Congressman Tom Reed held four town hall meetings on Saturday including one in Geneva. The White Springs Fire Association opened two of their firebays to a standing room crowd that stretched just into the parking lot. The majority of crowd were critical of Reed on a variety of issues. They held up the pre-printed green “agree” and red “disagree” signs that have become common at town halls and frequently shouted their disapproval.
Reed began by reading written questions submitted by attendees before the town hall began but quickly began handing the microphone to members of the audience. Dr. Marguerite Upoff is a pediatrician from Ithaca.
Anthony, a teacher from Romulus Central School, challenged the Congressman on his support of controversial Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the Trump administration’s proposal to cut Title II education funding.
The audience was vocal throughout the town hall, but largely civil, though on a few occasions exchanges between Reed’s supporters and detractors grew heated.
Dr. Upoff, who represented the group of physicians that had mailed Reed, spoke with him and members of his staff following the town hall. She thinks it’s more likely that the Congressman would now meet with her group of physicians.
