Activists plan town hall meeting without Newhouse

A town hall-style meeting is planned Saturday to focus on concerns of constituents of Washington’s 4th Congressional District.

Organizers say they have invited U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, to field questions, but he is not expected to attend. He and many other members of Congress have not scheduled any public appearances during the congressional break this week.

If Newhouse’s staffers are unavailable, a panel will field questions drawing upon his previous public statements.

The organizers are CougVotes, the Associated Students of WSU Tri-Cities, and a national group called Indivisible, which has organized anti-Trump protests in congressional districts around the country.

It is scheduled for 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the East Auditorium (TEST 266) on the WSU Tri-Cities campus, 2710 Crimson Way, Richland. Attendance is limited to 150.

The event comes in the wake of several protests at Newhouse’s district offices, including a rally outside his Yakima office on Wednesday. About 100 participants called for him to make an appearance.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reported the crowd dispersed on learning Newhouse was in Olympia to discuss the impact of federal policy changes with state lawmakers.

Will Boyington, Newhouse’s spokesman, defended the congressman’s record, saying he is spending the week meeting with constituents who requested appointments, often months in advance.

Boyington refuted complaints the congressman is unavailable, saying his office has responded to more than 43,500 letters, calls and emails from constituents and that he is organizing telephone town halls.

“Congressman Newhouse will continue to be just as responsive to constituent questions and comments,” Boyington said.

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Activists plan town hall meeting without Newhouse."