August 03, 2017 04:31 PM UTC

Five Minutes Allocated for Questions for Gardner on Friday

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• by: Jason Salzman

(We’re not going to call this a “town hall” meeting — promoted by Colorado Pols)

A much anticipated “town hall” meeting with U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner and other politicians, scheduled to take place in Durango tomorrow, may include just five minutes for questions from constituents, according to one of the event moderators, La Plata County Commissioner Brad Blake.

“There’s not going to be much time,” Blake told the Colorado Times Recorder today. “I think people are going to be deeply disappointed.”

Blake explained that U.S. Sens. Gardner and Michael Bennet (D-CO), U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO) and Gov. John Hickenlooper are slated to speak for 10-12 minutes each. And the event will last 45 minutes.

And it appears that the event cannot be lengthened.

“The unfortunate thing is, the governor has a really tight turnaround time frame,” said Blake. “So do the senators. They’ve got to catch planes to get to other areas. So it’s pretty discouraging that they are not going to be able to spend more time to answer questions.”

But the questions will not be restricted, Blake said.

“The public will be permitted to ask a broad range of questions,” Blake said. “I would imagine there will be a good number of questions that do not relate to the mine or the mine spill.”

“This is the first time in my recollection that we’ve had the governor and both senators and the congressman in one place in Durango,” Durango’s Mayor Dick White, the event’s co-moderator, told the Colorado Times Recorder. “And so this is a very big deal for us. I’m sure a lot of people will come out. There will be lots of questions, and not a whole lot of time to answer them. So I think we’re going to have to be pretty brutal about keeping people to asking short questions.”

Gardner touted his appearance at a town hall meeting today. It would be his first in 493 days. His constituents, some toting cardboard cutouts of the senator, have been demanding for months that he answer questions at a public meeting.

Friday’s event follows a meeting with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a tour of the Gold King Mine, the site of 2015’s disastrous wastewater spill that contaminated the Animas River.

The announcement comes barely 24 hours before the town hall is slated to take place in one of the most isolated regions of the state, likely preventing many of the progressive activists who have focused their attention on Gardner from being able to attend the event.

The event will take place in the La Plata County Administration Building Board Room at 1101 E. 2nd Ave. Doors open to the public at 1:45 p.m., with the event lasting from 2:15 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Madeleine Schmidt contributed to this article.