To combat overwhelming unpopularity some congresspersons are looking to have discussions with small groups of six to eight to ten people at a time instead of meeting with large groups. Is this why our own congressperson will not confirm to appear at a town hall meeting on February 24th (6 p.m. at City Hall, 420 Broadway) in Kingston? As of noon on February 13th, our congressperson's office staff in Kingston does not know if he will attend (four calls on February 21st went straight to voicemail).

Based on the population of our district it would take about 70,000 meetings with small groups of 10 people to speak with all the people in NYS Congressional District 19. Assuming our congressperson does this over a two-year term, it would require about 95 meetings a day, every single day. And that is just each small group meeting with our congressperson once over the entire term of two years. There is a reason town hall meetings and representatives supposedly exist; scalability.

It is fair and reasonable to expect our representative to speak with us together in large groups as requested. It is tradition. There is significant interest (over 1,000 people) in the Facebook event for the upcoming town hall hosted by Citizen Action of the Hudson Valley that is free and open to the public. Many of us are concerned about our Liberty, upholding our Constitution, the possible loss of healthcare, plus the continued attempts by some lawmakers to privatize Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. I know I am. Faso wrote a 2004 NY Times op-ed about privatizing Social Security, "...such a system could be a boon to Wall Street." Is Faso seeking to represent Wall Street instead of the Hudson Valley? Is it really possible to represent both?

These concepts, issues and programs have considerable impact on our families and friends. Many of those affected by such a change, especially the elderly, may not have the resources to overcome such a drastic shift in Social Security policy for instance. Most of us know at least one person who is struggling no matter how hard they work and how much they have sacrificed. I do.

I want a local non-partisan discussion on these matters to hear what other residents are concerned about, as the two major parties and our national news media are failing to hold our representatives accountable. We need to reject Faso if he tells us lies, we should applaud him if he tells the truth and we need to call him out if he uses doublespeak. I am not interested in lobbying Faso in small, divided, thus possibly conquered groups. I suppose this may make sense for a former professional lobbyist like Faso, but I am not a lobbyist. I am a concerned resident and voter in the Hudson Valley.

Gary Pennock is an artist who lives in Stone Ridge.