MADISON - Congressional "town halls" are a big deal in CD-11.

It was the refusal of Rodney P. Frelinghuysen to hold one almost 10 years ago that prompted protests, formation of NJ 11th For Change, and ultimately the election of Mikie Sherrill to Congress in 2018.

She's now governor and Analilia Mejia won last month's special election to replace Sherrill in the House.

Mejia knows the drill. A little more than two weeks after taking the oath, Mejia held a town hall Wednesday night in this Morris County town.

The setting was borough hall, which is officially the Hartley Dodge Memorial, a museum-like edifice built by Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge in memory of her son who was killed in an auto accident in France in 1930.

Mrs. Dodge, who had an estate in Madison, still has a presence. A portrait of her seated in a chair overlooks the meeting room, allowing her to "peer down" on the proceedings.

Mejia told an audience of about 80 that she has been appointed to the Homeland Security Committee.

She's fine with that. Mejia said immigration is the "sexy" part of that committee, but she's also being practical.

Homeland Security oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, which responds to flooding.

Flood mitigation is always a big issue in the district, which covers parts of Morris, Essex and Passaic counties and includes many low-lying areas.

Mejia said helping towns deal with flooding is a priority for her, but the work will not be easy. She said FEMA has been "gutted" by budget cuts.

Mejia's primary win - she came out first in a field of 11 - was keyed by her support from unions and working people in general.

To that end, the first bill she proposed was lifting the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour. It is now $7.25, but many states, New Jersey among them, have much higher minimums. New Jersey's minimum is $15.92.

Mejia knows her bill is unlikely to get anywhere.

In fact, she compared it to shooting for the moon.

Her point, however, is to continue the same concern for average workers that propelled her victory. She pledged to speak out as much as possible about the need to make life more affordable.

"There's a lot of talk about socialism. It turns out we have corporate socialism," she said.

Two points here.

The second is Mejia's condemnation of tax breaks and cronyism that benefits the super wealthy at the expense of most everyone else.

The first point seemed an acknowledgment that Republican Joe Hathaway, who ran against her in the special election, repeatedly called Mejia a "socialist."

Hathaway is running again.

Mejia's term goes only through the rest of the year. This fall's election - likely a Mejia-Hathaway rematch - will fill the CD-11 seat beginning in January.

And Hathaway is paying attention. On social media, he said a proposed $25 minimum wage, "would crush New Jersey small businesses and raise costs on working families."