More than 1,500 people spent part of their Saturday afternoon sitting in a high school gym in Lakewood — not for a game, but to hear from their local congress member.
Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen convened the in-person townhall with Attorney General Phil Weiser, Lakewood Mayor Wendi Strom, former congressman Ed Perlmutter and others.
“People are scared and they want to know what to do right now. And so you're doing the most important thing though right now, which is showing up and fighting back,” she told the crowd.
The event was part of a larger strategy that House Democrats are undertaking, hosting more townhalls to highlight that House Republicans have been told by their leadership to not to hold in-person events, to avoid viral scenes of people venting their anger over both the dramatic actions already taken by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, and further cuts the GOP is eyeing as they try to pass Trump’s legislative agenda.
“Unlike my Republican colleagues, I’ll be holding townhalls all across my district,” Pettersen said. At the end of the event, however, she also said she’d be doing tele-townhalls, too.
Last week Colorado Republican Rep. Jeff Crank held a telephone townhall, which is easier to control and less likely to be disturbed by angry constituents. GOP Rep. Jeff Hurd has one planned for the coming week. This approach has bipartisan appeal, too; Democrat Diana DeGette held a telephone town hall a few weeks back, as did Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet.
Greg Liverman and his wife Wendy Dillenschneider drove all the way from Teller County to Jefferson County to hear from Pettersen. Their concerns were echoed by many in the crowd.
“We’re very interested in hearing what she has to say about what she’s doing in Washington to stand up to the Trump Administration completely dissembling our entire government,” Liverman said. He pointed to the layoffs that have hit Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in his county. The site is now closed two days of the week, which has an economic impact in the region.
“The people in power now don’t seem to believe the government actually has a purpose and they're basically taking it apart to sell for parts. It’s like venture capitalism run amok in our government,” said Dillenschneider.
Speaking with press before the event, Attorney General Weiser said he’s seen some developments in the courts that he finds “mildly encouraging,” noting that judges have ruled favorably in five of the lawsuits he’s joined against the Trump administration.
“In those cases, the Trump administration has said they are following what the court is requiring. They are not refusing to follow the law,” said Weiser. But “the proof's gonna be in the pudding because this administration is doing things that are an affront to this idea of the rule of law.”
Pettersen answered pre-submitted questions from the largely friendly crowd, ranging from how to help laid off federal workers and immigrants, to how to stop Elon Musk, a question which drew loud applause from the crowd.
“This is not Twitter,” Pettersen said of the federal government. “He's treating this the way that he did with Twitter, where you can go in and dismantle a system and do what you want. Well, there are real consequences with people that are hurt in the meantime.”
At one point though, Pettersen did face at least one angry constituent, who asked if she’d push for new leadership in the Democratic caucus, a question that drew loud applause from the audience. The man said he wants leaders who will fight back against the Trump administration.
In response, Pettersen pointed out that leadership is trying to set expectations.
“While Democrats are not in power, we are not powerless. It’s all of us working together and keeping this movement and sharing our stories to fight back,” Pettersen told the crowd.
She did point to things her party can do, such as lawsuits, bills, resolutions, townhalls and "holding our Republican colleagues accountable.”
It was not enough for that person, who could be heard yelling “we want leadership!”
Pettersen also had some news to share with the crowd. Despite being on maternity leave, she and her month-old son will head to Washington, D.C., next week as Congress faces a Friday government funding deadline. On Saturday, Republicans unveiled a stopgap measure to keep the government open through September. Their bill slightly increases defense spending, while slightly cutting other parts of the government.
Pettersen’s office said 1,800 people attended the townhall in person — the most ever for one of her events — with another 500 watching online.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated with more information about crowd size.
