Loebsack must schedule town hall meetings

During the last session of Congress, a good deal of pressure was placed on lawmakers for not sufficiently reaching out to all constituents. This session, that attention should focus on U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack.

Loebsack, who has served Iowa's 2nd District since 2007, has not held an in-person, independent, official town hall in nearly 10 years. He owes all people in his district his ears, not just those who support him or generally agree with him.

While Loebsack has won his last six elections, the district also supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Loebsack owes it to people who supported both to hold a town hall. Those eight counties combine to more than 230,000 people; Loebsack needs to speak with them and hear where they fall on the current border funding dispute. One side is going to have to give in, and Loebsack should hear from constituents as to who they think that should be.

At the very least, Loebsack should hear from constituents in Johnson and Scott counties. While they may approve of his votes, they deserve to have their legislative priorities known. After all, Loebsack, the perpetual rank-and-file member, works for us, not party leadership. The progressive stronghold in Iowa City surely shares some of the criticisms of party leadership that were brought forth by new Congressional members.

Andrew Bartholomew

Iowa City