UPDATE:
Congressman Neal Dunn announces he'll be hosting a Tele-Town Hall. It will be this Monday, March 31st at 7:00 p.m. The congressman says he'll be discussing the latest developments in Washington and taking your questions live. You can join the conversation by clicking here.
Original:
- Neighbors rallied Thursday calling on Congressman Neal Dunn for answers on the state of social security.
- Community members organized outside of City Hall before walking inside hoping to speak with the Congressman's team.
- His office told ABC 27 Monday that he “will be hosting a town hall-style event with constituents.”
- Watch the video to find out why this group are advocating.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A rally outside City Hall Thursday, followed by a walk inside City Hall to Congressman Neal Dunn’s office, with dozens of community members hoping to speak the Congressman and his team in person. Six had their wishes granted Thursday.
"The staff were very uncomfortable, I really don’t know why because we’re pretty harmless," said Terry Farley, a retired citizen of Leon County, was one of the community members let inside.
"We got to speak with 3 staffers, none of them were able to explain what his stance was on social security," said Farley.
It’s a benefit she’s completely dependent on.
"I’m one of the many people who could not have a decent standard of living without that social security," said Farley. "I started working when I was 14 years old, I paid into this system, I’m now 67 and I deserve that money."
Citizens' concerns arise over reports that dozens of SSA offices are expected to close this year under the Department of Government Efficiency.
That’s why neighbors, including local elected officials, are calling on Congressman Neal Dunn to take a stand. According to Congressional Statistics, over 173,000 constituents are on social security in his district which includes Tallahassee, but stretches from Panama City to Madison County.
"Look government’s not easy but it is a requirement that you should meet with your constituents," said City of Tallahassee Commissioner Jeremy Matlow. "The behavior we’ve experienced from the office today is unacceptable."
Normally we can rely on state and federal officials, in this case federal, to meet their constituents where they are, we are having to step in in a vacuum of transparency and open communication with constituents," said Leon County Commissioner David O'Keefe. "We shouldn’t need to be here. These people should be able to just walk into the representatives office and speak to them."
"We may not have none beyond that point but we have access up the hill in the Leon County Courthouse where early voting is going to be occurring real soon and we’re going to hope and invite everybody if Dunn can’t get this thing right on our social security trust and believe he’s truly done. He’s done done done, done for," said Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor.
ABC 27 reached out to Congressman Dunn’s office Thursday for comment. We have not yet heard back.
He did post this on Facebook Thursday afternoon. “Today, my team met with several of our constituents who participated in a peaceful protest in front of Tallahassee City Hall. I am very appreciative of the respectful dialogue they had with concerned citizens. However, several elected officials who participated in the protest chose not to join the conversation. I would like to thank City Hall officials, security, and police officers who kept everyone safe during the event.”
His team did confirm Monday that he “will be hosting a town hall-style event with constituents.”
Organizers of this rally said closed doors Thursday will not keep them from continuing to advocate.
"It is our job to educate, motivate, activate, agitate," said Barbara DeVane, one of the organizers of the rally.
Farley said that office staff told her a town hall is in the works, that is expected to take place in the next two weeks.
Speaking with the Northwest Florida chapter for the Alliance for Retired Americans, they said they will be holding another rally soon, with an exact date expected to be released soon.
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