Suzanne Bonamici was elected to Congress from Oregon's first Congressional District in a special election on January 31. She was sworn in on February 7. On February 18, she held her first town hall meeting, in Beaverton, Oregon.
My wife and I were there, with our 19-year-old son, M. We were pleased to hear from our new representative. And M made a bit of a splash, with his low-key, non-controversial question.
Bonamici introduced herself and her first two weeks in congress. She told us about her committee assignments (Budget; Science, Space and Technology), the caucuses she had joined (Pro-Choice, Civility, ...), the issues and votes she was studying.
April Baer, reporting for Oregon Public Broadcasting News, summarized the meeting:
At Bonamici's first forum in Beaverton, voters had questions about lowering the national debt, fiscal trouble for the postal service, and health care reform. Quite a few attendees asked about partisanship in Congress. But, Bonamici repeatedly declined to answer questions in partisan terms. One voter asked if Democrats could take a more aggressive stance in defending their political positions.
"The question is can you separate legislation from the politics, " Bonamici answered. "I like to do that as much as possible." Her reply got a big laugh from the crowd.
My son, 19, is in his first year at a local college. He was proud to cast his first vote in the special election that sent Bonamici to Washington. When I asked him if he wanted to go to her town hall on Saturday, he eagerly accepted. His politics are an interesting mix: Democratic, Socialist, Anarchist, Occupy. His dress for the occasion was punk rock/grunge, avoiding the metal spikes and bullet belt that he sometimes wears. We frequently hear from him his disgust at the perceived political ignorance of his friends. He is tall and well-spoken, with a resonant, made-for-radio voice.
After Bonamici gave her introductory talk, her staff drew tickets, lottery-style, for turns at questions by audience members. M wrote out a question to ask her. My number was drawn so I gave him my turn. He introduced himself as a 19-year-old student, and expressed his concern with the state of civics education among his peers. His question: “Do you plan on talking to high-schoolers and college students to raise political and civic awareness among young people?”
Bonamici gave an encouraging answer, thanked him for being there and asked him to please speak to her or her staff after the meeting. Her encouraging response met with applause. State Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, who filled Bonamici's vacant seat in the Oregon Senate also asked M to talk to her.
When the Q&A was done, M was approached by a reporter for a Forest Grove newspaper, by the vice president of the Washington Co. Democrats, by Ben, a peace activist, among others. April Baer, OPB News, interviewed him. I nudged one of Bonamici's staffers to talk to M, which she did. She then introduced him to Bonamici. He also talked to state senator Steiner Hayward. He gathered a stack of business cards from all the various people who introduced themselves to him.
My wife and I, proud parents, hung back and talked to friends and others from the audience as M took his first steps into political involvement.