Members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation are holding a number of town hall meetings on health-care reform despite the unruliness, shouting and occasional scuffles that have characterized similar meetings in some other states.
Rep. Ben Ray Luján held a town hall meeting on health-care reform in Santa Fe on Monday. Sen. Jeff Bingaman is holding one today in Clovis. Rep. Harry Teague will hold a “Harry in Your Hometown” event in Las Cruces on Wednesday that could turn into a town hall or individual meetings with constituents, depending on the desires of those who attend. Rep. Martin Heinrich is holding a town hall in Albuquerque on Saturday.
And Sen. Tom Udall will soon announce details for four town-hall meetings on health care and other topics that he plans to hold in the next few weeks, spokeswoman Marissa Padilla said.
While some health care town halls in other states have been characterized by rowdiness, threats and, in at least one instance in St. Louis, violence, there haven’t been problems at the few that have been held in New Mexico during the current debate about reform. But that isn’t stopping at least one member of the delegation — which consists entirely of Democrats — from taking extra steps to be prepared.
“We’ve increased security precautions due to the nature of how some of these have played out,” Padilla said.
Bingaman spokeswoman Jude McCartin, on the other hand, said her office “did not take any special security considerations” for today’s event in Clovis, but added that she assumes the civic center where the event will be held “has its own security for events like that.”
Despite potential security concerns, Padilla said Udall has held hundreds of town hall meetings during his time in the House and Senate and thinks it’s important to continue holding them.
“He likes the format a lot,” she said. “He likes being able to engage directly with New Mexicans in this way.”
‘It’s obviously what’s on everyone’s mind’
Since the current health-care debate began, Teague has held four “Harry in Your Hometown” events, spokeswoman Sara Schreiber said. At those meetings, people can sign up to speak one-on-one with Teague for a few minutes, or Teague can meet with the group as a whole.
Schreiber said the events have gone smoothly so far, adding that there have been “passionate conversations with constituents that are legitimately concerned and have serious questions about health insurance reform and the implications it will have for them and their families.”
Teague’s office specifically asked in a news release that people come to Wednesday’s event — the fifth since the health-care debate started — with questions about health care. Teague will be willing to turn the event into a town hall on health care if that’s what people want, Schreiber said.
“It’s obviously what’s on everyone’s mind, and we’re very aware of that,” Schreiber said. “But he also doesn’t want to abandon his practice of what he’s been committed to — that people can come sit down with him one on one.”
In addition to today’s event in Clovis, McCartin said Bingaman plans several additional town hall meetings throughout the state during the current recess. One will be held Monday in Albuquerque and will be hosted by New Mexico First. Details for the others have not been released.
Bingaman is one of the “Gang of six,” a bipartisan group of members of the Senate Finance Committee working toward a compromise health-care bill.
Heinrich’s Saturday town hall is the only one he has scheduled during the August break. Spokesman John Blair said in a statement released by his office that Heinrich wants to “bring together New Mexicans from across the district to ask questions as he works to address the health care crisis in our country.”
“We are working to ensure that anyone who attends the event is safe and secure and can participate in a productive, open forum,” Blair said.
Lujan doesn’t have any additional town-hall meetings scheduled but plans several “Congress in Your Community” events — one-on-one meetings with constituents.
‘A positive event’
Luján’s Monday town hall was attended by nearly 200 people, and Luján and other panelists met after the meeting with about 100 people who couldn’t get into the first. The Santa Fe New Mexican described that atmosphere as “relatively sedate.”
In a commentary published today, New Mexico Independent columnist Brigette Russell wrote that Luján’s town hall was held at the same time as a GOP event in Santa Fe, which prevented her from attending.
“It’s a good thing I’m not a conspiracy theorist, or I might suspect that it was more than coincidence,” Russell wrote.
Luján spokesman Mark Nicastre said it was a coincidence.
“We don’t know the Santa Fe GOP’s schedule, and judging by their track record in Santa Fe neither does anyone else. If we did know their schedule, it would have absolutely no bearing on our schedule,” he said.
In a news release following his town hall, Luján said it was “constructive and helpful for me and hopefully for the many New Mexicans who attended the event.”
“It is a point of pride for me that we were able to hold a positive event that focused on the substance of health insurance reform,” he said.