Community News

A Town Hall Meeting was held on Saturday at the Lake Ontario Event & Conference Center, hosted by activist organization Indivisible- Oswego County.

Town Hall Meetings can be traced back to the colonial era of America, where citizens gathered to discuss issues and legislation, and to express their views on them with elected officials.

According to Paul McKinney of Fulton, one of the founders of Indivisible- Oswego County, Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, who represents most of Oswego County in the US House of Representatives, has not held a Town Hall anywhere in her district in more than two years. “We have repeatedly invited her to appear at this meeting, held when Congress is in recess, to hear her constituents’ concerns regarding the state of our nation. She has chosen not to accept our invitation.” In Tenney’s absence, a life-size cardboard cutout with her likeness on it was placed near the podium in a symbolic gesture to allow speakers to address her.

There were several area public figures who did show up to speak to the more than 350 concerned citizens who were gathered. Onondaga County Legislator Maurice “Mo” Brown, SEIU Representative Mark Spadafore and Casey Walpole of the Oswego County Labor Council addressed the audience.

Brown, who is a military veteran, spoke about health care and immigrants’ rights, and urged audience members, “Don't let them divide us!”

Spadafore, whose union represents health care workers at St. Luke Nursing Home in Oswego,  talked about the massive cuts to Medicaid and how many nursing home residents rely on this program to pay for the needed care that is unaffordable for most. Without cuts to these programs, “...how are the billions in tax cuts they're giving to the wealthy going to be paid for?” he asked.

Walpole, formerly an officer in the Civil Service Employees Union, spoke regarding the injustices being done to federal employees and the methods being used by Elon Musk to consolidate government through his DOGE appointment.

Fulton Mayor Jim Rice was the final speaker to address the crowd. He spoke eloquently on how adversely the cuts to Medicaid, WIC, SNAP and other federal programs would affect his city's residents. “These programs are literally the lifeblood of a city like Fulton,” he said. “Five of our six wards are classified as disadvantaged - we need these programs!”

Following Rice's remarks, the floor was opened for audience members to speak. Many of them directly addressed the Tenney figure, conversing as though the Congresswoman was actually in the room. Moderator Tom Ciappa urged speakers and audience members to “Keep it classy, Oswego.” By and large, they did.

For about one hour, person after person stepped to the microphone and delivered heartfelt statements on the state of our country's democracy and the assault it is under from the Trump administration.

Among the subjects speakers addressed were: cuts to Veterans programs and the elimination of federal jobs held by vets; proposals to make budget and service cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; elimination of the Department of Education and the protection of those with special needs; and the alienation of our allies Canada, Mexico, and the NATO nations.

Other speakers brought up the indiscriminate arrests and deportations of immigrants, including the family of four in Sacketts Harbor, who are actually legal US residents.

Women's reproductive rights, voting rights and LGBTQ+ rights are under assault according to other speakers, and a common theme of many was to ask, “Where is Claudia Tenney?” Also mentioned was Tenney’s seemingly extreme loyalty to President Trump, as she has authored proposals to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize and to have his birthday turned into a national holiday. One of the later speakers went so far as to drape a black cloth over the head of the Tenney figure, to signify that the Congresswoman wasn't watching or listening to her constituents’ concerns.

Particularly powerful were the words of a young Latina who addressed the crowd near the end of the event. She spoke of recently being harassed by people in public about whether or not she was a citizen. She stated that as a Puerto Rican, she is indeed a citizen, but that she feels the crackdown on immigration has emboldened the political right and has brought racial discrimination to the forefront. “I was never scared to be Latina in America before, but now I am,” she said.

Several speakers urged audience members to get involved in government - to call, write, and email their representatives, to go to rallies and marches to make their views known, to participate in local government, and most of all, to work together.

For more information about opportunities to join with your fellow citizens, you can follow Indivisible- Oswego County on social media or visit their website, www.indivisibleoc.com. There, you'll find a schedule of organizational meetings, informational picketing, and other events.