Emotional and concerned residents raised questions about Democrats’ plans to counter moves by the Trump administration at New York Congressman Paul Tonko’s townhall on Wednesday.
The Albany High School auditorium was packed with constituents with questions about the next four years.
Attendees were given raffle tickets in order to ask Tonko a question.
Some asked Tonko, a Democrat from the 20th District, about Republicans’ proposed funding cuts:
While others asked Tonko what they could do to help:
Attendee Michael Dickerson spoke out of turn.
Dickerson is a social studies teacher in the Niskayuna school district.
He said he attended the town hall because he sees it as teaching by example.
“I started this year, this semester with my Law and Gov class telling them that democracy is not once every four years where you cast a vote. You vote every day with the choices you make. The people you spend time with. The money you spend. The values you have. And if we make democracy and participation in government a one in four years occasion we’re not gonna get the job done. So this is teaching by doing,” he said.
The teacher says he gives his students credit for participating in civic activities such as town halls or participating in community service. He decided to do his part when he realized that President Trump’s inauguration fell on Martin Luther King Day.
“My next-door neighbor is a 101-year-old vet of Normandy. When I went to vote on election day, he was in his backyard with his feet up. It was unseasonably warm that day and I saw him out there and I thought he’s resting, he’s done, he’s done everything he’s needed to do ,he’s 101 years old, let the man enjoy his backyard, let him enjoy his lawn. If all it means that I have to do is show up, cast a vote, have a tough conversation, get fired up in front of a crowd, humiliate myself, if that’s what I have to do I’m gonna do it,” he said.
Dickerson says it’s up to the people to resist.
“This is not the Democrat’s responsibility, this is our responsibility collectively. We have to stop thinking about this, like, ‘Oh if only they had a majority, if only we got those three seats and we closed the gap between us that is not the gameplan,’” he said.
Tonko says the party must stay united in order to supply information and raise awareness about the Republican Party’s proposals.
He wants people to share stories of success about programs passed under President Biden like the CHIPS and Science Act to avert the cuts.
“Sharing those stories. It’s going to take a lot of work to get this out there. We’ve begun but I don’t know how else to combat these numbers. They’ve got this trifecta with leadership of the Senate, leadership of the House. We’ve just got to build that public sentiment and that awareness,” he said.
For now, Tonko said he is doing what he can:
“Trust me, we are working on these issues, we are getting the best legal minds we can, constitutional lawyers that are tops of their trade, but it’s taking a while to build a case and hoping that we can win a lot of these,” he said.
Republicans who control the Senate approved a $340 billion budget framework on Friday, while House Republicans are working on a one-bill budget that includes some $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.
