Progressives host town hall for Cory Gardner, without him

A group of Fort Collins progressives plan to answer a question Tuesday night that few would have thought of six months ago: What happens when you throw a town hall for a senator and he doesn't show up?

There's enough interest in what a U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner-less town hall looks like that IndivisibleNOCO, the organizing group, closed registration for attendance due to space concerns, member Tara Morton said. The Colorado Republican's Fort Collins office has played a front-and-center role in the spate of protests that erupted here since the inauguration of President Donald Trump. His staff here and in Washington, D.C., have also grappled with an explosion of emails, phone calls and social media messages.

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The group doesn't feel Gardner is paying enough attention to their concerns, Morton said. They acknowledge the event is political theater but say they invited Gardner himself or staff. The event will be structured like a town hall, with pointed questions, and plans to turn to Gardner's record and previous statements to suss out how he might respond, she said.

"If he's not here, we'll let his own words and talking points speak for themselves," Morton said, adding, "If we can't have a conversation, how are we going to move forward?"

IndivisibleNOCO plans to submit the questions to Gardner's office as well and hopes for responses. They'll also stream the town hall and submit video to Gardner's office.

Morton noted how some other town halls or constituent meetings have turned rowdy and joked that she doesn't necessarily blame Gardner for avoiding it. Even so, the groups wants some avenue to make sure its concerns are heard and demonstrate it can hold a town hall that maintains order.

"How do you hold your elected leaders accountable when they still have four years to go?" Morton asked, noting that it applies to both Gardner, elected in 2014, and Trump. "We need Cory Gardner to respond to why he's voting lockstep with Trump."

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Morton said this is the first of four planned town halls for Gardner, with the other three set for Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs.

Alex Siciliano, a spokesperson for Gardner, said the senator has been using the in-state work period while Congress is in recess to hold meetings and roundtables focused on specific topics, such as small business growth and controlling health care costs. Gardner has also held telephone town halls with constituents in the state. People who call his offices can ask to be included on the tele-town hall lists when they happen in their districts.

His office did not respond to questions about if staff plans to attend the town hall Tuesday night. It is planning to hold a tele-town hall soon, with future plans to stream them online and allow constituents to sign-up online to participate.

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Morton said her group has also asked for town halls with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Jared Polis, both Democrats. Laurie Cipriano, a spokesperson for Bennet, said he will have a tele-town hall sometime in March, though the date is still being decided.

Like Gardner, Bennet has met with constituents on specific topics. Bennet spent the recess traveling to Cuba and Colombia to discuss trade, human rights, migration and more, Cipriano said in an email.

She said his office has also met with some of the groups that organized protests to better understand their concerns.

"Michael views the recent surge in protest activity across the country as a sign that people care deeply about America and democracy," she said.

Polis is planning to host a March 12 town hall in the Fort Collins-Loveland area, though the location hasn't been determined yet. Polis also held two tele-town halls in the past week, as well as a digital roundtable via YouTube Live on the Affordable Care Act, his spokesperson, Jessica Bralish, said.

Clarification: A previous version stated Gardner's office did not respond to questions about future town halls. Gardner's office is planning a telephone town hall, but hasn't hashed out the details.

Watch the town hall

IndvisibleNOCO, a Fort Collins progressive group, organized a town hall for U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, in lieu of unmet requests for one in Northern Colorado. The venue will be full, but it can be streamed online.

When: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

More information: indivisibleNOCO.com