MIKE THOMPSON. File photo

Rep. Mike Thompson, a Democrat who represents Benicia in Congress, will be holding a town hall in Benicia High School’s gym next week.

The event is hosted by two local grassroots organizations, Benicia Indivisible for Justice and Carquinez Patriotic Resistance, who came together after Donald Trump was elected president in November.

“We had great concern about the presidential election and wanted to discuss ways we could take action in support of the issues we feared would be in danger under his presidency,” group member Valerie Guardia said. “One of the first actions we identified was to meet with our members of Congress so that we could express our concerns and find out what their positions were on these issues, and to determine ways in which we could work effectively with them.”

In January, Carquinez Patriotic Resistance met with members of Thompson’s staff to discuss the possibility of hosting a town hall.

“We thought it would be a great idea, and we agreed to do so,” Guardia said. “As far as we knew, the congressman seldom hosted meetings in Benicia and we liked the idea of bringing him to our community.”

Concurrently, Benicia Indivisible with Justice met with Mel Orpilla, a representative from Thompson’s Vallejo office, who suggested the two groups work together.
After securing an event with Thompson, the next question became where to host it.

“We originally planned to book the Senior Center or the Community Center,” Guardia said, “but as we watched town halls locally and across the country, and saw how well-attended they were, we became concerned that neither of these venues would be large enough.”

The groups also tried other venues, such as local churches and the Clocktower, but they were either too small, already booked or nonpartisan and thus unwilling to host a congressional town hall, Guardia said.

The next option was to host it in Benicia High’s auditorium. However, that was booked for rehearsals of the upcoming spring musical, so they settled on the school’s gymnasium instead.

Due to time constraints, the primary focus will be on three main issues: immigration, the environment/climate change and education. However, Guardia said there will be time allotted for a question-and-answer session to bring up other topics.

“We are using an experienced moderator so that we can hopefully stay on topic and stay on schedule and get the most out of our time with Congressman Thompson,” Guardia said.

Additionally, Guardia said that one of the history teachers at the high school asked students to come up with questions for Thompson, and they will be the first ones to ask for each of the four segments.

Guardia said that assistance for the event was provided by Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, Vice Mayor Steve Young, the Benicia Unified School District, BHS Vice Principal Sean Thompson and the Benicia Police Department. She anticipates a lively event.

“We are really excited to be able to do this for the residents of Benicia and surrounding communities,” Guardia said. “Because this town hall is being hosted by local groups and not the congressman himself, we are hopeful that he will be more open with some of his answers and the information he shares. We hope is it well-attended. We estimate that we can accommodate approximately 800 people.”

The town hall will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, April 19 at the Benicia High gym, located at 1101 Military West. Doors will open at 5:45 p.m. The event is free, but attendees will be subject to available seating. For more information, visit facebook.com/profile.php?id=100016012835493 or email beniciatownhall@gmail.com.

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