Vanessa Baugh is wrong. Vern Buchanan is not accessible to all of his constituents | Letter to the editor

In her Opinion column published on Bradenton.com on June 19, Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh asked, “If (the protesters) really wanted to talk to (U.S. Rep. Vern) Buchanan about impeachment and the Mueller report, why don’t they just ask for a meeting with him? He is one of the most open and accessible representatives in the community.”

Unfortunately, my experience with the congressman indicates the opposite. In January, as new Floridians, my husband and I visited Rep. Buchanan’s office in Bradenton and asked when a town hall might be scheduled, but no information was shared. However, the congressman held a town hall two weeks later, in a small space with virtually no public notice in advance. Why didn’t the staff member mention that one was being organized at that time?

On May 20 we again went up to the congressman’s office and asked for an open, accessible and well-publicized town hall meeting. We again had a lovely conversation with his staff member, who carefully wrote down our request. But once we left the building, we met up with other activists who told us that Rep. Buchanan was at that very moment holding a “tele-town hall” by phone. Why didn’t the staff member tell us that a pseudo-town hall was taking place as we were speaking?

I am sharing this not to shame the staff member, who is well-known among local advocates as a truly nice person, but rather to demonstrate that Commissioner Baugh is wrong about the congressman. I have personally requested a town hall meeting, more than once, to no avail. I can only conclude that Rep. Buchanan does not want to meet with any constituents who do not align 100% with his views. Why is he afraid of us, and why won’t he do his job?

Deborah L. Pierce

Bradenton