Senator Daylin Leach invites you to participate in our democracy at his Town Hall Meeting. The event is free and open to the public. No RSVP necessary. Please join in the discussion on Thursday, October 1st at 7:00 p.m. at the Haverford Township Free Library located at 1601 Darby Road in Havertown PA. For more information call 610-768-4200.


American Town Hall Meetings

As originally understood, an American Town Hall Meeting was a time when people would come together in a public building to legislate policy and budgets for their community - a practice still used in the United States, notably in New England. More recently, the term has been co-opted by the political process to describe a campaign event where voters have a chance to ask questions of a candidate, and where the candidate has a chance to show the voters that he or she is just like them - a real person - often going so far as to make their point by loosening their tie, rolling up their sleeves, or even wearing jeans!

Town Hall Meetings were in the news this past summer, when members of Congress held gatherings in their districts to discuss the debate over Health Care Reform with remarkable results. Wide-eyed radicals on both sides of the issue took to the microphones, making caffeine-laced diatribes against their representatives and the President. Angry crowds - often organized by special interest groups with stakes in the outcome of the health care reform debate - shouted down members of Congress when they tried to respond. American citizens on both sides of the issue accused other citizens of being Un-American and subscribing to every -ism under the sun, and of generally trying to destroy the Republic.

Town Hall Meetings are an opportunity for people to come together and solve problems, not a chance for individuals to grandstand or highlight the issues that divide us. We are living in serious times, and serious times call for serious people to confront our shared problems head on - not by reciting canned speeches or chanting shallow slogans - but by having a real discussion about what kind of country and Commonwealth we want to leave to the next generation of leaders.

Now, I'm not expecting that we'll solve all the problems of the world at my upcoming Town Hall Meeting. For one, it isn't even in a Town Hall - it's at the Haverford Free Library. Nevertheless, I look forward to a candid dialog about the important issues that face Pennsylvania, including the ongoing budget impasse, the looming pension crisis, our achievements in progressive environmental policy, education funding, and problems in our political process. I hope you will be able to join me!

Daylin