It could be your congressman calling

By Judy Sly
jsly@modbee.com

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How can George Radanovich, sitting in his office in Washington, D.C., learn what's on the mind of a teacher in Fresno, a retiree in Mariposa and a builder in another part of his far-flung 19th Congressional District?

The answer: hooking them up to a town hall meeting by telephone.

Radanovich, the seven-term Republican congressman from Mariposa, has been doing these sessions several times a year since 2006. Some are on specific subjects, such as the Mariposa fire last summer. Others are like the teleconference I listened in on earlier this month -- general interest. And, no surprise, what most constituents wanted to talk about was the economy and government budgets.

Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, also does telephone town halls, as do a number of congressional members and some candidates for local elections elsewhere in the state.

Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, hasn't used telephone town halls. An aide said he is considering them, along with other electronic technologies to increase communication with constituents.

Most regular voters have gotten robo-calls, those annoying automated messages that come from candidates or their supporters during election seasons. These are not the same.

The congressmen contract with companies that maintain phone lists for residents of their districts. For one meeting, calls might go out to as many as 20,000 to 40,000 households. During Radanovich's Jan. 14 call, about 5,000 people picked up the phone and 680 remained on the line for the start of the exchange.

I'm sure many people are inclined, as I am, to hang up as soon as I hear a recorded message. But after his introduction, Radanovich himself came on the line and talked briefly before people pressed buttons to indicate they had a question.

Radanovich's staff screens the questions. During this meeting, Radanovich had time to speak directly with 15 of the 140 people who wanted an exchange. The rest of us just listened.

Appropriately, there's a blackout period on telephone town halls before an election, even if the congressman has no opposition.

Both Radanovich and McNerney tell constituents about these teleconferences through their district newsletters. People can request to be put on the calling list. To get on Radanovich's next telephone town hall, call his district office at 579-5458.

McNerney's next telephone town hall is set for Tuesday. To get in on future telephone meetings his constituents can e-mail McNerneyInfo@mail. house.gov.

We still want and expect to see our federal representatives in their districts regularly and providing ways to have longer discussions with constituents. But these telephone town halls are an efficient way to stay in touch with the views and mood of regular folks. They rely on somewhat sophisticated technology at one end -- the politician's -- but the constituents need only have a phone.

Sly is editor of the Opinions pages. Contact her at 578-2317 or jsly@modbee.com.