Two town halls were held for Myrtle Beach constituents. Here’s what we know
Two “town hall” events were held within days of each other in the Grand Strand.
On Wednesday night, Congressman Russell Fry (SC-07) hosted a telephone town hall for his constituents, which lasted approximately an hour.
“I always love doing these, always love doing engagements with constituents,” Fry said at the beginning of his telephone town hall. “Tonight, I want to discuss the issues that are important to you, whether it’s the state of the economy, securing our southern border, standing up for your freedoms, or ensuring that South Carolina continues to thrive.”
On Monday, Indigo Indivisible put on an empty chair “town hall” at the General Robert H. Reed Recreation Center in Market Common. It was not an officially sanctioned event by Fry or his team. Fry was not in attendance.
An empty chair town hall is when a public meeting is scheduled by groups who invite an elected official to attend and they are unable to, thereby leaving an empty chair on the stage or at the event.
Fry spoke on his call about securing the border, economic growth and supporting President Donald Trump.
“Rest assured, I will continue to be one of President Trump’s biggest allies in the Congress,” he said on Wednesday night. “This district is a very conservative district, and that’s what they elected me to do. And he has not wasted any time in getting our country back on track.”
At Monday’s event, people asked questions about the future of social security, helping veterans and Medicaid to a cardboard cutout of Fry’s face.
Supporters of Fry and Trump were also in attendance at Monday’s event.
“Think of this as a conversation amongst patriots, constituents, citizens of America,” moderator Tom Fox said at the event before reading aloud the first question.
Fox said the event had been in the works since Inauguration Day in January.
Last week, the group Indigo Indivisible claimed that they had invited Fry (SC-07) to participate in this event.
Members of Fry’s team said these claims are untrue, and sent a statement via text message on Friday afternoon adding some additional context.
“The Office of Congressman Fry never received a scheduling request from the organizers of this event. In fact, we were not even aware of the name of the organization hosting this event until we read their name in the Sun News this morning due to the lack of identifying information on this random flyer,” the statement said. “Please note that this flyer has inaccurate information - it was never hand delivered to Congressman Fry, and we do not have an office location in Socastee.”
