Dear Group,
Last Friday the Indivisible email went out as usual at around 5AM. In it I highlighted an announcement I had gotten wind of by email only at 7PM the evening before. At 7AM Friday, two hours after the Indivisible email posted I received a report from one of my readers the town hall signup link on Eventbrite was reporting “Sold Out.”.
Sold out over a twelve hour period overnight? Really? This isn’t a Rolling Stones concert. What’s going on? How many places were offered? How many held back? Checking the “Facility Specifications at the Spokane Convention Center website was inconclusive. The “Centennial Ballroom” can be any of Ballrooms 300A,B,C,D or combinations thereof. Assuming a “Classroom” configuration that could mean they offered anywhere from 115 to 690 seats. In response to a direct inquiry to the Convention Center people, a reader was told the room McMorris Rodgers rented (whatever the partitioning) will be set for a capacity of 300.
Last August McMorris Rodgers held a tightly controlled town hall at Gonzaga at which there were empty chairs in spite of a crowd outside. Is this a repeat?
The conditions of attendance are interesting, too:
All attendees will be required to show proof of residency within the 5th Congressional District at the door. Proof of residency may include a drivers license or a utility bill with the name of the constituent and their address printed. Failure to show proof at the door will result in being denied entrance.
Tickets to this event are free. There is one seat per ticket. Please contact the office at 509-353-2374 with any questions regarding this event.
PLEASE NOTE: For the safety of everyone participating in this event, all bags will be subject to search prior to entry into the facility. Additionally, no signs of any kind will be allowed inside the auditorium.
With an opaque sign-up and the requirement of proof of residence at least McMorris Rodgers won’t be able to claim the tough questions are coming from paid protesters bused in by George Soros from outside the district.
Please call (509-353-2374) and inquire why the Convention Center says there are only 300 seats in a venue that can hold 690 in a “Classroom” configuration. Asking where and when the town hall was first advertised might also be instructive.There is also a means through a tab at the signup link on Eventbrite down toward the bottom at which you can “contact the event organizer.”
Will she add to the seating? It’s seems enough of a challenge for her to respond to a small, mostly friendly audience up in Green Bluff (also chronicled here and here)
A good many McMorris Rodgers’ constituents might be wearing face masks (if it is still smokey, as seems likely) and carrying signs outside the event on Thursday, wondering why the seats were so few and so briefly advertised.
Here’s what might be a better outlet for frustrated energy–get out and canvass.
Keep to the high ground,
Jerry