Over 120 People Ask, "Where's Harry?"
(SCOTTSDALE, AZ) September 18, 2009 – More than 120 residents of Arizona Congressional District 5 participated in a health care town hall meeting convened by Republican Congressional Candidate Jim Ward. Questions and concerns raised by those in attendance will be presented to district Representative Harry Mitchell, who has so far declined to participate in any face-to-face discussions with constituents about health care reform. 
"As I travel across CD 5, I hear from business leaders and individuals that one of the most important concerns they have is what's happening with the current debate over health care reform," said Jim Ward, Republican candidate for Congress in CD 5 for the 2010 cycle. "Since our own elected representative wouldn't provide a face to face public forum to tell people what is going on and listen to what they have to say... I did."
Ward's public, health care town hall was held at the Mustang Library in North Scottsdale. Panelists included Dr. Eric Novack, Chairman of Arizonans for Health Care Freedom and Clint Bolick, Director of the Goldwater Institute’s Norton-Scharf Center for Constitutional Litigation. "This gathering gave people an opportunity to ask questions they would have asked Congressman Harry Mitchell if he had only hosted a forum for them to attend," Ward added. "People want to know how they can get better access to care, make coverage portable, make their insurance more affordable and what are we going to do about the uninsured."
Audience questions for Congressman Mitchell included:
- Will he vote against a bill that raises taxes in any kind of individual or company to pay for health care reform?
- Will he vote against a bill that puts government between families and doctors?
- Will he vote against a bill that allows for treatment of non-United States citizens?
For nearly 2 hours, participants asked panelists questions and wrote on comment cards their concerns about health care reform. Jim Ward will deliver a letter to Congressman Mitchell summarizing the meeting and listing the concerns of those in attendance. For more information, please visit www.votejimward.com.
