Political town hall meetings proposed for `08
By Nathan Straus News Reporter

Ron Gindlesperger wants the people's voices to be heard in East Texas, and to ensure this is accomplished he has proposed the founding of a political roundtable discussion in several cities.

"I want to see if anyone is interested in having an old-fashioned town hall meeting where the citizens set the agenda of what we expect our elected members to achieve in their respective offices," Gindlesperger, a retired engineer, said.

Gindlesperger has experience with such discussions, he said. He has seen similar setups in Florida; some organized by him, others he simply watched.

"I've seen the results from things like this," Gindlesperger said. "It really works."

The discussion's goal would be to reach a consensus of 10 items for the federal, state and county level governments. These items would be what those who came to the town hall meeting found most important on their list of priorities.

"We hear a lot of things on the television and the radio telling us what we're worried about. I want us to decide what we're worried about," Gindlesperger said.

"No politicians would be invited to speak or guide the groups in their discussions of the issues," he said. "I'm of the same thought of other people that our country isn't going in the right direction, and I don't think we're being guided in the right direction by the politicians."

The meetings will not be focused on city government because, Gindlesperger said, he believes the cities seem to be well-run and organized.

Once attendees have decided what issues they care about the most, they will send the list to the politicians so they can know what East Texans are concerned with.

Much of the details of the meetings are not set yet, Gindlesperger said. He did suggest having town hall meetings in Athens, Chandler, Gun Barrel City, Larue and Malakoff, and did say he intended for this to be a Henderson County event.

"People should call me to set up a time for the forums," Gindlesperger said.

Gindlesperger added the forum would likely take place in the respective town's community center. He added he would like the meetings to take place in January, 2008, to enhance the impact during an election year.

Gindlesperger's number is 903-849-4561.