August 25, 2017
Pennsylvania residents calling for U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey to give more face time to his constituents have gotten their wish.
Well, sort of.
The Republican senator for Pennsylvania agreed to take part in a live town hall meeting with co-sponsors PBS 39 and the Allentown Morning Call on Thursday, but he'll do it in front of a 54-person crowd. Of those seats, 30 will be made available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis, PBS 39 announced Wednesday. The event is set for 7 to 8 p.m. in the station's PPL Public Media Center in Bethlehem.
Taking part in a town hall next Thursday night in Bethlehem. Full details are available in the article below. https://t.co/KbKMVsJm7P
— Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) August 25, 2017
Anyone interested in attending can try to snap up tickets starting at 9 a.m. Saturday at www.wlvt.org.
The other 24 tickets will be divided among the Lehigh and Northampton County Democratic and Republican committees for distribution, the Morning Call reported. All who attend will reportedly have to show photo identification and agree to a "code of conduct."
In July, Toomey took part in a tele-town hall with Harrisburg's ABC affiliate, in which he answered questions from a handful of central Pennsylvania constituents in the studio and others through video feeds from stations in Altoona, Erie and Wilkes-Barre.
He has also taken part in several telephone town halls, in which state residents can dial in to listen and ask questions.
But repeated calls for Toomey to hold a live town hall in Philadelphia, which he has never done, have only grown louder since President Donald Trump's election. Facebook and Twitter users who reacted to Friday's announcement were kind enough to remind him that they are still waiting. Some also criticized the event's limited availability.
One town hall with limited attendance is not adequate to address the concerns of all. Your job is to represent all PAians.
— Voracious Reader (@KateFinney4) August 25, 2017
Cool when's the philly date?
— Kelly (@Likes_Legos) August 25, 2017
54 people? Sure seems like you're afraid to talk to the residents of PA.
— H L (@burghbubbles) August 25, 2017
Grow a pair. Talk to real people. We have questions for you. 54??? Really???
— 🖤Karen💛 (@karen_hoenig) August 25, 2017
THIS IS NOT A TOWN HALL. And you know it.
— RealPA (@PhillyResistNow) August 25, 2017
54 PEOPLE IS NOT A TOWN HALL! Maybe you should watch @SenBobCasey's town halls to see what this is supposed to look like.
— TuesdaysWToomeyPgh (@TwTPgh) August 25, 2017
I believe the term you are looking for is alternative town hall.
— Adam Eckstein (@ameckstein) August 25, 2017
Those who can't attend the event can watch it live on PBS39 or live streams on mcall.com or PBS39's Facebook page. The broadcast will also be made available to television stations in other parts of the state, the Morning Call reported.
Those interested in submitting questions for Toomey can do so starting Saturday on PBS39's website and Facebook page, or on the Morning Call's Facebook page.
