OPINION: My favorite legislative town halls

Though I am now retired, during my 8 years in the Idaho Senate serving the Coeur d’Alene area, I participated in close to 30 public Town Halls events. I loved meeting constituents, listening to their concerns and sharing the issues we were working on in the Senate.

I often came early to these events just to talk with people as they gathered. And we always stayed after the Town Hall was officially over, to answer additional questions. It remains a warm memory for me and is why I am so appalled by the recent disastrous Town Hall.

The format of last Saturday’s public Town Hall was part of the problem, in my opinion, as was the choice of moderator. Even though I did not attend in person, live reports and videos sent to me from people who were there revealed poor time management, which may have heightened audience anxiety. They reported extended introductions of legislators by the Moderator, including detailed bios, followed by their own long descriptions of their bills.

This is vastly different than the Town Halls while I was serving. Back then we were given a brief introduction and a short time to list the general nature of our bills. Then the questions from the public were promptly addressed, as they were always the top priority. Early in my Senate years, there were microphones set up on stands in the aisles, and people could line up and ask their questions. I liked this method because we could have a short direct conversation with the person who wanted to know and everyone could listen. In later years the crowds became less respectful so all questions had to be written on cards and the moderator would filter through, combining similar questions. But even then, the questions from citizens were first priority.

So at last Saturday’s two hour Town Hall, citizen questions had been written on cards and submitted to the Moderator. But the clock was ticking and no questions had yet been asked as the first hour neared its close. People were getting anxious. The shouting and heckling, which reportedly started early in the meeting, increased, with more and more people around the room shouting and yelling.

What did the Moderator do? He yelled back at the crowd, calling them demeaning names and taunting that he was more powerful because he had the microphone. It was like throwing gas on a flame.

This would have been a good time for KCRCC chairman, Brent Regan, to take control and call for a short recess. He was present but did not take action, so the escalation continued.

The woman who was yelling loudest and would not stop or leave when asked repeatedly, was removed from the room in a ham-handed effort by a plain-clothes Sheriff Norris and three unidentified, unknown security men. It was not professionally executed and resulted in this woman being awkwardly dragged out of the room in dramatic style. Of course because of the botched removal efforts, videos of the action are literally spreading across the world, once again depicting our lovely hometown as a hotbed of political craziness.

Legislative Town Hall events are supposed to be a time for citizens of all political views to engage their representatives, ask questions, and hear of their priorities. Yes, the citizens should always be respectful. Shouting and yelling is inappropriate. But having the Moderator belittle members of the audience is also out of line. Strong leadership and clear planning for these events is essential and was sorely missing last weekend.

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Mary Souza served in the Idaho Senate for 8 years, retiring in 2022. marysouzacda@gmail.com