Bend Hosts Empty-Chair Town Hall Targeting Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer

Local organizations will host an empty-chair town hall meeting on Oct. 11 for Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR-5). The upcoming meeting, taking place at 1pm in the Brooks Room of Deschutes Public Library, will be one of three hosted during the October Congressional Recess by the activist organizations Vocal Seniority and Indivisible Sisters.

The empty-chair meeting, according to a press release, will demonstrate the need for in-person town halls with Chavez-DeRemer, Oregon’s representative for Congressional District 5. The District, redrawn following the 2020 Census, includes parts of Central Oregon including Bend and Sisters, and stretches across the mountains and into the Portland suburbs.

The empty-chair town hall on Oct. 11 will take place at Deschutes Public Library. Credit: Ella Taft

Chavez-DeRemer, who hails from Happy Valley in Clackamas County, has yet to hold an in-person town hall with her constituents, according to Gayle Stamler with Vocal Seniority. The dates for the upcoming meetings will occur when elected officials are in their home districts.

The empty chair won’t be completely “empty,” as organizers plan to bring a cardboard cutout of the elected representative. Meeting organizers will answer questions by directly quoting published statements, in lieu of Chavez-DeRemer. Her votes on several issues will be discussed with a fact-checker present to provide clarity and context if needed.

“Despite Rep. DeRemer’s claims to the contrary, she has demonstrated a lack of willingness to meet with CD-5 constituents in a public forum here in Central Oregon,” said Roger Sabbadini of the Vocal Seniority. “We have questions that she needs to address directly.”

The release mentioned repeated requests for in-person meetings with Chavez-DeRemer since she took office in January. In May, 50 constituents and community members sent a letter demanding a town hall. Subsequently, another attempt requesting a meeting in July was refused, according to the press release.

“Despite repeated requests for in-person, unscripted town halls at which people could submit questions, she has hosted Zoom calls in which she controls the conversation. This is not satisfactory,” Stamler wrote in an email.

Aaron Britt, Chavez-DeRemer’s communications director, responded to claims regarding her absence.

“The congresswoman has already hosted several town halls over the phone, allowing thousands of Oregonians to participate from across the district in the live and unscripted question-and-answer sessions,” Britt told the Source Weekly. “As always, the next one will be announced on her social media, website, and in the weekly newsletter at least one week in advance. Telephone town meetings are both incredibly transparent and accessible, and the congresswoman looks forward to hosting many more in the future.”

The news release noted that two additional accountability events targeting Chavez-DeRemer will be held on Oct. 10 in Oregon City and Oct. 13 in Albany. Tuesday’s event, the first of the three, will kick off with a protest in front of Chavez-DeRemer’s office in Oregon City, then a march to the town hall at the city’s Community Center.

“We are holding this town hall because we believe that as our elected representative, Lori Chavez-DeRemer needs to be accessible and responsive to her constituents,” Sid Snyder of Vocal Seniority told the Source. “It is our hope that she will recognize that she has been remiss in her responsibilities and that she will subsequently schedule such a town hall in the coming months.”

This article appears in Source Weekly October 12, 2023.