Grassroots advocates demand Kean town hall meeting

A coalition of about 40 grassroots organizations in the Seventh Congressional District has released the following letter demanding that Rep. Tom Kean hold a town hall meeting to discuss his first 100 days in office with his constituents and take a public position on MAGA Republican plans to cut Medicare and Social Security, roll back health coverage and pursue massive tax cuts for the wealthy:

Rep. Tom Kean, Jr.
75 Claremont Road
Bernardsville, NJ

March 29, 2023

Dear Congressman Kean,

We, the undersigned, are a coalition of grassroots groups, advocacy organizations, and community leaders representing the people of New Jersey’s 7th congressional district. We call upon you to hold an IN-PERSON Town Hall within your first 100 days in office. Meeting face-to-face with a broad, inclusive audience of constituents — not just a cherry-picked group of donors and supporters, or a crowd of thousands listening mutely to a mass phone broadcast in which questions are carefully screened and curated — is the only way for a representative to really understand their district.

Over the next two years, our coalition promises to keep you, our representative, informed about our values, our communities’ needs, and the issues we care about.  We are committed to holding you accountable as our new Congressman; we call upon you to make the same commitment to public accountability. Face-to-face public town halls are a crucial part of that.

As we look to the 118th Congress and the contention within the House of Representatives, we find many reasons for concern:

• We are worried about proposals to make cuts to Social Security and Medicare, which would put the healthcare and economic stability of millions of seniors and working families at risk.
• We are dismayed at potential plans to give tax cuts to the wealthy and large corporations, which would be devastating to American families — especially now, when so many are struggling with rising costs of living while corporate profits surge.
• We are troubled by efforts to slow our hard-won progress on gun safety, inclusive educational standards, and the repercussions of climate change.
• We are alarmed by attacks on the rights and safety of historically marginalized communities, on women’s reproductive rights, and on voter access across our nation.

For four years, under your predecessor, the Seventh Congressional District was represented with integrity; we will hold you to the same high standard. We expect transparency and accountability from you as our representative, and we expect that you will listen to our concerns with respect and a willingness to engage in dialogue. We request that you commit to holding an in-person town hall within the first 100 days of your term to allow constituents to raise the issues that matter to them, and to give you an opportunity to clearly explain your positions.

Though members of our coalition come from all corners of CD-7, we are united in our commitment to the people of this district. Together we urge you to join us in putting constituents first, and scheduling a face-to-face public town hall.

BlueWaveNJ

Bridgewater Township Democratic Committee

Citizens for Democracy

Coalition for Citizen Initiative New Jersey

CWA NJ

CWA Local 1032

CWA Local 1037

CWA Local 1038

CWA Local NJ 1081

Democratic Club of Berkeley Heights

Dems for Kindness in Government

Denville Democratic Committee

Hackettstown Drinking Liberally

Hunterdon County Young Dems

Indivisible Lambertville New Hope

Long Valley Indivisible

Make the Road Action

Mendham Borough Dems

Mt. Arlington Democratic Committee

Mt. Olive Democrats

New Jersey Citizen Action

New Jersey Public Education Coalition

New Jersey Working Families Party

NJ7 Citizens for Change

NJ7 Forward

NJ 11th for Change

NJ Sierra Club (Loantaka Group)

NJ State Industrial Union Council

NJ Universal Health Care

One NJ7

Parsippany Democratic Committee

Pizza and Politics (Hackettstown)

Roxbury Democratic Committee

Sparta Progressives

Summit Marches On

Sussex County Democratic Committee – LGBTQIA+ Caucus

Sussex County Pride

The Sussex County Progressives

Washington Township Democratic Committee

Westfield 20/20