Congressman Denver Riggleman held a town hall meeting in Bedford last week – attracting a friendly crowd of about a hundred in a largely conservative area. The following day in Charlottesville, a group of unhappy constituents went to Riggleman’s district office to complain.
Shortly after his election to Congress, Denver Riggleman told the Roanoke Times that transparency and communication would be his primary focus, but constituents like Craig Dubose have had no luck getting in touch. The congressman was not in his Charlottesville office when Dubose and about 20 others presented letters to a staffer.
“When you see him, will you put this in his hand?" Dubose asked. "This is the sixth time I have delivered this to his office. I have had absolutely zero response.”
And he scolded Riggleman for last week’s forum in Bedford.
“He’s had two town halls scheduled at five o’clock in the afternoon when the working person like me can’t take off and drive an hour and a half to attend it.”
Dubose added that Riggleman could have streamed the event live or posted a video so constituents could hear what he had to say. Of course elected officials can also communicate with the public through the media, but Riggleman’s staff claimed recording in his office was illegal and asked RadioIQ to stop.
One of Riggleman’s employees claimed House rules forbid taping in district offices. In fact, House rules let each member of Congress decide whether journalists can record on the premises.
