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Barletta calls out Kanjo for not holding town halls

CLARIFICATION APPENDED (See bottom)

With members of Congress throughout the country notably avoiding the usual summer slate of town hall meetings, Republican Lou
Barletta is being particularly dogged in going after Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) over the issue.

Barletta, the Hazleton mayor who is trying to unseat Kanjorski for the third time in eight years, launched his first attack last week, saying Kanjorski is “hiding from the people.” He kept up the assault this week, noting that Kanjorski found time to schedule an appearance next month before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, an industry-funded regulator.

“Kanjorski is refusing to meet with the people and answer their questions in the open format a town hall meeting would provide, but he is all too willing to appear with his Wall Street buddies in a controlled environment where he won’t have to face the tough questions,” Barletta said in a statement Monday. “This is a slap in the face at the people he claims to represent.”

But Kanjorski’s office has noted that the FINRA meeting is effectively a town-hall style gathering, open to the public and providing constituents with an opportunity to ask questions of a group that plays a role in investor education and consumer protection.

“During these tough economic times, families must carefully consider their investment options as they try to save for retirement, for a child’s education, or for a new home,” Kanjorski said in a statement. “Our financial system has failed far too many investors for far too long and we must change course. But, individuals must also educate themselves on their investment options. The goal of this forum is to empower individuals to make the best possible investment choices for their circumstances.”

Still, the latest shots from Barletta underscore that the third matchup between the two candidates will likely be as bitter as the first two. They also show that while Kanjorski is hoping to make his role in crafting financial reform legislation a key political selling point, Barletta will try to make it a liability.

Kanjorski aides noted that, like many other members of Congress, the longtime incumbent is holding telephone town halls that allow him to interact with a larger number of constituents in the northeast Pennsylvania district, which is currently No. 3 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings.

“I have held many town meetings over the years in many different formats,” Kanjorski said through a spokesperson. “I have found that telephone town meetings can be especially effective because I can interact with as many as 8,000 northeastern Pennsylvanians on a single phone call. Telephone town meetings provide a unique and convenient forum to hear the concerns of my constituents and answer their questions live over the phone. I have received very positive feedback from participants on these calls.”

Kanjorski campaign spokesman Ed Mitchell said Barletta was being hypocritical.

“[Barletta] attacks Congressman Kanjorski for meeting with bankers and financial institutions… next month when in reality he’s meeting with the regulators and monitors of those institutions to insure consumer and investor protection,” Mitchell said. “Barletta just attacks to get his name in the paper. He doesn’t let facts get in his way.”

In his latest statement, Barletta again aired the familiar criticism that as chairman of a House Financial Services subcommittee, Kanjorski has benefited from industry campaign contributions.

“It’s disappointing but not surprising, considering the amount of money Wall Street bankers and brokers have given to Kanjorski over the years,” Barletta said. “Of course he’s beholden to them. Kanjorski must explain why he takes millions in campaign cash from his Wall Street buddies then hands out billions of taxpayer dollars to them in the form of bailouts.”

Clarification: Because of an editing error, this article originally omitted key context about Kanjorski’s forum with the FINRA group, including that it is a town-hall style meeting, open to the public, his office says, to provide constituents an opportunity to ask questions of a group that plays a role in investor education and consumer protection.

June 21, 2010 at 3:15 pm

--Donald Hoegg

Tags: Lou Barletta, PA-11, Paul Kanjorski

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