A Palazzo town hall is happening — with or without him
The women trying to track down Rep. Steven Palazzo during his district work week in South Mississippi will have a town hall, with or without him.
Ashley Kittrell said all they need is a venue. They have two possibilities, and chairs for Palazzo, Sen. Thad Cochran and Sen. Roger Wicker. She said the women and MS Gulf Coast Sisters Solidarity — which has been advocating for women’s rights and will participate in National Day Without a Woman on March 8 — is helping them spread the word. A Facebook page for the town hall, which is planned for 5:30 p.m. Friday, says 44 people are going and another 109 are interested.
“We’re trying to make it nonpartisan,” said Kittrell. “Everyone is welcome.”
She said if the congressmen come, they’ll have a chance to discuss issues important to South Mississippi, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs and the confusion surrounding the hiring freeze instituted by President Donald Trump.
Palazzo’s office said that while he is home from Washington for the week, Palazzo will be serving two days with the Army National Guard, touring Ingalls with another congressman, and speaking at the Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers & Ranchers Leadership Conference. But no town halls.
Kittrell said the exact format hasn’t been finalized, but they plan to collect written comments for the congressmen, which she said they’ll box up and deliver to their offices.
Kittrell, a student at USM, and attorney Kiara Taite had been contacting Palazzo’s office repeatedly last week but never reached him nor found anywhere they might see and talk to him. So they started an internet campaign with a poster describing the fourth-term Republican as lost and urging any finders to return him to the district.
Activists in North Carolina went one better, taking out a quarter-page “lost and found” ad in the News & Observer in Raleigh on Sunday. They looking for Sen. Richard Burr, who they said has been incommunicado for weeks.
This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "A Palazzo town hall is happening — with or without him."