Mitch Stewart, director of Organizing for America, which was formed out of Obama’s vast campaign email list, recently sent me an email with the subject, “Visit Rep. Pascrell’s office in Bloomfield.” Apparently similar messages, encouraging people to visit their local congressman during summer recess and talk about health care reform, went out all over the country. Still, it was a surprise to Congressman Bill Pascrell’s office.
“They chose to refer people to some Congressional satellite offices. It’s not like they conferred with the Congressman,” said Pascrell communications director Paul Brubaker. But he added quickly, “I’m glad they did.” Pascrell is actively advocating health reform and trying to connect with constituents, Brubaker says. He appeared last week on the Brian Lehrer Show and is conducting a series of telephone town meetings, the first of which is tonight at 7:20 pm.
But to keep numbers manageable, says Brubaker, the first telephone town hall is targeting mostly residents of Passaic County, and just a few Essex towns: Cedar Grove, Livingston, Verona, South Orange and West Orange. If you live in one of those towns, you’ve already received a robocall invitation.
As for Baristaville — Montclair, Bloomfield and Glen Ridge specifically — our telephone town hall hasn’t been scheduled yet.
Meanwhile, there’s always the Bloomfield office, room 200A in the municipal building, which is staffed on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 to 3. And all constituents are invited to call the district office at 973-523-5152. “If he’s in, he’ll take the call,” says Brubaker. “If he’s not, he’ll get back to them.”
Personally?
“Somebody will.”
Rep. Pascrell, by the way, is also looking after the interests of Springsteen fans. He’s on record urging “great skepticism” about the proposed merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, and introduced the BOSS ACT (Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act) in the wake of the February Springsteen ticket scandal.
hmmm, the great community organizer – Obama?