U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, will host her first Vancouver town hall meeting next week, her office announced Monday.
The public meeting will be 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 16, at Skyview High School, 1300 N.W. 139th St.
Herrera Beutler will give an update on congressional matters and answer audience questions during the town hall, spokesman Casey Bowman said.
The first-term congresswoman is also scheduled to appear at 6 p.m. May 18 at Corbet Theatre in Centralia College’s Washington Hall, 600 Centralia College Blvd.
Herrera Beutler’s only prior town hall in Clark County was Feb. 3, with around 300 people in attendance at the Battle Ground Community Center.
In recent weeks, some of the congresswoman’s critics have chastised her for not holding more public meetings.
Bowman said her staff has spent several weeks planning her Vancouver town hall. He added that the biggest challenge was finding the right venue to accommodate several hundred people.
“Her biggest goal for this is to hear what’s on the minds of people in Vancouver and in Clark County,” Bowman said.
Herrera Beutler will speak about job creation, the Columbia River Crossing project and how Congress is “facing the facts in terms of debt to curb the overspending both parties are guilty of,” Bowman said.
Herrera Beutler recently met with small-business owners in Clark County. Among the chief concerns they voiced during the meeting were rising energy and fuel prices, Bowman said.
Herrera Beutler is paying close attention to the CRC project, the spokesman added. “She wants to make sure there is a detailed finance plan so the people in Clark County are not left with the financial burden,” Bowman said.
One voter who plans to attend the town hall is Ridgefield resident Bill Baumann. In a letter in Monday’s Columbian, he called out Herrera Beutler for failing to hold a public forum in Vancouver. On Monday afternoon, Baumann expressed satisfaction when told of the congresswoman’s plans.
He said he wants to hear Herrera Beutler answer questions about why she voted to privatize Medicare.
