A crowd of about 400 people is expected to attend a town hall next week even though the invited guest β U.S. Rep. Martha McSally β has repeatedly said she will not attend.
Public interest in the two-hour town hall Feb. 23 at the St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church is so great that organizers have had to create a waiting list to attend.
Marion Chubon, the leader of the group βMcSally Take a Stand," said she sat down with the two-term Republican a week ago in an attempt to convince McSally to participate.
The congresswoman, who represents District 2, said she would not attend the town hall but left the door open to a similar event in the future, Chubon said.
The town hall will go forward without McSally, and various members of the community will ask questions but will address them to an empty chair, Chubon said. Organizers said they will allow members of the audience to also ask questions to the empty chair.
Chubon said McSally told her that most of her constituents are satisfied with how she is communicating with them.
During a telephone call with constituents more than a week ago, McSally said the town hall was a ruse and that activists want an opportunity to verbally berate members of Congress in a public setting.
β(The forum) is about trapping people in a political ambush for political theater,β she said.
McSally reiterated she has repeatedly met with community members in public forums since taking office in 2015.
Her staff earlier released a list showing the congresswoman has met with constituents about 30 times in town-hall settings since taking office, and she has held two telephone town halls in the last two weeks.
Chubon and other locals remain undeterred. They argue that McSally refuses to answer specific questions and they receive form letters in response to their emails and letters.
The planned town hall starts at 5:30 p.m. on the 23rd.
