Progressive group plans their own town hall meeting

Two possible candidates for governor will have a captive audience of progressive voters this weekend at an event billed as the Oklahoma Town Hall.

Democrats Scott Inman and Drew Edmondson are scheduled to be panelists. Both have said they are considering a run.

The town hall meeting was organized by Indivisible Oklahoma, a local group that’s part of a national movement against President Donald Trump’s policies.

Inman, a state representative from Del City, has told The Oklahoman he is thinking about a run as he visits with people across the state.

A Draft Drew Edmondson Facebook page has garnered more than 1,600 likes, and on his personal Facebook page, Edmondson wrote that he’s still looking at a second run for governor. He lost the 2010 Democratic primary to Jari Askins, who eventually lost to Gov. Mary Fallin.

Indivisible Oklahoma founder Beverly Tuberville said the idea for a statewide, public airing of grievances came when the state’s two U.S. senators didn’t schedule their own in-person town hall meetings this spring.

“We have been pushing Sens. (Jim) Inhofe and (James) Lankford, asking them several times when they were going to do a town hall,” said Tuberville. “We knew they were off on recess recently and part of their job is to meet with constituents.”

Her group and its members were upset about the appointment of Betsy DeVos as education secretary. As U.S. senators, Lankford and Inhofe had a vote. They both voted to confirm the nomination.

“(Lankford) knew that we wanted to confront him on that issue, and he would not confirm a town hall,” Tuberville said.

He did, however, hold a telephone town hall and answered questions.

Lankford’s spokesman wrote in an emailed response that the senator has held hundreds of community forums, listening events and telephone town halls since being elected to Congress in 2010.

“Because of the intense Senate legislative schedule during the first six months of this year, Sen. Lankford needs to be in Washington, D.C., more than normal,” wrote D.J. Jordan. “When the schedule allows, Sen. Lankford will return to holding his regular community forums and listening events.”

He downplayed the event as a media event that doesn’t facilitate civil conversation, writing that Lankford is interested in meaningful dialogue.

“Senator Lankford supports the right for progressives and Oklahomans of all political backgrounds to exercise their First Amendment right through peaceful protests,” Jordan wrote. “But if Indivisible’s objective is to ‘be heard’ or share an opinion with Sen. Lankford in a timely way, they should visit, write or call our office — Lankford’s office is always open to all Oklahomans.”

A spokeswoman for Inhofe said Oklahoma’s senior senator was traveling internationally during the last Congressional recess and will be doing so again this weekend.

Tuberville said she expects Republican voters to be at the town hall meeting Saturday, which is in the Rose State College Hudiburg Center at 6 p.m.

Also on the town hall panel will be Norman Democrat Emily Virgin, Freedom Oklahoma Executive Director Troy Stephenson and Adam Soltani, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Oklahoma.