Austin constituents from Texas Congressional District 25 are hosting a town hall meeting for Congressman Roger Williams. This is going to be held in the King-Seabrook Chapel at Huston-Tillotson University on May 13 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
This GoFundMe is to help with the costs of the town hall (meeting space: $1105, A/V equipment: $240, Security: $160, other incidental costs:$350). We’ve already put down deposits and other expenses are starting to add up.
We would be grateful for any help that you could lend in creating this opportunity for Texas District 25 constituents to have a platform where they can share their stories with Congressman Williams and describe how proposed legislative changes would impact their lives.
If you are a constituent of District 25 and have a personal story that you wish to share regarding fair chance hiring, immigration reform, education, gerrymandering, consumer protection, criminal justice reform or any other political issue, please contact us at tx25east@gmail.com
Did you know that 45% of Congressman Roger Williams voters live in Travis County?
Austin constituents from Texas Congressional District 25 are hosting a town hall meeting for Congressman Roger Williams in the King-Seabrook Chapel at Huston-Tillotson University on May 13 from 12:00 p.m. (noon) to 2:00 p.m. Doors open at 11:45 am.
If you are a constituent of District 25 and have a personal story that you wish to share regarding fair chance hiring, immigration reform, education, gerrymandering, consumer protection, criminal justice reform or any other political issue, please contact us using this form: https://goo.gl/forms/LvD9i8UFkY4fWoXj2
We will have a moderator and non-partisan policy experts lined up to answer your most pressing questions if Congressman Williams chooses not to attend.
US Representative (TX 25) Roger Williams appears to be lost. He has not shown up for Town Hall meetings and his office has been closed during recess. The women in this video ask you to join us in defending Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act by phoning your Congress persons today — Rep. Roger Williams, 202-225-9896, Senator John Cornyn, 202-224-2934, Senator Ted Cruz, 202-224-5922. Also, let us know of great candidates as we emerge for 2018. Thank you! Love and peace with justice, equity and diversity on top.
Central Texans Are Holding Town Halls – With or Without Their Local Congressmen
U.S. Rep. Roger Williams’ constituents gathered at Flores Mexican Restaurant on Feb. 20 to hold a town hall. While Rep. Williams didn’t attend, participants said they will send a recording of the town hall to his office.
During trips to their districts this week, Republican congressmen representing the Austin area will not be holding town halls, even though many constituents have been asking for them.
That hasn’t stopped groups from holding town halls of their own – even if the member of Congress they want to talk to isn’t there.
In Dripping Springs on Sunday night, activists held one of these town halls. They say they invited Republican U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, but his office declined.
A crowd of people sat on the patio of Flores Mexican Restaurant, eating and carefully writing questions on note cards. They waited for a turn at a microphone facing a podium with American flags draped behind it.
Most of it was pretty standard for a town hall.
Lisa Molina, an Austin resident living in Williams’ district, spoke of her 20-year-old son’s battle with leukemia at ages 3, 11 and 13. She said she was concerned about lifetime caps on health insurance, which was a problem before the Affordable Care Act was passed. Now that Republicans control Congress, many lawmakers, including Williams, are looking to repeal that law.
“My son’s treatment cost reached a million dollars by the time he was 14 years old,” Molina said. “Without the protection of the ACA, it was possible that he could have been denied for the coverage. So, my question is: Do you support keeping these current ACA protections intact?”
But this is where the town hall got weird. Molina wasn’t talking to Williams; she was talking to a cardboard cutout of him. So instead of getting an answer, she heard the sound of crickets throughout the patio.
Those crickets followed questions about Williams’ support or lack of support for investigations into President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, as well as questions about global warming, and the future of Social Security and Medicare.
Folks who came to the event, though, knew that was the deal going in.
Organizer Erin Zwiener told the crowd to act as if Williams were there. She said they planned on sending a recording of the town hall to his office.
“Show Congressman Williams that he should have been here today,” Zweiner said. “Show him that we are constituents that do not understand the choices he is making in Washington. Be firm, speak your truths, ask tough questions, but also be gracious. Let’s get him to show up next recess.”
According to one of the organizers, almost 250 people signed in for the event. And there were similar ones elsewhere.
Organizers with Indivisible Austin, a group created after Trump’s inauguration, are holding town halls in other congressional districts in the Austin area – with or without the Congressmember.
Vince Zito, a spokesperson for Rep. Williams’ office, said in a statement that “Williams believes in listening to his district and in doing so spends as much time as possible meeting with constituents and groups throughout his district.”
“Congressman Williams will always humbly listen to the thoughts and concerns of all of his constituents – he always has and always will,” Zito wrote in a statement to KUT. “And although he appreciates the invitation, he declines to attend the club meeting of the Dripping Springs Democratic Action and its associated groups. I think if you closely examine the statements and missions of these groups, it’s clear that civil, substantive discourse on issues is not their true agenda. Congressman Williams looks forward to continuing to fight for the issues that his constituents sent him to Washington to fight for, including: real tax reform, strengthening our military and rolling back the job killing Obama trademarks such as Obamacare and Dodd-Frank legislation.”
DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — Across the country town halls hosted by Republican congressmen and opposing groups have been packed and heated.
Central Texas groups opposed to President Trump’s agenda have been demanding local Republican representatives open to all constituents.
Sunday was unusually busy at Flores Mexican Restaurant in Dripping Springs. More than 150 people came out to ask questions to Congressman Roger Williams, R-Austin, not the real one but a cardboard cutout of our Texas representative.
His district stretches from just south of Fort Worth all the way down to southern Hays County. A group in Dripping Springs wanted him to answer their questions while he was in town for a private event down the street.
These central Texans want Williams to help keep the Affordable Care Act and make sure Medicare isn’t privatized. It was hosted by the local chapter of the national group “Indivisible” that’s already being compared to the left’s version of the Tea Party.
“The Tea Party was so powerful because it was people driven, but I really think what separates us from the Tea Party is we don’t have the Koch Brothers funding us behind the scenes,” said Erin Zwiener, who now is filtering community concern into political action.
“I’m hearing a lot of concern about how to hold our new president accountable for his breach of the constitution and his general intemperance,” said Zwiener.
She became political after President Trump won the White House and led the group a mile and a half away to another event they weren’t invited to.
Rep. Williams was slated to speak at a monthly meeting for the North Hays County Republican Party. Naomi Narvaiz is on the GOP executive committee and says she’s never been to a Democratic meeting and the tables have just turned.
“Eight years we lived under President Obama — I think they can live eight years under President Trump. You know, I think they’ll find out pretty soon here if they just give him a little bit of time he’s going to do well for all people not just some,” said Narvaiz.
The communications director for Congressman Williams, Vince Zito, released a statement on why he didn’t attend Indivisible’s event:
Congressman Williams believes in listening to his district and in doing so spends as much time as possible meeting with constituents and groups throughout his district. Congressman Williams will always humbly listen to the thoughts and concerns of all of his constituents — he always has and always will. And although he appreciates the invitation, he declines to attend the club meeting of the Dripping Springs Democratic Action and its associated groups. I think if you closely examine the statements and missions of these groups, it’s clear that civil, substantive discourse on issues is not their true agenda. Congressman Williams looks forward to continuing to fight for the issues that his constituents sent him to Washington to fight for, including: real tax reform, strengthening our military and rolling back the job killing Obama trademarks such as Obamacare and Dodd-Frank legislation.”
DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — Central Texans who live in multiple Congressional districts say their requests for town halls with their congressmen are falling on deaf ears.
“Our intention is not to be intimidating, it’s not to be heated,” said Erin Zwiener, who lives in Driftwood. “It’s to ask our very legitimate concerns.”
At recent town halls in other parts of the country Q&As have turned into confrontations with Congressmen, specifically republicans.
Zwiener is with Indivisible TX-25, a group opposed to President Trump’s agenda. They have been asking U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin, to hold a town hall in Hays County. “We’ve reached out through his official meeting requests, through his scheduler, through phone calls, through Facebook and we just haven’t had any luck,” said Zwiener.
Despite zero response, the group went ahead and put a town hall on the calendar for this Sunday in Dripping Springs knowing Rep. Williams will be in town.
He is scheduled to speak at a private event Sunday night a mile and a half away, hosted by the North Hays Republican Group. “I hope he decides to come into town a little bit earlier and come spend some time with his constituents,” said Zwiener.
Want to call your lawmaker? You might have trouble
If he doesn’t show up, the group will go ahead and hold a mock town hall and record their comments and concerns.
“We’re going to state our concerns, we’re going to record them, we’re going to send them to him,” said Zwiener. “We’re going to write our concerns down on postcards and then we’re going to go stand outside the other event peacefully, calmly.”
KXAN reached out to Rep. Williams’ office Friday, and his communications director, Vince Zito responded with this statement:
“Congressman Williams believes in listening to his district and in doing so spends as much time as possible meeting with constituents and groups throughout his district. Congressman Williams will always humbly listen to the thoughts and concerns of all of his constituents – he always has and always will. And although he appreciates the invitation, he declines to attend the club meeting of the Dripping Springs Democratic Action and its associated groups. I think if you closely examine the statements and missions of these groups, it’s clear that civil, substantive discourse on issues is not their true agenda. Congressman Williams looks forward to continuing to fight for the issues that his constituents sent him to Washington to fight for, including: real tax reform, strengthening our military and rolling back the job killing Obama trademarks such as Obamacare and Dodd-Frank legislation.”
A similar situation is playing out in Cedar Park and Round Rock. A group went ahead and put a town hall on the calendar for Feb. 22, and asked U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, to be there. He turned down the invitation.
His spokeswoman, Corry Schiermeyer, told KXAN, “Constituent services is a top priority of the Congressman. The Congressman appreciates the invitation, but he is unable to attend.”
The event will go on without him. Some constituents tell KXAN Rep. Carter’s staff told them he does not hold live town hall meetings for safety reasons, and prefers to hold tele-town halls because more people can attend. However, there is little advance notice, and those are scheduled on the day of.
Roger Williams is meeting with the North Hays County Republicans on Sunday in Dripping Springs. It’s a private event, not open to the public.
And so…. the TX-25 Dripping Springs constituency is holding its own Town Hall meeting beforehand, and we’d love you to join us. We have sent Roger’s office an official invite too!
Whether Roger comes or not, we will ask our questions and share our concerns.
This is not a protest; it’s an opportunity for constituents to make sure our elected representative hears our voices.
It’s important that we keep this event law-abiding and calm. Avoiding justified questions from his constituents should embarrass Rep. Williams.
Sunday, February 19, 4:30 – 6 p.m.
Flores Mexican Restaurant
2440 E Hwy 290, Austin, Texas 78620
