Baird to host town hall meetings after all

Today Congressman Brian Baird (D-Vancouver) changed course and announced that he will host five town hall meetings in the 3rd Congressional District during the August recess.

]"I have always been a huge advocate of town halls" said Congressman Baird, who has hosted more than three hundred town halls since taking office. "Frankly, I have had concerns about how we can have constructive dialogue and, unfortunately, in response to some of the things we've been seeing across the nation I have said some things myself that I regret. I want to express that regret directly and announce that we will be holding a series of five town halls so people can express their opinions and ask questions. My hope and trust is that we can have the kinds of informative exchanges that I have valued for so long and that reveal the very best of public discourse."

In addition to the town hall meetings, Congressman Baird will meet privately with health care professionals, small business owners and others to discuss health insurance reform. While the full schedule of public meetings has not been released yet, the first will be held in Vancouver at Skyview High School from 7 to 9:30 PM on August 18.

If you live in the the 3rd Congressional District, please consider attending one of the five town halls and let your voice be heard. At this point, Congressman Baird isn't committing to voting for or against a bill that isn't in final form. He's also not making strong statements in support of a robust public option.

That's not to say he won't vote for a bill or won't support a public option, but we need to voice our opinions as his constituents.

You can find the complete text of Congressman Baird's statement here.