GAUTIER, MS (WLOX) -
After hearing criticism that he wasn't meeting face to face with his constituents enough, South Mississippi Congressman Steven Palazzo reversed course Monday and conducted a town hall meeting in Gautier. It was just the second forum the congressman has hosted since he took office in January of 2011.
After a few handshakes and greetings with voters, Rep. Palazzo got down to business with one goal in mind.
"I think it's best when the politician doesn't talk and does more listening to his constituents about their issues and their concerns," Palazzo said.
Those concerns came through loud and clear, like free cell phones from the government. That was the complaint from Henry Foreman.
"In 2010, we spent $1.37 billion on these cell phones," Foreman said. "They interviewed this one woman, she had ten of them in her purse."
While Palazzo has voted 33 times to repeal health care reform, at least one voter was critical of that action.
"What I would like the see the GOP House do is rather than trying to repeal it, and you have yet to offer a floor vote on any replacement legislation," Bo Alawine said. "I want to see you make it better."
The size of congressional bills was also a target for Robert Jennings.
"See if you can't get a bill passed that says you have to have one day for every page that's in that thing," Jennings commented. "If you have 3,000 pages, you'll have 3,000 days to look at it. That's the only way to tie these people down."
While some of the questions asked were typical of what you might expect at a congressional town hall meeting, others were anything but typical.
"My question for you, sir, is what is your position on tobacco on the local, state and federal level?" Woodrow Gibbs asked.
Joan Brashears had this suggestion. "What we need to do is something about the media, the mainstream media because I think it's been sewn up by the Democrats."
Even after the meeting, passions were still burning for people like Paul Fuller on the immigration issue.
"We've got to provide interpreters for them. This is my country. English. They can't speak it, get out. I'm sick and tired of it," Fuller said.
Congressman Palazzo said his staff is trying to arrange a few more town hall meetings during the August congressional recess.
Copyright 2012 WLOX. All rights reserved.
After hearing criticism that he wasn't meeting face to face with his constituents enough, South Mississippi Congressman Steven Palazzo conducted a town hall meeting in Gautier Monday.
