Who’s Holding a Townhall?

According to the Republican Party of Texas Platform, GOP state representatives are to hold townhall meetings to discuss House leadership between now and the start of the 83rd session. So far, only a handful of GOP legislators say they plan to hold this important meeting with their constituents.

As mentioned last Wednesday, we set out to learn the intentions of the GOP members in regards to these town hall meetings. We called the campaigns (if phone numbers were available) and district offices (of incumbents) asking if the respective future or current state representative was planning to hold a meeting discussing the leadership of the House with their constituents, as called for by the party platform:

“We call for the Republican members of the Texas House of Representatives after the November election, leading up to the Legislative session, to hold public townhall meetings in which the voters can express their wishes and thoughts about the leadership for the 83rd Session.”

Frankly, it was surprising to see just how many members weren’t at least in the process of planning one. Even more so was the number of legislators openly dismissive of the idea of meeting with their constituents all together.

Take Rep. Myra Crownover for example. A staffer in her office questioned why constituents should even be involved in the speaker’s race, noting that in her 13 years working there, it’s never been an issue before. (Mind you, it was only four years ago that a statute banning public participation in the speaker’s race was ruled unconstitutional.)

A staffer of Rep. Angie Chen Button told us she “is busy being a representative” going to committee hearings right now, and would have not have time to meet with her constituents between now and the start of session.

Rep. Jim Murphy’s office told us they would not be holding a meeting because he “has too much on his plate right now” and doesn’t have time.

And a staffer for Rep. Debbie Riddle told us “her constituents are tired of all the elections” and if she holds one, it would likely be after session starts. (The vote for speaker is the first day of the session.)

As of now, only a handful of members said they do in fact plan to hold a townhall meeting to discuss house leadership.

Rep. elect Jeff Leach and incumbent Rep. Jodie Laubenberg are both part of those few. They plan to hold a joint townhall in the Metroplex regarding House leadership. Rep. elect Stephanie Klick is also planning to hold a meeting in district closer to the start of the session, as well as Rep. elect Giovanni Capriglione. 

Mr. Capriglione was emphatic about the importance of holding these meetings, saying:

“It’s vital that representatives give constituents as many opportunities as possible to communicate their concerns–whether by email, facebook, or local townhall meetings. In fact, townhall meetings are specifically encouraged in the Republican Party platform and I’m looking forward to an ongoing conversation with District 98.”

Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, Rep. Elects Bennett Ratliff and Ed Thompson have meetings in the works, but were unable to provide any other details.

So far, there doesn’t seem to be sense of urgency for many incoming and incumbent GOP house members. The best way to fix that is to get in touch with your representative and encourage them to meet with their constituents.

You can see a full list of responses we have gathered so far below. Check back for updates:

Updated Dec. 17

N/A – Unable to get in touch

Dustin Matocha

Dustin Matocha is the CFO and COO of Texas Scorecard. Dustin graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Management, a BA in Government, and a minor in Marketing. He’s a self-described Corvette enthusiast, baseball purist, tech geek and growing connoisseur of local craft beer.