Progressive constituents left Wednesday's town hall with U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, frustrated, saying their questions on urgent issues — from preserving democracy to foreign policy — went unanswered or were dismissed.
The Wednesday, Aug. 20, town hall at the Battle Ground Event Center was moderated with pre-submitted questions on notecards, read by Clark County Councilor Wil Fuentes, a format that some attendees said stifled spontaneity and limited meaningful dialogue. The format created visible tension, as several residents interjected throughout the process.
During the town hall, Gluesenkamp Perez expressed sharp concerns over the "big beautiful bill." She highlighted its potential impact on seniors and low-income families, criticizing the measure for deep cuts to programs like Medicaid and its role in accelerating the Social Security Trust Fund's insolvency.
"This policy is entirely oriented around taking from the bottom 10% and moving it to the top 0.1%," Gluesenkamp Perez said.
She noted that the bill added $4 trillion to the national debt, roughly $31,000 per American household. While acknowledging some positive provisions, such as middle-class tax cuts, she argued these benefits did not justify the overall cost or the method by which the legislation was passed.
"These cuts don't hit immediately for most people. They don't land until December 2026, but the effects are already being felt," she said.
Gluesenkamp Perez explained that hospitals and healthcare providers are postponing investments, leaving positions unfilled, and delaying equipment upgrades in anticipation of tighter budgets.
"They know the train is coming down the tracks and they're tightening their belts," she said.
Voting rights, due process and trust in government
Answering pre-written questions read by Councilor Fuentes, Gluesenkamp Perez affirmed her commitment to protecting Washington's vote-by-mail system amid President Trump's executive order vowing to end the practice.
She emphasized that mail-in voting allows all Americans, whether working shift jobs, raising young children, or living in rural areas, to have their ballots counted. She criticized proposals to restrict mail-in voting as unrealistic, noting states, not the federal government, control the practice.
"Last November we actually had two ballot boxes firebombed because that's the only way you can interfere with [it]," she said, noting the Clark County Elections Office was able to send out provisional ballots to voters. "It is the gold standard."
When asked how ICE would ensure U.S. citizens in her district would not be wrongfully deported, the congresswoman affirmed her commitment to respond immediately to any incident.
"I've made sure my entire team knows that it's a priority for me [regarding] any kind of situation where there is a constituent who's been detained. We've made every effort to reach out to the families and make sure that we are available."
As of yet, Gluesenkamp Perez has not been alerted to any such incident.
"It's not just about an individual, it is that there is due process, that we are a country of law and order, and that that is the thing that's the real risk, is that we lose sight of the thing that makes our country safer," she said.
When asked, Gluesenkamp Perez criticized congressional delays in releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, calling the early adjournment of a session a procedural tactic that shielded powerful offenders from accountability.
"You know, child predators need to be pursued at every level," Gluesenkamp Perez said. "There is no… There should be no free pass, and that was one of the most enraging things."
"It is deeply enraging to me to see parliamentary procedure be deployed to hide sex offenders," she added.
The congresswoman confirmed her commitment to pursuing legislative action on the matter.
"I am co-sponsoring the discharge petition on Epstein files," she said. "I had an amendment ready in appropriations to have the files released if we hadn't been sent home early… There should be no safe haven for these kinds of predators."
Foreign policy
Gluesenkamp Perez did not hold back in her critique of President Donald Trump's handling of the war in Ukraine. Referencing Trump's Alaska meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Aug. 14, she said that the former president's approach effectively rolled out a "red carpet" for Putin, undermining U.S. and allied efforts to support Ukraine.
"Ukraine did not ask for this war, and we have no reason to think that Putin's going to stop at the Ukrainian border," she said, adding that U.S. support was necessary to keep democratic allies secure.
But the exchange quickly turned contentious when Fia Marie, a Clark County resident, shouted from the audience, asking Perez to state her position on the rising death toll in the Gaza Strip. Her question was not acknowledged.
According to Gaza's Ministry of Health, nearly 62,000 Palestinians — including more than 18,000 children — have been killed as of Aug. 13, with deaths from malnutrition rising sharply. Audience members pressed the congresswoman at an earlier Aug. 14 town hall in Longview, where she said that the war could end when Hamas released its remaining hostages and that maintaining a positive relationship with Israel benefits America.
"Thinking about how we move towards our geopolitical interests, America's national interest is better served when there is a liberal democracy in the Middle East, and right now, that is Israel," she said during the prior town hall. "I think it's pretty important to have a country in the Middle East that doesn't kill gay people."
Clark County progressives who attended the town hall said they were disappointed but not surprised by a lack of questions about Israel.
"I mean, it was to be expected," Fia Marie said. "She's been silent about it for the last 2.5 years … we always get complete silence."
Progressive voters feel ignored
The congresswoman was met with heckling throughout the meeting, as several attendees expressed frustration with her bipartisan approach and voting record.
"No progressives are going to vote for you," one man shouted as the town hall concluded.
Members of the Indivisible Greater Vancouver, a local progressive organization, said they submitted several dozen questions ranging from the cost of living to Israel's killing and forced displacement of civilians in the Gaza Strip - all of which were unread.
"We came here to hear what she had to say, and unfortunately, the format that she utilizes is one that doesn't allow many questions to be brought to her that are prevalent for many of the people that are part of Indivisible Greater Vancouver," Rebecca Keith said. "We want to know what she's doing to make our democracy safe and sound, and we're not hearing any of those answers at all."
Carrie Parks of Vancouver stood outside the town hall holding a sign reading "Stop the brutality against immigrant families," signaling her concern about the treatment of immigrants under the current administration. However, due to the town hall's "no sign" policy, she couldn't bring it inside.
"I'm a little irritated because it's part of her hearing us, for us to be able to hold up signs," Parks said. "I don't think it's disruptive. The thing that bothers me is we're not the people they need to worry about being violent; it's the other side."
Parks and other attendees shared concerns over her votes to approve the SAVE Act and Laken Riley Act, saying her votes went against the concerns of voters' rights and migrant rights, respectively.
A Q&A with Gluesenkamp Perez
Immediately following the Town Hall meeting, The Reflector reached out to Gluesenkamp Perez for comment. On Friday afternoon, the congresswoman provided written responses to questions by email.
When asked what she saw as the biggest challenges and opportunities ahead as Congress resumes, both nationally and for the district, Gluesenkamp Perez wrote:
“My immediate priority when Congress is back in session will be reauthorizing the Secure Rural Schools program. SRS provides critical funding for schools, roads, and public safety in communities across Southwest Washington where federal policy prevents sustainable revenue sources that our public timber lands should be used to generate. Unfortunately, too many in Washington D.C. remain indifferent to the experiences of rural communities and have let this critical program lapse. The uncertainty surrounding the program’s future is weighing on schools in Southwest Washington, and Wind River Middle School in Carson has already shuttered as a result. I’m going to continue building the bipartisan team we need to get to 218 votes for SRS reauthorization,” she wrote.
When asked what issues she has been hearing about most consistently from constituents, and how those concerns are shaping her approach to Congress reconvening, she responded:
“People feel like they can’t get ahead. There’s a hamster wheel of accelerating costs, and it feels like things that last and are worth having are further out of reach for most Americans. So I’ll continue to be focused on policies that reflect the lived experience of normal Americans: advancing our own economic self-determination, having meaningful jobs that aren’t exploitative, raising good kids, eating real food, keeping the wheels on the bus with reliable public utilities like power and water, ensuring Washingtonians can use our secure and reliable vote-by-mail system, and protecting the constitution.”
“Another massive issue my constituents have talked to me about is health care,” she added. “31,000 people in Washington’s Third District could lose their health care due to the recent Medicaid cuts in the budget reconciliation law I voted against, and rural hospitals across Southwest Washington may have to close because of that legislation. I’m looking for ways to mitigate the damage from that bill and protect health care for folks in all our communities.”
When asked what specific priorities or legislative goals she plans to focus on in the next session, and how she sees them impacting people at home, Gluesenkamp Perez replied:
“We need to keep our eye on the ball and advance our own agenda, and not get bogged down by reflexively reacting to whatever grabs D.C.’s attention online. There are some issues that we can’t afford not to respond to: like the right to cast paper ballots, or the solvency of our budget or Social Security or hospitals, but we need to think about what we really want. Not just health care but real health, and jobs where we can see our kids at night.”
As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Gluesenkamp Perez said she intends to continue securing federal dollars for local infrastructure projects, including clean drinking water and reliable, affordable energy across Southwest Washington. She also pointed to an amendment she introduced that would set ethical standards for lawmakers experiencing memory loss or cognitive decline, arguing voters deserve confidence that elected representatives, not their staff, are making decisions.
She added that one of her original campaign goals, expanding Right to Repair, remains a top priority. Gluesenkamp Perez said farmers should be able to fix their own tractors without voiding warranties and rural residents shouldn’t have to travel long distances for simple electronic repairs. She noted progress on the issue, citing the inclusion of her Military Right to Repair amendment in the latest defense authorization bill.
“Additionally, I’ve brought more than $2 billion home to fund the I-5 bridge replacement. I feel good about where that project is heading, but I’m going to keep my foot on the gas to help it get across the finish line,” she wrote.
When asked about an Aug. 13 report from Gaza’s Ministry of Health that nearly 62,000 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 18,000 children, and whether the U.S. should continue to provide financial support to Israel, she wrote:
“I am certainly concerned by the reports of a worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. Palestinians and Israelis both deserve the right to live with dignity, freedom, and security, and the United States’ national interest lies in advancing a durable peace in the region. I have an obligation to reflect the values and the interests of my district to fix the things that I can make progress on. I am not an expert in the Middle East, and even the experts don't agree on how to resolve this conflict. What I do know is that the fastest way for this war to end is for Hamas to release the hostages. I’m not going to carry water for Netanyahu but it remains true that Israel is the only liberal democracy in the region.”
In the wake of outbursts and protests at Wednesday’s town hall, The Reflector asked how Gluesenkamp Perez plans to reach progressive support ahead of the midterms. Her office declined to answer, saying the question was political and that the Wednesday town hall was not a political event.
This story was updated to include correspondence from Gluesenkamp Perez.
