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July 10, 2012 08:08 PM UTC

Why Won't Coffman Talk to the People He Represents?

  • 41 Comments
  • by: ColoradoFairShare

( – promoted by ClubTwitty)

For more than six weeks, since May 21, Rep. Mike Coffman’s constituents have been asking him for a Town Hall in Aurora so they can talk to him about the issues that matter to them. There are now more than 500 signatures on a petition that states, “We have been trying to reach Rep. Coffman and give him the opportunity to tell us how he will represent us — the 99% of his constituents who are not part of the wealthiest 1%.

We have called his local constituent office and his D.C. office.  We have tried to reach Rep. Coffman at places across his district.  But we haven’t had any luck tracking him down.

We have made ourselves available to him. Now it’s his turn to make himself available to us — his constituents.

Specifically, we want Rep. Coffman to host a Town Hall in Aurora. This would allow current and prospective constituents to know what kind of representative he is and what kind of representative he will be for all of Colorado’s 6th Congressional District.”

But Rep Coffman hasn’t responded, even when constituent Thomas Delon, an Air Force and Coast Guard veteran, personally delivered the petition to his office. Since Rep. Coffman won’t meet with his constituents, and is never in his office, his constituents have tried finding him in his district, documented in a series of “Where’s Mike?” videos.

According to Wanda, an Aurora senior who relies on Medicare and wants to know why Mike Coffman supports the Ryan budget that eliminates Medicare as we know it,

“I’m Wanda, Mike Coffman’s constituent, who’s in the videos.  I’ve been trying to talk to my congressman for six months.  I’m on Medicare and I want to know where he stands.  

I’ve called his DC office, his Colorado office, and checked his website.  He hasn’t scheduled any public appearances for people like me.  I’ve been by his office and left my card so that he could call me.  More than 500 constituents have signed a petition asking Rep. Coffman to hold a town hall and we gave that to his office as well.  He still hasn’t responded.

Congressman knock on my door all the time, so after a number of attempts to talk to Rep. Coffman, I knocked on his.  He works for us and he should be willing to talk to us.”

So the question remains – why won’t Mike Coffman talk to the people he represents? When will he hold a Town Hall and answer their questions?

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41 thoughts on “Why Won’t Coffman Talk to the People He Represents?”

  2. a little creepy? And yes, I include Josh Hursa and ColoradoFairShare organization in the same category.  

    Don’t get me wrong–it’s awesome that Wanda would take time out of her busy schedule to stalk Congressman Coffman at his home, have it filmed and then post it online. I just find the thought a bit creepy that one of my clients would show up on my doorstep because they couldn’t reach me at my office. If I’m not getting back to you in a timely fashion, feel free to fire me. No need to hide out in the bushes in front of my house or start quizzing my neighbors on my daily routine and schedule. Just fire me. Like a normal person.

    Should Coffman be responding to constituents? Yes. Perhaps his habit of dodging voters in his district will catch up with him in November and he’ll find himself unemployed for not properly doing his job. Hope springs eternal.

    Is the ColoradoFairShare campaign of stalking him at his home and posting videos of it a good idea? I think of Representative Giffords and wonder if we have learned a god damned thing from that horrific tragedy.

    I can hardly wait to hear some of our resident bloggers weigh in on this one…

    1. Coffman, Giffords very different. Giffords was doing one of her regular kinds of meet the citizen deals, like Perlmutter does. No constituent of Giffords or Perlmutter could say they can not be reached. Coffman is hiding.

      The “tracker” phenomena of recent years I don’t find a problem with either. It is simply someone monitoring a candidate’s appearances.

      Now, someone going to a businessperson’s home is very different from either of the above.

      1. Because you are one of the few people around this joint that I truly respect so I would like to pick your brain about this and consider where you are coming from.

        Help me understand how going to my house is any different than going to his house. How is my house off limits to my clients but his house is not off limits to his? He’s our employee just as I am my clients’ employee. Monitoring public appearances is fine by me. He is definitely hiding and if enough voters are outraged by it, they will fire his ass. Also fine with me.

        Stalking someone at his house is not fine with me. Period.

        For God’s sake, Giffords was at a public event. These folks are showing up at this guy’s house. Is there nothing off limits for someone elected to public office? Because I think there are limits and I think this group passed them long ago.  

        3. home should be off limits.  He is a public figure in his life as a Rep. He and his family shouldn’t be subject to on scene scrutiny at home.

          On the other hand, nobody would feel compelled to do so if he were responsive in his public role so maybe he should consider making himself more available for purely selfish reasons.

          Our opinion won’t save him from this kind of tracking.  A willingness to face his constituents in the usual forums and venues might.  

          1. It’s okay that an elected official ignores their constituents at his office, expects complete privacy even in public, allowing only wealthy mega-corporations and extremist special interest big donors to have access to him? Wow, I may be from a small town (outside of a big city), but that is not my idea of democracy.

            Where I grew up, when you have something to talk about with a legislator, you call them and talk. If they don’t answer, or they blow you off, you show up. Voters hire these guys. They are OUR employees. As public employees, if they are out in public, they are obligated to talk to the constituents who hired them, especially if they horrible at returning phone calls. If they don’t like their job, or are not willing to perform the requirements of the job, it’s “Hasta la vista, baby”. There are plenty of other decent, hardworking people willing to serve the public.

            This, “I’m in Congress so I am infallible/untouchable” thing that Coffman has going on, has got to go.  

    2. …that Republican trackers are creepy stalkers, but leftie trackers are just ‘truth recording power!’.  

      Of course, there are some pretty notable stalkers on this site so you might not be asking an appropriate sample of the overall population.

          1. I wish the Republicans can find the moral compass nearly everyone here demonstrates day in and day out. Except for the weekly amoral Eastern European soft porn video’s, I’d say we’re a pretty moral group:-)

          2. moral compass you purchased always points to the right?

            . . . absolutely useless for navigational purposes other than going in circles, but it does make a dandy knick-knack.

            (BTW, did I just read that you’re now a FPE?  WTF? . . . er, I mean, belated congratulations — really . . . really.  

  3. I’m not surprised he can’t find time to meet with us.  He couldn’t find time to answer several (more than 3) emails I sent to him either.

    I guess he’s just too busy embarrassing himself by editing his Wiki pages.

    Just for LB–the linkie:

    http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrew…

    Don’t worry ell–you won’t have to read very far, Coffman made #1!!!

  4. I want to see Congressman Coffman retired as much as the next Democratic guy. But, I think it is important to remember that Mike Coffman currently represents the “old” district, not the “new” one. There is a distinction between representing a district and running for office in a newly reconfigured district. Following this November’s election we can start calling  Mike or Joe Miklosi the Congressman from Aurora. Until then, he is still the Congressman from Arapahoe, Douglas, and Elbert Counties.

      1. And when November rolls around, I’m confident they won’t then either. He is everything Aurora is not — insensitive to the poor, willing to undermine our government for his own self-serving needs(election troubles in ’08 and dissing the President this year, specifically), racially insensitive (we all know which voter registrations he got caught trying to throw out in ’08), in the pockets of multi-nationals and Big Oil, etc. Shall I go on?

        Aurora deserves better. Aurora deserves a Congressman who upholds our system of government and respects the office of the POTUS. Aurorans deserve someone who values diversity and cares for those who are less fortunate. Aurora deserves a Congressman who does not believe he is above the law. Aurora deserves a Congressman who has not been bought and paid for by Big Oil. Aurora deserves Joe Miklosi — a hero for regular Americans like us. http://www.JoeMiklosi.com  

    2. …just point to all the constituent representation events he’s held in Elbert, Arapahoe and Douglas Counties since, say, Kyle Clark exposed him as utterly unable to handle the real world without training wheels?

      Your point is well-taken. There is a difference, one that his colleague Scott Tipton could use some help with, but that fact is Coffman’s been cowering in an undisclosed location for a couple months now.

  5. Actually it says “Private Name, Private Number” on my phone ID, but what the hey. I pick up on the second ring: “Hello?” “Hello, this is Mike Coffman, I’m sorry you weren’t home because I’d like you to take a survey and attend my town hall…” Maybe next time I’ll reach you …

    I think to myself, “Wait, I AM home … I just picked up the phone!

    Coffman is like the guy who breaks up with his girlfriend by voicemail. Sheesh.

    1. I am not a member of Colorado Fair Share, although I did go with them once to a Big Oil office looking for him, when they first started trying to talk to him months ago (Pols readers will recall that I have said this for years — the guy avoids every one who is not a registered R or carrying a large campaign check). If asked, I would have refused to approach him on his private property.

      I did however, talk to one of the people who have tried for months to talk to him at work and who has been rudely turned away…. again and again. She asked why Coffman has a right to knock on her door if he wants to (purely hypothetical — not that he would bother with her if she wasn’t a big donor), but his constituents do not have the right to knock on his door. I thought she made an interesting point.

      Are the days gone forever when people elected their neighbors to represent them in public office — neighbors who might politely pay a visit to each other, unannounced? Sadly, I think they are. The preponderance of weapons in private homes, the media-pushed level of fear and paranoia, and NRA wingnuts packing heat in public, has contributed to a deeply regrettable change in the fabric of our democracy. (More cash for mega-corporate-owned television, I guess, as television has become the one “safe” way to reach potential voters.)

      1. CD6 residents who are U’s, I’s and D’s have tried to talk to Coffman and have been ignored for years. This article says CFS has been trying to do it for “at least 6 weeks”. I thought they organized several months ago, but really, the exact date doesn’t matter. Anyone who lives in CD6 knows to whom he is beholden (hint — it’s not us).  

      2. Not hanging out at the local grocery store like everyone’s best neighbor Ed Perlmutter… but still fairly easy to reach. Had a tiny difference of opinion once with Congressman Polis. Decided to volunteer one day to get a few minutes to talk to him. He was very gracious and even introduced me to the New Mexico delegation who happened to be visiting that day.

        All these guys (and women) are incredibly busy. All of them have numerous demands on their time. Why is Mike Coffman the only one who is impossible for ordinary citizens to reach… for years?

    2. The phone rang, I answered it, and I believe I was asked to participate in a telephone town hall meeting, but too bad because I wasn’t home.  What?  I would have loved to have the opportunity to ask a question, but alas, I guess I wasn’t home.

    1. I’ve been interested in talking to him about health care lately, and his office has been extremely helpful and receptive, giving me all kinds of information. In fact, I was invited to attend the conference with the Senator and Health and Human Services Director Marguerite Salazar just yesterday. I went, got some face time with Mark Udall and his staff, and got all my questions answered. It was great. This is not the first time — in 2009 when we were organizing for health insurance reform, we got in to see him and/or his staff repeatedly. Yes, he does seem to be doing more in public though — I’ll give you that.

      I’ve never had trouble getting in to speak to any MOC I have tried to contact — Bennet, Udall, Perlmutter, DeGette, etc., going back for years and years to my first MOC visit with Donald Reigle and Carl Levin in the 1980s. Even Republican Bob Schaffer returned my phone call once. Yeah, you have to be persistent and clear about what you want to discuss (and not hound them for an interview). I’m just an average activist on a tight family budget, yet they’ve all treated me with respect and kindness. They were each very deserving of my respect as well (okay with the exception of State Commission of Higher Ed Chair Bruce Benson who called me an airy-fairy liberal, to which I called him a soul-less bean counter, then we both later apologized in the same call).

      Until Coffman. His office has some kind of invisible, barb-wired, electric force-field around it that repels people who don’t already agree with him. My friend A.R. who used to be on the board of HRC said he found it easier to talk to DOUG LAMBORN about human rights issues. Doug Lamborn! Go figure.

      SSGDan said Coffman agrees to talk to Vets. That’s awesome — glad to hear it. Guess that’s why Coffman also used to cozy up to Rick Duncan (aka Rick Strandlof) before Strandlof was exposed. Pretty sad a constituent has to be a Vet, a big contributor, a member of the Tea Party, or just plain nuts to get in to see their own Congressman. What about the thousands of ordinary law-abiding, tax-paying, working civilians raising families in CD6?

  7. Every election season candidates for federal office, state, county, and municipal knock on my door – interrupt my dinner and that’s ok, right?

    But as voters we can’t knock on our Congressman’s door?  Where’s the sense in that?

  9. So Coffman thinks a woman should have to ask her boss for permission to use birth control, but won’t answer questions from his own constituents?

    From what I can tell, Coffman has held zero public events (town halls, government in the grocery, whatever) nor does he bother to walk & knock doors & talk to people. Other candidates, both state and local, do that as a matter of standard operating procedure. I’ve had both state and federal candidate drop by my house on evenings and weekends and I’ve got the stack of lit to prove it. They also robocall me regularly to invite me to public meetings.

    So I can’t say as I blame his constituents for trying to find him. He’s applying for a job with them and blowing them off. Not exactly a sterling job interview.

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