PORT TOWNSEND — Rep. Emily Randall, D-Wash., will host a Town Hall in Port Townsend this afternoon.
“I have always believed that people deserve access to their elected officials,” Randall wrote by email. “As a State Senator, I hosted more town halls than almost any other member, and after this weekend, we’ll have hosted town halls in all six counties in the 6th District. And right now, especially, people want access and transparency.
”Folks are frustrated, scared, and confused about this current administration’s actions. It’s been helpful to hear my neighbors speaking up and sharing their stories — their fears, concerns, and ideas. I bring these stories back to D.C. to advocate for our community, our Constitution, and our future.”
Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and the event kicks off at 5 p.m. at Blue Heron Middle School, 3939 San Juan Ave.
Though not required, Randall’s office said that filling out an RSVP is helpful for planning purposes. The RSVP can be filled at https://randall.house.gov/events.
Randall will give opening remarks, then the majority of the event will consist of the congresswoman fielding questions from attendees, according to an email from Randall’s office.
Having been in Congress since Jan. 3, Randall introduced her first bill on Mar. 18. The Office of Management and Budget Inspector General Act established an office for an Inspector General within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), according to a press release from Randall’s office.
“This administration has spent the last three months talking about rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government while cutting critical programs our communities rely on without providing any legitimate evidence of waste, fraud and abuse,” Randall said. “The nonpartisan offices of Inspectors General (IGs) were created by Congress for this exact purpose, but OMB notably does not have an IG.
“Having a nonpartisan watchdog to provide independent and objective oversight of OMB is becoming increasingly critical.”
On Mar. 11, Randall voted against the Republicans’ government spending bill.
“I’ve been very clear on what is non-negotiable for me: any funding proposal that takes an axe to essential government programs, like public housing assistance, nutrition programs and veterans’ health care is a non-starter,” Randall said.
“Taking away health care and food from people doesn’t make us more efficient, it makes our communities less healthy, more hungry and less safe. If our Republican colleagues were serious about supporting the communities they represent, they wouldn’t have wasted our time with this proposal.”
Randall co-chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus. She and 81 other Democrats signed a letter opposing the implementation of a policy that would require transgender people to choose between male and female gender pronouns when seeking new passports.
On Mar. 26, Randall released a statement calling for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s resignation following an incident where sensitive data was leaked to editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, on the Signal app.
“This sloppy, dangerous, and egregious mishandling of classified security information is a slap in the face to our military and civilian personnel, who dedicate their lives to keeping us safe. President Trump has consistently stacked his cabinet with unqualified minions, made abundantly clear by Sec. Hegseth’s decision to text classified military activity to a journalist. If he cannot manage a group chat, how can we trust him to manage our national security and that of our allies? We can’t – Hegseth must resign.”
Randall will also host a town hall in Shelton on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Earlier in March, Randall held town hall’s in Tacoma, Bremerton, Aberdeen and Port Angeles.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com
