Fedorchak praises individual meetings, decries town halls as ‘political theater’

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – U.S. House Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., said she plans to continue holding one-on-one meetings with North Dakotans going forward, but poured cold water on the possibility of a public town hall.

Fedorchak held 10 meetings in Bismarck on Friday with those who signed up for time slots in advance. She also held similar meetings in Fargo last month with seven constituents.

She said was encouraged by the meetings and believes people just wanted “to be heard.”

“People came in with issues and only a handful of folks really had grievances about the current administration, or what’s going on,” Fedorchak said in an interview after the meetings.

She said the constituent meetings are only one element of her outreach efforts to North Dakotans. The virtual public forums, meeting with advocacy groups and organizations around the state and responding to messages will also continue, she said, which provide multiple layers of interaction.

“The town hall would not be as productive,” Fedorchak said. “I’m not interested in creating an environment that just further underscores the partisan nature of our political arena today and that’s what those town halls generally do. They are a forum for political theater that has turned into yelling and screaming, and not a productive conversation about the consequential issues.”

One North Dakotan with a meeting slot in Bismarck was Mike Larson of Carrington. He said “cruelty” prompted him to sign up for a one-on-one meeting with Fedorchak.

“We’re going backwards,” Larson said, prior to his meeting. “Everything. Just cruelty in general. It’s not her fault. It’s the party. The people. And I’m just kind of fed up with the cruelty. That’s the thing that bothers me the most.”

Larson said he has friends that he now describes as “people I used to know” because of their political disagreements.

After the meeting, Larson said Fedorchak listened and wrote down his concerns. He added he felt better upon exiting his meeting.

“I just hope she adheres to some of the things that I talked to her about and understands that there’s a lot of people like me that are very concerned about our future,” he said. “I hope she understands that a person needs to be an individual and make your own decisions.”

Fedorchak said she has crafted her political beliefs after more than 30 years in business and public service and she is a conservative, which shouldn’t surprise anyone.

“I am a Republican and I’m committed to the principles of the Republican Party and the conservative movement because I think they are right,” Fedorchak said. “Folks who don’t share those values are going to see it differently and wish I voted differently.”

Debbra Hill of Bismarck said she considers herself a Republican, but has major concerns about the high cost of child care and its accessibility. She also said she has issues with the way the United States is treating Ukrainian immigrants who fled their country, only to have problems with their visas being extended.

“I have friends from Ukraine. They say they are not deporting them, but if they can’t work and the government is not helping them … that’s a horrible way to treat our Ukrainian friends,” Hill said.

She also expressed concerns about the country’s $37 trillion debt and that the Republican reconciliation package will add to that debt, not pay it down.

“We thought we were going to decrease our debt. We thought we were going to have a better quality of life. This is all reversed and I’m very disappointed,” Hill said.

After her meeting, Hill said Fedorchak justified the Republican tax and spending package, which is what she expected.

“She justified everything they have done,” Hill said. “We’re not going to have growth with high tariffs and we’re not going to have growth when we don’t have workers to do the labor.”

Hill said her opinion of Fedorchak did not change as a result of the meeting.

Fedorchak said the meetings proved that people can still have respectful discussions about important issues.

“I think everyone appreciated being able to be heard and hearing where I stand on issues, even if it’s different from them,” Fedorchak said.

Some North Dakotans met with Fedorchak to address personal issues regarding their missing tax refund or problems with the visa process for a family member.

In a statement from North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer’s office, Cramer said he holds a regular series of radio town halls that are listed on his website, which provides opportunities for North Dakotans from across the state to participate.

“Whether a person is speaking into a microphone or telephone, they are speaking directly to me, with the only differences being they don’t have to get in their car or wait for a town hall to align with their schedule,” Cramer said in a statement. “I also make it a priority to be available to local reporters, and in fact most of them have my cell phone number. If I am going to represent North Dakotans the best way I can, I need to hear from them, but it’s too important to rely only upon 20th Century tools and tactics when we all know how quickly things move today.”

In a statement, North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven’s office said, “Hoeven holds public meetings on issues important to our state and nation. These public events are in communities across the state, and North Dakotans are welcome to attend.”

The office said Hoeven has participated in meetings and discussions over the last several weeks involving: energy, border security, housing, grazing and flood protection. Hoeven is also available to meet with constituents regularly in Washington, D.C., and North Dakota.