Chad McKenna, the Field Coordinator for the North East Area Labor Council, has posted on his Facebook page:
Cravaack caves to public pressure. Townhall in Duluth tomorrow at 4pm [it will be at 3 p.m.] . Details to follow...
Bluestem has contacted McKenna for more information. A Facebook post by the Alliance for a Better Minnesota says that it has heard that the town hall will be at the airport.
The concession comes after complaints that Cravaack as not held free public town halls in Duluth, the largest city in the Eighth, while attending privately sponsored events in the Duluth area that require an admission charge to be paid.
Update: A few minutes after Bluestem posted, MPR reported Cravaack reverses course, will now hold Duluth town hall, confirming that the event will take place at the airport at 4:00 p.m. As noted, now at 3 p.m. [end update]
Update #2: Here's video of the moment when Congressman Cravaack tells the protesters he'll meet tomorrow (Wednesday, August 2) in a town hall. The time has been changed to 3 p.m.
The Duluth New Tribune reported this morning in Opponents plan to picket Cravaack meeting at Grandma’s in Duluth:
Opponents of U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack say they will protest today near Grandma’s Saloon and Grill in Duluth, where the freshman congressman will speak to Minnesota members of the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
Labor leaders and other DFL-leaning groups say the Grandma’s meeting is another example of Cravaack, R-North Branch, ignoring common Northlanders in favor of raising campaign money or meeting with his Republican-leaning allies. The National Federation of Independent Businesses supported Cravaack in his bid last November to unseat incumbent Democrat Jim Oberstar.
A similar protest was held Wednesday at Wayzata Country Club in suburban Minneapolis where Cravaack, House Speaker John Boehner and
Twin Cities Rep. Erik Paulsen attended a $10,000-per-person fundraiser for the chance to play golf with the Republicans, or $1,000 to dine with them. Cravaack did not golf but attended the dinner event, said Michael Bars, Cravaack’s spokesman.
Cravaack is scheduled to have breakfast todayat Northland Country Club in Duluth to address the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants. . . .
The paper adds:
The local protesters say Cravaack should hold a town hall meeting in the Duluth area before Congress’ monthlong August recess comes to an end. They say Cravaack is dodging the area because of his votes in Congress to change Medicare and temporarily shut down projects under the Federal Aviation Administration, threatening construction projects.
“It’s easy to only meet with people who have the same extreme ideology that led (Cravaack) to support turning Medicare into a voucher system and stubborn anti-union views that led to the costly shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration,” said Dan O’Neill, president of the Duluth Central Labor Body, in a statement. “But the reality is if that’s all you do, the only thing you’re going to create is gridlock. In the 8th (Congressional District), what we need is job creation, not more gridlock.”
Bluestem will update this post as more information becomes available.
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