March 24, 2025 04:33 PM UTC

Congressman Evans’ Constituents Fill Northglenn Church for a ‘Where’s Gabe?’ Town Hall

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• by: Erik Maulbetsch

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Originally posted at the Colorado Times Recorder

Over 300 people packed into an Adams County church Saturday afternoon for a town hall meeting for residents from the 8th Congressional District. Attendees were largely local, though some came from Weld and Larimer counties as well; a few even drove down from Greeley.

Earlier this month the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee advised his members not to hold in-person events.

Evans is the only member of Colorado’s delegation yet to hold a public town hall of any sort — live, online or by telephone. Congressmen Jeff Hurd and Jeff Crank both hosted tele-town halls this month, while Boebert, who, like Evans, also had frustrated constituents gather in her district last week, responded by announcing a call-in event for this coming Wednesday.

Organized by a group of CD8 constituents and supported by numerous progressive groups, including ProgressNow Colorado, the Sierra Club, and Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition Action, The People’s Town Hall, subtitled “Where is Gabe Evans?” highlighted the rookie representative’s lack of public appearances. Next to the speakers’ microphone sat an empty chair, ostensibly for the Evans, in case he showed up, a gimmick cribbed from the 2012 Republican National Convention, when Clint Eastwood gave a speech to a chair intended to represent then-President Barack Obama.

“We organized this event as a response to Congressman Evans’ lack of responsiveness. For weeks we’ve been asking him to host a town hall,” said Jacob Stevens, one of the residents who invited Evans to the People’s Town Hall in a hand-delivered letter on March 12th. “We want him to speak to the people he represents about our concerns, especially regarding the House budget which he voted to approve. This budget will result in massive cuts to Medicaid benefits, affecting a quarter of his constituents. Those people deserve to be heard by their representative.”

The unapologetically progressive event was one of several similar meetings across the country all held in districts where Republican House members are avoiding their constituents, apparently at the direction of NRCC leadership. National Democratic leaders touted the events as an indication of voter frustration.

State Rep. Manny Rutinel (D-Commerce City), who has already announced he will challenge Evans next year, kicked off a series of speeches by local elected officials. He shared his personal story of growing up reliant on federal services like Medicaid.

“We struggled growing up,” said Rutinel. “I have a scar on my arm, I can show you … It’s because I donated my blood at a plasma center over 100 times just to make ends meet growing up. The only reason we were able to get by most months is because we qualified for programs like Medicaid and other important programs that so many folks in this district rely on too. And right now, Gabe Evans is voting to cut those programs and hanging us all out to dry.”

State Sen. Dafna Michaelson-Jenet (D-Thornton) followed Rutinel. She too discussed the dangers of slashing Medicaid while raising another concern- the impact of cuts on Colorado’s current budget.

“We are in a budget crisis in Colorado and this cut to Medicaid is going to make our budget crisis worse,” she said. “Our families deserve the help that we have available to them and in our country there is no reason we should not be able to give them that help and support. All people deserve to live with dignity and Medicaid gives that dignity.”

“We know that there is fraud, waste and abuse in the system that we have to be able to find so that we can actually save Medicaid for the vulnerable populations who need it most,” said Evans, via an e-mailed statement from his spokeswoman.

According to 2024 data, The overall Medicaid improper payment rate was 5.1% ($31.10 billion in federal payments), but 80% of that amount was flagged for insufficient information, which doesn’t necessarily indicate fraud. Moreover, even if it were all fraud and able to be completely eliminated, the total savings are only about a third of the $880 billion in cuts that the recent budget resolution directs Evans’ committee to make from the funding it controls.

Other elected officials who took to the mic included Adams County Commissioner Emma Pinter, who explained that the county’s public health department depends on federal pass-through funding to keep residents safe, and state Rep. Jenny Willford (D-Northglenn), who made her points while toting her young daughter. She concluded her remarks by calling Evans on speakerphone, asking him to please hold a town hall for her and other constituents.

Evans didn’t answer her call, but CTR subsequently reached his spokeswoman for comment via email, who offered the following statement:

“We know paid liberal groups have been taking over townhalls and we want communications with our constituents to be productive. We will do town halls and we will do them in a way that allows constituents’ concerns to be heard without being drowned out by yelling activists.”

“Gabe Evans won’t show his face to his constituents, so the people of Evans’ district organized their own town hall to demand better representation,” said ProgressNow Colorado executive director Sara Loflin.

Following the elected officials, approximately twenty audience members of all ages and backgrounds lined up for a their two minutes at the microphone. They included multiple teachers, healthcare providers and retirees.

Audience member Pete McGuire, of Thornton, didn’t speak to the crowd, but told CTR he decided to come “because it seems like everything is so out of control. Our government is being taken apart piece by piece and Republicans aren’t up to the task or aren’t willing to put the brakes on any of it.”