James McGovern

WORCESTER — As the workweek came to an end, constituents of U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, gathered together Friday, Oct. 3, in Atwood Hall of Clark University for the congressman's town hall.

In the midst of a government shutdown, residents from across McGovern's district assembled to question the legislator on numerous programs seeing cuts to federal funding.

About the shutdown McGovern said, "That's what this shutdown is about, to be very clear. It's about whether the government is going to work for everybody and for everyday people, or whether it's just going to work for the billionaires and special interests."

The audience's main concern at the meeting was how the federal government's actions would trickle down and have effects locally.

A woman spoke to McGovern about her fear over cuts to Medicaid and told him about her daughter, who had cerebral palsy and has never been able to walk. "Trump has taken everything away from us," she said.

Other audience members approached the microphone to discuss their fears over cuts to other programs. including Medicare, Social Security and SNAP. One person said, "I wake up every morning and wonder what institution has fallen."

McGovern remained steadfast in his disappointment with the Trump administration, saying, "He (Trump) and the people around him have been dismantling programs they don't like since day one," and added about the shutdown, "If we give in, health insurance premiums will soar for tens of millions of Americans, starting in January, including thousands of families right here in Massachusetts."

More people shared McGovern's frustrations. Two researchers from UMass Chan Medical School, where McGovern spoke earlier in the day, were fearful over how cuts could affect their work.

They shared some of their funding came from Columbia University, and ultimately when Columbia caved to Trump, their funding came back. The two voiced concerns over UMass not having defense mechanisms if Trump did come after funding.

They recommended forming a coalition of local colleges and universities, sooner rather than later, so a system would be in place to stand up to the Trump administration if necessary.

In addition to criticism of the federal government, people shared their concerns over local government.

"We're experiencing authoritarianism here in Worcester too. We have ICE thugs hijacking and kidnapping people off of our streets and we have politically motivated charges brought against elected officials for standing up for their neighbors. Not only that but we have been failed by our local elected officials because city councilors and School Committee members are openly transphobic and show contempt for any amount of police accountability," one man said and asked McGovern to back local candidates.

He continued to say, "I think people listen to you, I think what you say matters, and I think if you speak out in favor of people who are being targeted unfairly, people will listen."

During his response McGovern noted that District 4 Councilor Luis A. Ojeda and City Council Vice Chairman Khrystian King were in attendance.

While many people at the town hall voiced their support of McGovern and said they were happy to live in his district, some people did share their discontent with some of the congressman's votes, most notably his choice to vote in favor of honoring conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk.

"I was extremely disappointed in that vote, I think a lot of people were. This is a man who has said horrific things, he's a homophobe, he's a transphobe, he's a racist, he's a white supremacist," one man said to McGovern.

"I think the polarization in this country is getting so out of control that if there are things that we can do to try and bring people together I think it's worth it," McGovern responded, adding, "Maybe it was the wrong vote. I get it, you know, my wife I think agrees with you. I don't always get it right, but at the time I thought it was the right thing to do."

Throughout the town hall, McGovern continued to urge his constituents to use their voices to continue voting and stand up for what they believe in, saying, "We fight like hell every day" and "We're using every procedural mechanism available to try to stop them on some of the most egregious stuff" regarding Democrats trying to restore cuts and win back the House majority.