Randy Kuhl and the Public - Access or Obstruction
Got to tell you - I can’t stand most of Randy Kuhl’s politics. By and large it is my opinion that WNY and the United States are ill served by the polices Randy Kuhl supports.
That said - I absolutely respect his Town Hall approach. Visits to each of the towns in the 29th district. An open forum where the public addresses the issues of the day. I’ve been to more of my share of large and small ones in Monroe County. Social Security contention in Brighton, Iraq protests in Henrietta, Conversations in Mendon, Ambushed by 9-11 truth commission types at one of Kuhl’s first town hall. Small meetings in tiny towns south of here with only a handful of people. Tremendous experiences.
So now it is election season and the the town hall format has changed to the “office calling hours” format? I suppose he doesn’t want to lose his cool.
Does anyone know exactly what that means?
A common complaint that I received about our previous town hall meetings were that it was too impersonal and you felt you couldn’t voice your opinion about some of issues that matter to you. To remedy this I will be holding office hours so we can have a more personal environment that allows you individual time to speak with me in confidence.
What is this, Dr. Randy? Professor Randy?
Sounds like Randy will be in a room where his constituents can come and talk privately. Sounds like access will be restricted, or can easily be restricted. Sounds like a band of citizens will not be have to be dealt collectively rather addressed individually. Sounds like there is some marginalization going on here. Sounds like Randy Kuhl is minimizing his exposure to potential campaign errors, like off the cuff remarks on his record.
So here is the schedule - Click on a county and see the next scheduled town hall meeting. After his staff figures out how to change the date from 2007 to 2008 it will be more obvious. Someone, tell us how these new office hours work out. To see the schedule for this weekend (Friday and Saturday), click here.
Randy - I’m disappointed - but you knew that already.
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I know you and Exile and maybe others applaud John R. Kuhl for his town-hall meetings. I don’t. I would applaud him if he actually interacted with his constituents instead of what typically has done, which was show up and tune out. From what I have read, he rarely commented or gave feedback to the people who spoke at his town-hall meetings. Come on, how hard is that? If you’ve been married for 20 years, you can tune out people who are speaking to you while appearing to be interested … it’s a skill you learn. If you are a football referee, you also learn the same skill.
It would show a lot more guts if John R. Kuhl actually responded to the speakers by stating his opinion. This is something other politicians do. And it is desirable for politicians to do so. Two-way communication is the goal, it is the ideal. And John R. Kuhl falls far short of the goal, far short of the ideal. Instead, John R. Kuhl chooses to communicate via his franking privileges.
I won’t let him off the hook, or give him a thumbs up for simply attending a meeting and zipping his lip. I am surprised you give him a thumbs up for this.
Looks like Shotgun Randy is staying in mostly “Red State” mentality areas this weekend…hopefully he can make his way back to areas that include Henrietta, Pittsford, and the likes.
[...] Sounds familar doesn’t it? Sounds like Randy will be in a room where his constituents can come and talk privately. Sounds like access will be restricted, or can easily be restricted. Sounds like a band of citizens will not be have to be dealt collectively rather addressed individually. Sounds like there is some marginalization going on here. Sounds like Randy Kuhl is minimizing his exposure to potential campaign errors, like off the cuff remarks on his record. [...]