Bill Huizenga - You’re On Notice!

To: Congressman Bill Huizenga
From: Saugatuck Douglas Area Indivisible
RE: You’re on Notice

Congressman Huizenga,

There was a time when the honor of public office came with the understood obligation: show up and listen. To listen, even when you disagree. To answer, especially when the questions are hard. To face the people and not hide from your constituents.

The last time you held an in-person town hall was 2017. Until a few weeks ago, your office phone lines went directly to voicemail. Your response to emails and letters is form letters instead of answering direct questions. How do you know what your community wants if you don’t meet with them? Your conduct as the representative of Michigan’s 4th District has made it clear you’ve lost sight of your duty.

You have voted in favor of the “Huge, Terrible Bill” with its billions in cuts to both Medicare and Medicaid. In doing so, you’ve placed ideological fidelity over the lived reality of your district, where over 1 in 5 residents rely on these programs for essential health services. Your record shows a consistent willingness to defund the very safety nets many of your constituents depend on, even as you refuse to meet them face to face.

Your solution to your constituents calling for town halls with you: a one-time, quick drive by to talk, not listen, to a group of people outside your office. And your phone town halls, where your staff carefully choose which callers get to ask questions, are simply performative exercises.

Saugatuck Douglas Area Indivisible, a group of Independents, Republicans and Democrats, will work with local political activist groups to vote you out. You have been so worried about bending the knee to the President, you’ve even angered your MAGA base when you voted against releasing the Epstein files. You should see how many signs have your name on them at the huge protests along the lakeshore. It looks like you’ve disappointed many voters across the political spectrum.

Let this serve as notice: We will not allow your silence to become standard. As you seek reelection to the House, we will remind voters at every opportunity that you chose comfort over conversations. Indivisible, along with a growing coalition of grassroots advocates, will knock doors and continue to hold forums to ensure your record, not your rhetoric, defines your political future. 

The truth is, Congressman, public office is not a protective shield; it’s public trust. If you won’t listen to the people, the people will find someone who will.

Sincerely,

The membership of the Saugatuck Douglas Area Indivisible, Holland Zeeland Indivisible, South Haven Indivisible, and Just Us People Indivisible Battle Creek

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