We will gather outside the faux Town Hall Meeting Rep. Katko has scheduled with CNY Central TV. People are encouraged to try to attend the Town Hall and those who can’t get in will protest outside. We will celebrate democracy and continue our call for real representation from Mr. Katko, including open Town Hall Meetings.
Bring signs, songs, chants and your spirits. We will be completely nonviolent while sharing our heartfelt concerns, fears and hopes.
You can request one of the limited number of tickets for the event to be distributed by lottery here:
http://cnycentral.com/
We are completely unsatisfied with this event and are demanding that they:
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- Move the event to a larger venue at Onondaga Community College which can accommodate at least 500 people, or at least open up all 350 seats in Storer Auditorium.
- Lengthen the event to two hours to allow for sufficient opportunity for public comments and questions.
- Clarify that the format will allow for brief questions and comments from the general public and for limited time for Rep. Katko to respond to each person, ensuring many people are able to share their concerns with their Congressional representative.
- Eliminate the pre-registration and photo id requirements. These rules exclude large numbers of constituents from participating, including those who don’t have access to email, those without photo id, those who are afraid to show photo id, and those whose photo id addresses haven’t yet been updated. This disproportionately excludes people of low economic status, refugees, immigrants, students, and the elderly.
We encourage you to call Rep. Katko’s office (315) 423-5657 to express your support for these demands, and to also call CNY Central (315) 477-9446 to request that they remain true to their role of holding public officials accountable and make these changes as well.
If you get a ticket, please email Tom at tmkeck@maxwell.syr.edu to let him know. He will compile a list and potentially schedule an in-person or phone meeting this weekend to coordinate plans for inside the venue.
If you have a suggested question to be asked at the town hall, please email it to Tom at tmkeck@maxwell.syr.edu. He will distribute a list of suggested questions to all those who get tickets.