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At town halls across the nation, including in California, residents have confronted their members of Congress face-to-face to voice their fears and frustrations over Trump administration policies, from cuts to overseas aid to Medicare.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in the state Legislature have introduced about a dozen proposals that would make it harder to confront your local officials at public meetings and would shield more information from the public eye, according to an analysis of CalMatters’ Digital Democracy database.

The bills follow a streak of California officials’ attempts to shroud themselves in secrecy.

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently sent burner phones to major California business leaders with his number preprogrammed — paid for by his nonprofit, allowing him to communicate with executives without having to disclose the content publicly. Lawmakers and government employees signed non-disclosure agreements preventing them from sharing details about taxpayer-funded renovations to the state Capitol. The Legislature refused to say whether federal search warrants and subpoenas were served to lawmakers.

The largely Democratic efforts have raised alarms among ethics advocates and an outcry from some Republican lawmakers, such as Assemblymember Carl DeMaio of San Diego, who has introduced two bills to require lawmakers and government agencies to disclose more to the public, not less.

He announced them during National Sunshine Week, an annual campaign to promote government transparency that the Legislature quit observing eight years ago.

“It is the one time throughout the year where we pause and we ask the question: Are decisions in government being made in the public light? Can the people know what’s going on?” DeMaio said.

Looking decision-makers in the eye

Sen. Roger Niello, a Republican from Roseville, has contended that interacting with constituents in-person makes a difference: There’s nothing more thrilling for a local elected official than having constituents exercise their right to yell and scream at you, he said in 2023 opposing a proposal that allows neighborhood councils in Los Angeles to meet remotely until 2026.

“It’s just much more impactful,” he said. “It’s like the difference between a text message and a phone call. Text messages are useful for quick communication of something, but not for something more complicated.”

Nonetheless that proposal was signed into law — one of many over the past few years that have increasingly allowed state and local officials to participate remotely. This year, various legislators are pushing at least six different measures that aim to make them permanent.

Since the pandemic, California has relaxed its once-strict rules that required officials to be physically present at public meetings. Instead they’ve carved out more exceptions so that advisory board members can meet remotely, and public officials can avoid disclosing their whereabouts when they appear virtually.

Supporters of these efforts say they “modernize” the state’s open meetings rules, arguing that allowing members more remote access boosts public participation, cuts costs, protects officials’ privacy and grants more flexibility in emergencies.

Under the relaxed guidelines, 41 state boards reported increased attendance among board members, according to a June 2021 report by the Little Hoover Commission, a state oversight agency that focuses on government efficiency.

But good government advocates argue that it shields officials from their constituents.

“Public officials must be accountable: They should be required to attend in person, ensuring that the public can see them, speak to them directly, hold them responsible for decisions that impact their communities,” Dora Rose, deputy director of the League of Women Voters of California, told legislators at a recent hearing.

The Assembly floor at the state Capitol on May 31, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

One of this year’s pending bills is SB 707 by Sen. María Elena Durazo , a Democrat from Los Angeles who last year opposed an effort to let local advisory boards meet remotely. This year she’s proposing an overarching measure that would include exemptions for different groups.

Durazo told CalMatters she was compelled by testimony from groups who had to cancel meetings because they couldn’t gather enough members in person.

Her bill would also require city and county governments to provide a call-in option to all public meetings. But during a recent hearing, representatives of city officials argued that would hamstring local governments’ ability to manage “Zoom bombing,” where participants disrupt meetings with “hate speech.”

Keeping donors secret

The California Fair Political Practices Commission — the state agency policing ethics and campaign finance violations — is sponsoring AB755 to give officials more time to disclose funds they raised for other groups.

Those funds are called “behested payments,” typically donations to a nonprofit or government agency that come at a politician’s behest. Critics say the donations allow special interests to curry favor with politicians. Since 2011, state officials have reported raising more than $505 million in behested payments, with Newsom single-handedly raising more than $200 million from corporations in 2020.

Current law requires elected officials to disclose these payments within 30 days once they raise more than $5,000 from the same donor within a year. But violations are commonplace: Six out of eight of California’s constitutional officers have reported their payments late, including Newsom, who was fined $13,000 for failing to disclose $14 million on time.

The legislation introduced by Assemblymember Mike Fong, a Democrat from Alhambra, would give lawmakers up to roughly 120 days to disclose the payments, making it harder for voters to know who is influencing their lawmakers in real time. Commission spokesperson Shery Yang told CalMatters the current filing period is too short and extending it “improves efficiency.”

After meeting the initial $5,000 threshold for disclosure, officials would be allowed to receive up to $999 from that same donor without ever disclosing it.

A related bill — SB 760 by Sen. Ben Allen, an El Segundo Democrat — would let elected officials stop reporting funds they raised for others on TV or radio, or even in speeches like private fundraisers, as long as they don’t benefit financially from those payments. Allen said the change is needed so officials aren’t afraid to name specific groups to donate to, especially after a disaster like the Los Angeles fires.

Also seeking to relax the state’s campaign ethics rules is SB 300 by Sen. Steve Padilla, a Chula Vista Democrat. Public officials wouldn’t have to recuse themselves if they are making policies that would boost the membership of organizations they’re part of, such as unions or chambers of commerce.

The state Capitol in Sacramento, on Aug. 22, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Other proposed legislation would also reduce the amount of information disclosed to the public.

• AB 950 by Lakewood Democrat José Solache would allow campaigns to stop disclosing their top funders on printed ads and refer to a website instead.
• AB 359 by San Bernardino Democrat James Ramos would allow the state campaign finance commission to stop reporting on its enforcement of local ethics rules.

Little left to hide on public records

‘What they want is carte blanche authority to police in secret’

While the state’s public records laws already are riddled with exemptions, politicians are still trying to create more.

Perhaps the biggest exception the Legislature created is for itself. In 1975, it wrote its own rules that vastly restrict what it must release to the public, shielding notes to members or staff, records of complaints or investigations, and anything else it deems not in the public’s interest to know.

This year — after a 2018 law forced police agencies to be more transparent about their records — Downey Democratic Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco wants to roll some of that back. Her bill would give law enforcement agencies more leeway to keep some information private, such as the ranks, names and photos of officers who work undercover, are part of a state or federal task force, or who received death threats in the last decade due to their work.

“I just want to protect these undercover officers so that they can continue doing their work and keeping our communities safe,” she told CalMatters.

Tiffany Bailey, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said the legislation undermines the progress made on police transparency. Police agencies already have ways to redact information, she said, but law enforcement agencies must explain why.

“What they want is carte blanche authority to police in secret, to shield from the public eye really egregious police misconduct, like sexually assaulting civilians and serious uses of force,” Bailey said.

David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition, said California already lags behind other, more conservative states in what is released.

“There’s all kinds of qualifications and exemptions and opportunities to put sand in the gears and delay disclosure, and it’s still a pretty limited set of documents you get,” he said.

Often, local and state agencies have only released records when a court forced them to do so..

Loy’s group is also concerned about a proposal from Long Beach Democrat Josh Lowenthal that would make it a misdemeanor for someone to “knowingly” post an elected or appointed official’s home address or telephone number, if they intend the posting to cause harm.

Lowenthal declined an interview with CalMatters, but said in a statement that elected and appointed officials have faced harassment or violence in recent years and this would “allow them to limit the proliferation of their information.”

Loy countered that the bill, while still in its early stages, is overly broad.

“There are controversies over whether someone is a resident of the jurisdiction that they are elected to represent, and the press and public have a right to know the relevant information,” he said.

Legislators convene during a session at the state Capitol in Sacramento, on Aug. 22, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Let the sunshine peek in?

There are a few glimmers of hope for public access, though.

Under Democratic Assemblymember Avelino Valencia’s proposed AB 1029, elected officials would have to report if they own cryptocurrency.

DeMaio, the San Diego Republican, is also reintroducing an idea to create an independent office to help people fight public records denials. Newsom vetoed a similar bill in 2023, saying it was unnecessary and costly.

Currently, the only way to appeal a rejected Public Records Act request is to sue — something not everyone can afford to do.

“Let a neutral third party determine whether a document is so sensitive that the public interest would be benefited by keeping it a secret,” DeMaio said.

He also introduced a bill to make the Legislature follow the same California records act as other public agencies and touted his Rocklin Republican colleague Joe Patterson’s AB 1370, which would prohibit state lawmakers from entering into most non-disclosure agreements related to their decision-making, such as the Capitol renovation project.

“There is no justification for an elected official signing an NDA with a special interest, full stop,” he said.

Josephine Mary (Manzi) Ghilarducci was born on June 10, 1926 in Ferndale to Cento and Lena Manzi, and passed away on March 18, 2025 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

She graduated from Grant Elementary School in Ferndale, Fortuna Union High School in Fortuna and Business College in Eureka.

She married Dave Ghilarducci on October 4, 1947. Shortly after their marriage, they built their new home in Rio Dell and lived there the rest of their lives, with the exception of the last seven years, when Josephine lived in Scottsdale, Ariz. with her son, Rich and daughter-in-law, Lana, who felt it was a blessing to share this time together as a family.

Dave and Josephine purchased a Texaco franchise in 1954 and then owned and operated Dave’s Texaco Service Center in Rio Dell for over 30 years. In 1978 the business expanded to become Dave’s Texaco Service and AAA Towing when they were awarded a AAA franchise. Through the years Josephine did all the necessary administration and accounting for the business.

Josephine supported her husband not only while in business, but also as Dave served as Fire Chief for the City of Rio Dell for 32 years. Her commitment to their community was apparent by the time spent attending numerous fire service events representing the Rio Dell Fire Department over this period.

She was one of the founding members of the Rio Dell Ladies Fire Auxiliary, she was a member of the Saint Patrick’s Church Alter Society and the Rio Dell PTA.

For years after the passing of her husband, she enjoyed her daily walks through downtown Rio Dell. She liked taking train trips with her family throughout the western United States and Canada. She was an avid sports fan watching the Golden State Warriors and the San Francisco Giants. For over 20 years she attended the San Francisco Giants spring training games where she was a long time Giants season ticket holder. She loved to play UNO cards, and was a winner most of the time, in which she reminded you about her winning record. Family was most important to her as she always provided support and guidance to all her children. She looked forward to family reunions, family breakfasts with her niece and nephews, and hosting dinners at her home in Rio Dell. She was a caregiver to her parents, her in-laws and her husband for many years, and was always willing to lend support to her close friends when needed.

Josephine is survived by her daughter, Judy McKinley, daughter and son-in-law, Jeanette and Tim De Fazio, son and daughter-in-law, Rich and Lana Ghilarducci. Grandson, Scott De Fazio and Heather and Grady Parker, Grandson, Kit and CJ McKinley and daughters, Lillian and Beth. Sister-in-law, Liana Ghilarducci, as well as many nephews and nieces and their families.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Dave Ghilarducci, parents, Cento and Lena Manzi, in-laws, Frank and Josephine Ghilarducci, brother and sister-in-law, Charley and Mary Manzi, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Raymond and Maureen Ghilarducci, brother-in-law, Robert Ghilarducci, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Henry and Angie Silva, son-in-law, Harless McKinley. There will be Rosary services Friday, April 4, 2025 at 7 p.m. at Goble’s Fortuna Mortuary in Fortuna, a mass of Christian burial on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 10 a.m. at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Fortuna. Final services and entombment will follow at Ocean View Cemetery Mausoleum in Eureka. A reception to celebrate Josephine’s life will follow these services at the Rio Dell Fire Hall from 1-4 p.m.

Donations can be made to Rio Dell Volunteer Fire Department, 50 Center St., Rio Dell 95562 or a charity of your choice.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Josephine Ghilarducci’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

James Arthur “Jim” Smith passed away peacefully at his home in Mattole Valley on March 15, 2025. Born January 16, 1945, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Eureka, Jim was the oldest child of Donald and Mildred (Lindley) Smith. Shortly after his birth he and his mother joined his father at Garfield Air Base in Illinois, where his father was a twin engine flight instructor in the Army Air Force.

Jim grew up in Ferndale, attending local schools and graduating with the Ferndale High School Class of 1962. He continued his education at Humboldt State College before enlisting in the United States Air Force in 1966. After his military service, Jim continued what would be a 35-year career with the California Department of Transportation as a CalTrans Transportation Engineer. Significant projects he supervised included construction of the Rio Dell-Scotia Bridge, the Lindley Bridge at Mattole, widening of Hwy 199 by Patrick’s Creek Resort, and the Del Norte bypass, before retiring in 2000.

Retirement allowed Jim to fully embrace the places and pastimes he loved. Summers were spent in Christmas Valley, Oregon, on Dennis and Pam Mauney’s ranch, while winters brought him back to the Mattole Valley, where his mother had been raised. He was the proud grandson of four Humboldt County pioneers: George Lindley and Verna Hindley Lindley of Mattole and Arthur Smith and Alice Haugh Smith of Port Kenyon/Arcata.

A man of adventures and many interests, Jim was an avid skier in his younger years, even working a season as a ski instructor at Squaw Valley, alongside his good friend Dennis Mauney. Following in his father’s footsteps, Jim had a passion for aviation, piloting his own Cessna 172C. He enjoyed the open water aboard his Clipperman sailboat. Later in life, he took to riding his EVELO electric bicycle. He also had an unexpected brush with media fame when a cascade of bricks flattened his Volvo during the 1992 earthquake - his loyal dog, Shotzie, miraculously survived inside.

Jim is survived by his aunt Guimar Lindley; sister, Susan (Dean) Petersen; his brother, Jack (Joanne) Smith; his nieces, Wendy (Norm) Sotomayor; Kalynn (Bobby) Dolcini; Julie (Brandon) Axell; his nephew, Josh (Kim) Smith; his stepmother, Donnis Smith, and his former wife, Davina George. He will also be fondly remembered by Janice Thomas, Teresa “Toad” & Charlie Hower, Nick & Patty Mendes, Paul & Alana Clark, Pam Mauney, Larry Turnbow and Charlie Jones.

As per Jim’s wishes, no formal service will be held. His ashes will be spread in Mattole Valley and Christmas Valley, the two places he called home. The family extends their gratitude to Dr. Mullins, Dr. Albertini and Dr. Shayeb for their compassionate care.

In honor of Jim, donations may be made to The Ferndale Museum, (PO Box 431) or Ferndale Fire Dept. (PO Box 485), Ferndale, 95536; or the Petrolia Fire Dept. (PO Box 169) or Mattole Valley Historical Society, (PO Box 144), Petrolia, 95558.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Jim Smith’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

UPDATE, April 1, 2025:

Not so fast! The College of the Redwoods Board of Trustees today has decided to pump the brakes this proposed mascot change. At today’s meeting, the board decided to get more community input before swapping Corsairs for Wolves, the Times-Standard reports.

Trustee Lorraine Pedrotti, who represents a region that largely overlaps the parts of Humboldt County represented by Supervisor Rex Bohn, voiced concern about changing something that’s been around for so long, though CR President Keith Flamer said a task force already solicited community feedback, according to reporter Robert Schaulis. 

Flamer also suggested that controversy may be inevitable in the current political climate, when jettisoning a mascot for its associations with slavery may strike some as “DEI-like,” potentially inviting political retribution.

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Bad news for fans of 15th Century Mediterranean sea bandits: College of the Redwoods plans to abandon its current mascot, the Corsairs, in favor of something a bit more locally relevant and a bit less freighted with historical baggage: the Wolves.

CR’s previous logo. | Via CR.

On Tuesday, the community college’s Board of Trustees is scheduled to approve the mascot swap as one of numerous items on the consent agenda. 

“The Corsairs mascot is being retired due to its problematic historical associations,” a staff report explains. “Corsairs were involved in the African and European slave trade and continuing to use this mascot does not align with the College’s commitment to fostering a welcoming environment for all students and community members. “

CR formed a “Mascot Development Task Force” to explore new options, soliciting input from the community and from the Wiyot Tribe. The process yielded three finalists: the Condors, the Wolves and the Krakens. 

The Wolves got the task force nod “because of the wolf’s close connection with the Wiyot culture and to the unceded territory upon which the Eureka Campus occupies,” the staff report notes. CR President Keith Flamer agreed with the recommendation. The Times-Standard first reported on the proposed mascot swap on Saturday.

Another point of lupinus connection: In 2022, the Wiyot Tribe celebrated the purchase of a 46-acre coastal property near present-day King Salmon, at the base of Humboldt Hill, known by the Tribe as Mouralherwaqh or “wolf’s house.”  CORRECTION: The area known in Wiyot stories as “Wolf’s House” —Chvuchgudidaluwilhi in Soulatluk — was closer to the CR campus — hence the recommendation.]

What do you think of the (proposed) new mascot? Would you have gone for the Condors or the Krakens instead? Head on over to LoCO Pollz to weigh in.

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A man in his early 40s is currently being carried by ambulance to St. Joseph Hospital with second-degree burns after he was engulfed in flames for about 20 seconds following a “flare-up” at the Scotia Mill power plant, according to scanner traffic.

The man’s beard “melted” in the fire and he had to jump off of a 10-foot balcony to escape the flames, according to the feed. He landed on his hand and was in “excruciating pain at this time,” the caller informed dispatch.

Here’s the scanner feed from around 9:40 a.m.:

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This story is developing and will be updated. 

U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman led a crowded town hall meeting this afternoon at the Adorni Center on Eureka’s waterfront, speaking to an anxious but broadly supportive crowd of around 500 people. Over the course of about an hour and 40 minutes he addressed what he characterized as the “existential threat to democracy” presented by President Donald Trump and his Republican enablers in Congress.

“The truth is, I have never been more worried and alarmed about the direction of this country,” Huffman declared early in the meeting. He said Congressional Republicans have abdicated their responsibility to serve as a check on the executive branch, choosing instead to be obsequious while Trump “lurch[es] toward authoritarianism.”

Among the crowd was a smattering of vocal critics of Huffman’s support for sending military aid to Israel. They occasionally yelled at him from the standing-room-only area at the back and from elsewhere in the large room. He addressed a few direct questions about the violence against Palestinian people in Gaza, and near the end of the meeting he delivered a forceful response to a couple of especially outspoken critics.

The crowd was mostly on his side, though. After entering through a side door, stage right, Huffman strolled to the lectern amid a hearty round of applause. About three quarters of the crowd stood as they clapped and cheered for the North Coast’s Democratic representative in Congress. 

Appearing chuffed by the warm reception, Huffman began with a couple of jokes. He noted the blustery weather outside and quipped, “Someone should propose an offshore wind project; this would be a perfect spot for that!” And after thanking the City of Eureka for making the Adorni Center available he remarked, “It is amazing to see this kind of a turnout. And gosh, I just wonder, how did George Soros find and pay all of you?”

But he quickly acknowledged the “sobering and grim” political moment. He rattled off a few Congressional “funding victories” from recent years, including the $426 million federal grant to build a heavy-lift marine terminal on Humboldt Bay (“We’re still going to have to fight for that funding,” he acknowledged); $37 million for Klamath River restoration; and $15 million for restoration of forests and watersheds in Redwood National and State Parks.

Huffman also noted his recent election as ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee. 

“But look,” he said. “I’m real clear on why probably most of you are here. I think you are all really reeling, as I am, from this wave of executive orders unlike anything that we have ever seen, from the wrecking ball of DOGE, from the on-again, off-again tariffs that seem to change almost by the hour and the economic chaos that all of this is unleashing, and just everything else that’s in the news right now.”

As the Trump administration flouts the law and tests legal boundaries, Huffman said, “Republicans in Congress … seem to have forgotten that we are a separate and independent branch of government that the Founders put right up front, Article I of the Constitution. … This Congress thinks it works for Donald Trump, and that is a big constitutional problem.”

He also lamented the “extralegal” (as in illegal) and “incompetent” actions of DOGE, the onslaught of executive orders gutting and eliminating federal departments and the billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook who are “bending the knee” before Trump.

He told a brief anecdote to illustrate the point: At a ceremonial lunch he was obligated to attend at the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, Huffman overheard Amazon’s CEO speaking to Trump’s youngest son, Barron. “And I can overhear Jeff Bezos kissing up to this kid Barron Trump and telling him what a brilliant and insightful young man he is,” Huffman said. “I mean, the level of sycophancy with billionaires trying to curry favor was unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

Huffman said he agrees that the violence in Gaza has been horrific, and he’s even more horrified that the Trump administration seems willing to rubber-stamp more of it. He added that while he doesn’t like the current Israeli government, he also didn’t want to “throw the people of Israel under the bus.”

Faced with two lousy choices, Huffman said, “I tried to use our influence to redirect the Israeli government and the Israeli war plan, and it didn’t work. So I’m not happy with the outcome either.”

As staffers and volunteers walked around the room with live microphones, Huffman continued to take questions, addressing such matters as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (“a singularly unqualified person running the Department of Health and Human Services”); the potential elimination of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); threats to social security, Medicare and Medicaid; and the elimination of funds for local food banks (“I can’t imagine anything more cruel and wrongheaded.”)

A woman named Carol Monet said she’s worried about green-card holders and other legal residents being “disappeared” by immigration officials for exercising their right to free speech.

Huffman said he saw the potential for such actions back when Trump was disingenuously disavowing Project 2025, and now it’s happening.

“Yeah, the arbitrary, random, secretive disappearing of people is happening across the board,” he said, noting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been bragging about revoking the student visas of protestors who have “exercised political speech he disagrees with.” Huffman referenced the famous “First they came for … “ passage from the 1930s by German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller and said, “That’s exactly where we are in America right now.”

One attendee told Huffman that he was preaching to the choir and urged him to do more. He responded that while he may lack the charisma and star power of AOC and Bernie Sanders, he’s in their same “fight camp,” and he vowed to visit a Republican district soon.

A U.S. Navy veteran asked Huffman what’s being done to protect habeas corpus, people’s right to challenge the legality of their detention or imprisonment, given the recent crackdown on people who protested against the violence in Gaza.

“ICE is taking plain-clothes, Gestapo goon squads piped up to the gills to take people off the street, take them halfway across the country to a for-profit ICE detention center, or even worse, to yet another Republican-founded overseas torture, slave-labor gulag,” the man said. “What are we doing to protect our students from Cal Poly? And what are we doing to free the political prisoners already taken?”

Huffman said the rights of habeas corpus and due process are “at the core of who we are as a nation,” and he vowed to defend them in every way he can. But he also noted that, being in the minority party in Congress, he doesn’t have the ability to issue subpoenas or hold hearings. Still, he said he would lean on his Republican colleagues because “this shouldn’t be partisan.”

The most heated exchange of the afternoon came toward the end of the event. A woman named Karpani Burns (no relation to this reporter) described a scene in which a Palestinian father held the head of his dead son and challenged Huffman to look at his own moral compass in the context of the “tens of thousands of people that have been murdered” in Gaza.

“I have not yet seen one move on your part to care, to do something except continue with your vote for arms to Israel,” she said. “You continually say they have a right to defend themselves. They are not defending themselves. They are butchering a people. It’s called ge-no-cide.”

Huffman said he finds the violence in Gaza morally repugnant. “I promise you, I really do,” he insisted. “I’m horrified by it, including the scenes that you described, which are really happening. And I wish there was something more that I could do to stop it, but I’ve not been sitting on my hands.” 

As he continued, a woman near the front started shouting at him, calling Israel an ethnic state. He asked to be allowed to finish.

“​​I believe the state of Israel does have a right to exist,” Huffman said. “That doesn’t mean I support everything they do, okay? So there are contradictions and nuances here. It is an issue that does not reduce to an absolute binary the way I think it has been suggested.”

He went on to say that he has tried to support Palestinians “in ways that many pro-Israel folks are upset with me for,” adding, “I’m probably in a position where I please absolutely no one on this issue.”

Other people in the room shouted angrily as he continued. The woman near the front kept shouting, “Palestinians have a right to exist!” Huffman engaged in a bit of back-and-forth before going on the offensive with a remark about the last presidential election. 

“You know what?” he said. “Maybe getting thousands and thousands of people not to vote for Democrats in the last election because they weren’t perfect with what you want was a dumb idea.” 

The crowd began cheering in response. He continued. “Maybe you should have some accountability for just totally misplaced advocacy on this issue, but let’s move on.”

The woman continued to shout at him — “You are a war criminal voting for genocide” — as others urged her to sit down. 

Huffman turned his attention to the last public speaker of the day, a man who recounted his harrowing experiences interacting with the American medical system as he sought care for his son, who suffered from severe mental disabilities in his youth. He said he and his son have reached a state of normalcy thanks to the $3,000 per month in Medicaid they receive, and he said the Trump administration represents an existential threat to that kind of care.

Huffman thanked the man for summing up what’s at stake in this political moment, noting the cruel irony that those dismantling the country’s social safety net are among the richest people on Earth.

“They’re these oligarchs that will never feel any of this, and they are just zeroing out programs without any concern for what it means for people’s lives … ,” he said. “Thank you for helping draw that connection, because it’s a super central part of this moment that we’re all in, and I think a very appropriate note for us to end on. Thank you for a great conversation.”

View more photos of the event below, and you can watch the video of the full town hall meeting at the bottom of this post, courtesy Access Humboldt.

They’re expecting a packed house at the Adorni Center on Sunday, where Jared Huffman is set to take center stage for a town hall meeting at 1 p.m. The congressman is expected to give constituents an update on how he sees the state of D.C. politics while also answering some questions. 

Access Humboldt is live-streaming the event. Watch below. LoCO will have a full report later.