Louisville Town Hall with Sen Matt Jones and Rep. Mike Foote

Wow. Went to a townhall tonite at the Louisville library, after receiving a heads up email fro Sen. Brophy. The Townhall was setup by Matt Jones and Mike Foote to hear a panel discussion on an upcoming bill to increase taxes for public education. I had an inkling how this was going to go when, before the presenters spoke there were 3 people already expressing dissatisfaction that the Monday Erie townhall had been cancelled, that there were no townhalls on the 4 gun bills, and our reps seemed to be dodging us on this issue. One of the questioners asked how many people were there for the 4 bills, and about 80% of them (including me) raised there hands. Anyway, the education discussion went well and people were polite, but some of the questions were gun related (concealed carry by teachers, trained police on site, etc).

Once the education portion started at 7:30, the room filled with the ton of people waiting outside in the hallway. I may be off, but it seemed like 150-200 in the room, with about half standing. From what I could tell, 2 of those there were in favor of the bills and the rest opposed. In attendance was one of the senior Magpul guys - and yes, driving the "Magpul van"! He made a very eloquent financial case to the tune of 600 jobs and $89M leaving the state.

Many questions were asked of Sen. Jones, and his canned answer was nearly always "everything is a balancing act". I was the first to be called. I let Rep Foote know that many were disappointed how he voted, and would remember that in his next election (lots of cheers, not surprisingly). Then I asked Jones how he would vote on 1224, 1226, 1228, and 1229 and his response was "I am here to hear from my constituents", without committing to anything. Fantastic comments by many, including a very well-spoken democrat attorney who said "we democrats often get it wrong when it comes to constitutional rights". I could see a sour look on both rep's faces then. The Louisville police chief was there also, who fielded a question about enforcement, basically saying the laws were unenforceable.

Frankly, Jones consistent dodges have me thinking that he is a solid yes vote on all four bills. However, I'm glad I went and they know there are some pretty fired up citizens. Anyone else there?

Thanks for making it Single, I was going to make it but the Mrs had to work late.

I was in the third row and sat through the education portion of the meeting wondering if they were going to get saved by the bell. +1 to Singlestack's writeup. I was thoroughly frustrated with how Mr. Jones kept deflecting questions and would not state his position. Sadly I'm not sure that we changed any minds, but it was darned encouraging that there were so many of us who made the time to go and speak up!

three cheers for public protest! I wish I could go to more meetings like that myself, but wife pregnant with twins has me close to home lately.

I showed up at the Erie one to find it cancelled. Gave up in disgust at that point.

I've known from his canned "Common Sense" answer back before the bills were even introduced (asking his stand on various gun issues) that he was a lost cause.

Did anyone call him on his bullshit non answers?

Yes, but that didn't sway him one bit.

I decided to send the following note to Jones this morning. Not expecting a response:

Senator Jones,



Thank you for at least agreeing to stay last night to hear from your constituents on the four lawful citizen control bills discussed yesterday evening. On the other hand, it is disappointing that you attempted to repeatedly dodge these issues at townhalls by scheduling “other topics”. It is clear these are bills that you want to avoid any sort of open discussion on, if you can get away with it. The look on your face last night said volumes; the look of someone not looking forward to what was coming up. In fact, when the library people said they would keep the library open past 8:00, the disappointment on your face was noticeable to all in attendance. The same goes for the response to the Democrat attorney who said “we Democrats often do not get it right when it comes to the constitution”.



This naturally goes hand-in hand with your consistent refusal to answer direct and appropriate questions from your constituents, including the first question of how you would vote on the four bills. I expect honest answers from my elected representatives, and your performance last night was disappointing and most cowardly. Shame on you. We expect and deserve better.