Three NM lawmakers forgo town halls this summer

From KRQE-TV.com - JERI CLAUSING,Associated Press - ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - At a time when voters have begun taking to town hall meetings to express their frustration and anger with Congress' handling of the debt debate, only two of New Mexico's five congressmen and senators are planning to hold the traditional summer forums for constituent feedback. Sens. Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman as well as Congressman Martin Heinrich — all Democrats — say they are forgoing town hall meetings this summer. Udall and Heinrich, who is running to replace the retiring Bingaman, say they are instead focused on the economy and jobs. "I think the most important thing we can be doing right now is coming up with a plan for job creation and economic development," Udall said this week when asked after a field hearing on drunken driving why he wasn't planning any public forums to talk to constituents about the recent debt debacle. "We need to realize that people want us to get out of the deficit. The way to do that is to ... create jobs." He said many of those meetings will be "quasi-public events." A spokeswoman for Heinrich said he will spend his break meeting with companies and their employees and hosting a summer job fair. He will also be conducting a telephone town hall, which she said can reach a much larger audience at once than face-to-face meetings. By contrast, in southern New Mexico, Rep. Steve Pearce, a Republican, is planning more than a dozen town hall meetings with constituents, Read more