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Freshly-minted congressman, TJ Cox, holds first town hall meeting Saturday in Kings County
The district’s previous congressman, David Valadao, didn’t have any town hall meetings during his last term. He did, however, conduct what his office referred to as a “Hometown Huddle,” held in 2017, an event that invited constituents to his office for brief 10-minute, first come, first serve meetings with the representative.
The move to steer clear of public gatherings or town halls came on the heels of a rancorous national health care debate that resulted in numerous town hall confrontations throughout the country, forcing many members of Congress into the shadows, including Valadao and Tulare Rep. Devin Nunes, who also hasn’t held any town halls in recent years.
Saturday’s town hall played out under cloudy skies, and tenuous rain was fortunately held inside Hanford West’s cafeteria where nearly 200 residents submitted written questions that Cox spent the next hour answering with the assistance of a young Girl Scout who carefully and politely read the questions out loud.
The questions ran the gamut of issues relevant to Kings County’s voters, from agriculture to high-speed rail.
Just in case, a pair of Hanford police officers were on hand, but the mostly-polite audience was on its best behavior – other than a few verbal questions shouted at the congressman near the end of the event.
“I thought it was a great start. I thought that TJ handled the questions well,” said Cathy Jorgensen, a local Democratic official who has helped organize protests at Valadao’s office. “I take this really personally because it took us about 50 times we spent protesting in front of our last congressman’s office, David Valadao, (just) to get a town hall.
“I was pleasantly surprised at the turnout, and we all expected people not to agree with everything,” added Jorgensen. “I think that for the most part, it was very respectful, and I think TJ handled the anger or disrespect admirably.”
Cox said he was excited to be in Hanford. “We wanted to have the first one (town hall) in Hanford,” he said. Cox began the town hall a recitation of his goals for the district. “We have a very simple mission, to serve every one of you in a timely manner.
“We’ve been very busy. We’ve done nearly 100 events in the district,” he said since getting elected in November.
During Saturday’s town hall, Cox answered questions ranging from water policy to taxes, including helping to pass legislation extending the tax-filing periods to help taxpayers meet the demands of tax cuts enacted last year.
He also announced that he currently has offices in Bakersfield and Selma. “We’re looking at an office here in Hanford down the road,” he said.
Regarding water policy, an essential issue in the San Joaquin Valley, Cox cited his chairmanship of the Natural Resources Committee – sort of a rarity for a first-term congressman – that allows him to act from a unique perspective as he attempts to improve the Valley’s access to water. For example, he cited a Bureau of Reclamation Fund of 10-15 billion dollars that needs to be expended to repair or replace the California Bureau of Reclamation facilities. “That money is already out there,” he said. “Why hasn’t it been tapped?"
Cox also lamented the current state of education and health care insisting that the current administration is cutting education and avoiding health care. Cox says the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was just the first step in providing affordable health care. “We need to enhance the ACA,” insisted the new congressman.
“We need quality, affordable health care for all,” he said. Currently, though, he insists that “there’s just not one bill or option that will satisfy everybody.”
Health care is a difficult subject to tackle. There are those, said Cox, that enjoy their private health insurance. “People are also happy with Medicare. There is a lot of work to do.”
While not providing any specifics, he promises to support what he considers the No. 1 issue in the Valley – agriculture. “We’ve been talking to the growers, and they’re doing very innovative things” in water conservation.
Cox answered queries about Veterans’ issues, insisting that the Veterans Administration needs improvement. “VA hospitals are not doing their jobs,” he said. “There are too many vets dying. Nobody should fall through the cracks.”
