Nearly 300 constituents from across Congressional District 06 gathered together for a Town Hall Event Wed., Feb. 26 in the Mississippi Room at the Monticello Community Center.
The event was sponsored by Wright County Indivisible and Indivisible North Metro with the goal to provide an opportunity for concerned citizens to gather together to address their questions and concerns to U.S. Representative Tom Emmer.
Emmer Not Available
An invitation was extended to the Congressman by both organizations, but because Congress was in session, Rep. Emmer could not attend. Emmer was then invited to participate in the town hall via Zoom, but he did not respond.
Despite his absence, event organizers decided to go ahead with the event. Questions and concerns that were collected from constituents both prior to the town hall and a half hour before it will be compiled and sent to Rep. Emmer, along with an audio recording of the evening. A request was made for him to respond to their concerns by March 14, 2025 (the Patriot did not learn of an anaswer).
Opening Statements
Chuck Derry, a member of WCI, acknowledged the large crowd by stating, “This is what democracy looks like!” That line was one of many remarks that received thunderous applause.
Sue Hedke, Coordinator of Wright County Indivisible followed with an opening statement acknowledging Emmer’s notable absence.
“As most of you know, Rep. Emmer is not here tonight,” she said. “We tried earnestly to schedule this town hall during last week’s congressional recess so he could be. His staff passed on the message, but he didn’t respond. The message seems clear—he prefers not to face us to explain his support for the controversial actions being taken by President Trump’s administration and its appointees, especially, billionaire and biggest donor, Elon Musk.”
That statement set the tone for the evening. Rose Thelen, continued with a reading of a joint statement which stated that Rep. Emmer cannot continue to ignore his constituents.
“I think you should know that tonight’s attendees represent diverse political views—not just Democrats, who you so frequently vilify, but also Independents, and yes, even people who voted for you,” she said. “They are feeling betrayed, thinking Trump would make their lives better. Help them to afford health care, housing, education, and how about the price of eggs.”
Questions
There were close to 40 questions read out loud from an almost 200 that were submitted. They were divided into 11 categories – Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), health care, veterans, the economy, human rights, foreign policy, education, immigration, government and democracy, and earned benefits. The questions came from people throughout CD6.
Shortly after a question was read about special education, teacher shortages, $350 billion cuts to education, and school vouchers, Lisa Olson, a school teacher and local union president from Zimmerman, received a standing ovation when she addressed Rep. Emmer directly.
“In my classroom I teach fourth graders about empathy and I’d be happy to give you a lesson on it any day,” she said.
Olson followed her statement by asking, “What we all want to know is, what are you doing to carry out the public school promise of a free and appropriate public school education for all?”
She answered that question herself.
“The answer doesn’t include using public dollars for private school vouchers.”
Comments were solicited from the crowd throughout the evening. Salem from St. Cloud said that his immigrant neighbors are afraid to go out. Ashley from Lino Lakes asked Emmer what he was going to do about recent cuts that have eliminated 85% of staff for housing programs for veterans. Steve Larson from Monticello was concerned about the cuts to Medicaid and how they are going to affect people with disabilities, the elderly, and children who according to Larson comprise 50% of the populations who utilize Medicaid.
Not All Were Pleased
Early during the town hall, 4-5 people could be seen leaving. One of the people who stayed was Kip Christianson. He saw a Facebook post about the event and was excited to meet with Rep. Emmer. After the event, Christianson expressed his disappointment about the nature of it.
“I feel deceived,” he said. “That was an hour of the most strongman, gotcha framing of major issues impacting Minnesotans and Americans I have ever heard.”
Christianson later said he was glad Emmer never showed and questioned the bipartisan nature of the event.
The Indivisible website states, “We’re a grassroots movement of thousands of local Indivisible groups with a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy, and defeat the Trump agenda.”
