Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Meetings and Conferences

This congressional recess has some members of Congress taking a different approach to meeting constituents. An article in the Dispatch has some tidbits about Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi (OH-12), Democratic Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15), and Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown:

...For nearly an hour yesterday as he sat in his Columbus district office, Tiberi fielded questions from dozens of callers who asked him why he opposed the health-care reform bill championed by House Democrats, where they can find a copy of the bill, and whether the government can reduce the escalating costs of health care....

....Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, D-Columbus, has held three and has scheduled another next week. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who holds roundtable discussions rather than town-hall meetings, plans an electronic town hall this month. And Rep. Zack Space, D-Dover, held one last week and plans another next week.

Unlike traditional town-hall meetings, which can be attended by as few as a half-dozen people, the tele-town-hall meetings generate hundreds of calls over an hour. This past spring, Space said he had 30,000 people on three tele-town-hall meetings in a span of a couple of weeks.....


*** The Ohio GOP is very worried about Democratic candidate for Ohio's 12th congressional district, Paula Brooks. Brooks is immensely popular and the 12th district has been moving more into the Democratic column.