Some constituents in Northeast Ohio say they're frustrated with a lack of response from their elected officials and are organizing their own town halls — with or without their congresspeople — to discuss President Donald Trump's sweeping executive orders and federal funding cuts.
Organizers in Ohio's 14th congressional district will hold a town hall on Saturday in Geauga County after weeks of not hearing back from their representative, Republican Dave Joyce, said Janet Carson, chair of the Geauga County Democratic Party.
Constituents have been coming to county Democratic offices with questions about Trump's executive orders and federal cuts, she said, and nearly 400 have registered for the town hall.
"We assembled this group of experts so that we would be able to respond and answer their questions factually," Carson said.
Speakers scheduled for the townhall include former Democratic State Rep. John Patterson, who coauthored the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan, which takes both property taxes and income into consideration when determining state funding for school districts; Dr. Taras Mahlay, a former internist at University Hospitals now focused on getting medical supplies and training to the frontlines in Ukraine; Susan Zeier, a veterans health advocate who championed the PACT Act, which expands health benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits; Chris Gibbs, a farmer in Shelby County retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and Portage County Treasurer John Kennedy, who is serving his last few months in office and will speak about the impact of federal funding cuts on local communities, Carson said.
It does not appear Joyce will attend, Carson said. Joyce has not responded to an invitation to Saturday's town hall.
His office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
The 14th district covers Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Trumbull and nearly all of Portage counties. The town hall is sponsored by all of the districts' Democratic parties, as well as Indivisible NEO, a local chapter of a grassroots, progressive organization.
Other communities across the state have also hosted their own town halls in the last month, including Medina and Lorain. Republican Representatives Max Miller, of Medina, and Bob Latta, of Lorain, did not attend.
In March, Indivisible Central Ohio hosted an event, inviting Republican Senators Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno, as well as Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty and Republican Rep. Mike Carey, none of whom attended, according to videos the group posted to social media.
The town halls in Northeast Ohio are part of a national trend among constituents who say they're moved to organize district town halls out of frustration with unresponsive elected officials.
In Indiana last month, residents of the 4th congressional district held a town hall that their Representative, Republican Jim Baird, did not attend, and in Athens, Georgia, Republican Rep. Mike Collins also did not attend a town hall residents held.
The town halls come as some elected officials are pulling away from this type of event.
The National Republican Congressional Committee in March advised congressional Republicans against holding in-person town halls after several videos of constituents yelling at elected officials went viral.
Since then, several congresspeople have held telephone town halls. Reps. Carey and Miller have both held their own telephone town halls.
Joyce, too, held one last week, well after organizers had started planning Saturday's town hall in Geauga County, Carson said.
"Generally, the consensus was that it was disappointing," she said, "and the answers that were given were parsed in such a way that Congressman Joyce was sort of playing both sides of the issues."
The town hall lasted about 30 minutes.
Trump's approval rating has sagged in recent weeks, dropping from 47% shortly after his inauguration in January to 43%, according to a Reuters/Ispos poll released Tuesday.
Public opinion is split along party lines, polls show. In March, Gallup polling showed about 43% of respondents approved of Trump, with more than 90% of Republicans backing him compared to 35% of Independents and 4% of Democrats.
Some national Democratic politicians have started to catch up with the apparent growing outrage among Democrats and progressive protesters.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' "Fighting Oligarchy" tour has made stops in Colorado, Arizona and Nevada, with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez frequently making appearances. Minnesota Govenor and former Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz is holding a series of town halls, with stops in Youngstown and Lorain next week.
A staffer with Joyce's office told Carson Joyce would not attend an event affiliated with the Democratic Party, she said.
"We were very disappointed with that answer because Democrats are in his constituency," she said. "He should be representing everyone."
Saturday's town hall is not a partisan event, and constituents from across the political spectrum are registered, Carson said.
"These are not Democrats that are affiliated with the Democratic party in the district," she said. "They are regular everyday constituents, and they are Republicans and Independents."
