laws in place.”

Obviously worried about the county’s future, another woman said, “Agriculture is a $200 million industry in Washington County and experimenting with this law could put this industry in jeopardy. I would say actions speak louder than words.”

Greenwich Mayor Fuller talked about her concerns about health care and how the people living in the village will not be able to afford health insurance. She also addressed immigration issues.

The forum wrapped up at about 3 p.m. with Dina promising to bring concerns to the congresswoman.

And this week Fuller said she got a call from Stefanik a few days ago, saying she would be coming to Washington County in the future for events and she would invite Fuller.

“I’m still very unhappy,” she said. “As elected officials, you really represent the people who live in that district and it is her responsibility to listen to people.”

Fuller continued.

“We’re a small community and our economic viability is in question,” she said. “As the mayor, I thought that she would have reached out in some way by now. Maybe a survey to all the villages or a meeting with elected officials. She should have done that by now.”

Mary Lou Stern asked about the upcoming Fourth of July congressional break. “I know the Fourth of July recess is coming, but there are no events posted,” she said.

According to Flanagin, the congresswoman has a packed schedule, meeting with constituents during her break.

“Over the next week, her stops include visiting Norsk Titanium for a tour in Plattsburgh, attending parades throughout the district, a meeting with Cornell Cooperative Extension and a meeting with the Farm Bureau,” he said.

But several requests to Flanagin for details and specific locations went unanswered.

Because Fuller and many of those attending the Greenwich mobile office session do not agree with some of Stefanik’s positions, Fuller wondered if they don’t matter to the congresswoman.

“Maybe she doesn’t feel we are her constituents,” she said.

—-

(Editor’s note: Four daily newspapers in the North Country — the Enterprise, Post-Star of Glens Falls, Watertown Daily Times and Press-Republican of Plattsburgh — are sharing content to better cover New York’s 21st Congressional District.)