The scene at Tuesday’s (March 21) town hall in Marin. It was lightly attended but civil.
Sherman R. Frederick
Marinscope
Marin’s representative to Congress, Jared Huffman, held a town hall in San Rafael last week, and civility broke out.
Unlike the last time he held a town hall in Marin – 21 months ago when Rep. Huffman said an anti-vaccination crowd hijacked the town hall and shut down the meeting – this time the crowd was respectful and civil. The meeting was also attended by uniformed Marin County Sheriff’s Department deputies at the ready.
Security and extra caution didn’t save Rep. Huffman from tough questions, however.
The first question came from a man who asked the congressman whether he is a socialist.
Huffman said “no.”
“Do I consider myself a socialist?” Huffman said, repeating the question.
“Well, I like Social Security and Medicare and the VA and all sorts of government programs. I’m not afraid of socialism when it works. But, no. I would probably fail most definitions of socialism.”
Last Tuesday’s (March 21) town hall came off without a hitch. It was held in the Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting room. It was not a packed house, but it was an appreciative crowd as Rep. Huffman took questions for about an hour.
He said he was glad to get before constituents in person again and asked the crowd be civil “even if you disagree with me or the person next to you.”
“On June 21, 2021,” Huffman reminded the audience that he held a town hall during the teeth of COVID-19 restrictions and the meeting was “hijacked” by anti-vaccination people who shouted down others.
“That meant we had to stop. It’s been 21 months and we are going to try again,” he said, adding that he was “grateful that our sheriff’s deputies are here.”
Rep. Huffman responded to questions about banking failures, the closing of the Post Office in Bolinas, daylight savings time, vaccinations, affordable housing, the national debt ceiling and nuclear power.
On the topic of the hair of the dog that bit him in 2021, Huffman told a group of anti-vaxx attendees that he understood the point that during COVID there were “a lot of deaths of fully-vaccinated people.”
His “northstar,” however remains “science” and he would continue to listen to the medical experts on COVID precautions and vaccination rules.
Huffman told the group that the new Republican majority in Congress would mean “significant” changes from him. He said he’ll be “playing more defense than I would like.”
He called the two years under Nancy Pelosi “the most productive two-years in Congress” and pointed out that he has been elected by fellow Democrats as the vice chair of the congressional Progressive Caucus.”
He told the group that the new Republican majority in Congress will be “going after” the Biden Administration and that he will push back when “Republicans are being unfair.”
But, he said, bipartisan support remains a glimmer of hope in the new congress. For example, he said he’s found “common ground” with Republicans on illegal fishing.
Asked whether he would support an increase in deposit insurance from $250,000 per depositor to an unlimited number, he admitted that he’s still making up his mind on that.
“I want to see community banks thrive” and that the consolidation trend in the banking industry worried him. Fully insuring depositors may have some unintended consequences.
“I have not figured it out yet.”
(You can reach the writer at shermfrederick@gmail.com.)
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