Schrier holds first 'Town Hall' in Wenatchee, establishes Congressional office of NCW

WENATCHEE -- A town hall meeting was held by newly elected 8th Congressional District Democrat Dr. Kim Schrier as Wenatchee Mayor Frank Kuntz emceed and hosted the event in the packed city hall council chambers meeting room Saturday, Feb., 23.

Kuntz announced a new Congressional office has been established within the Wenatchee City Hall offices on the third floor of the old Federal Building, now partially owned and operated by the city of Wenatchee and LocalTel.

Schrier, speaking to a highly partisan audience urged to attend by "Indivisible Wenatchee" Facebook group, ironically spoke about the need for bipartisan legislation to deal with healthcare and immigration issues, including the H2A guest worker program used by many NCW orchardists. She also said she has joined a group called the "New Dems" which is comprised of the 101 newly elected Democrats to the

U.S. House of Representatives who were swept into office by the so-called "Blue Wave" of the 2018 election.

Schrier, a pediatrician, promised to work towards "affordable options that every family could afford" in regards to healthcare. She said health related debt was the "number one cause of bankruptcy" in America.

Schrier emphatically said she does not support "open borders," but stated she supports a "good guest worker program."

Schrier spoke about the need to have a long term plan to keep Social Security "solvent" and added that the long-standing program was "not a bonus," but something "we pay into."

Many on the panel and in the audience were advocates of feeding the poor and mitigating forest fires.

Schrier said she purposely lobbied to be placed on the Agricultural Committee so she could address issues such as "thinning forests" and "fresh food programs."

Schrier also said she will be advocating for increased funding of solar, wind and battery energy programs.

Schrier said she will be back in Washington, D.C. by Tuesday, Feb., 26 to vote against President Trump's "National Emergency" executive order regarding building a wall on the Souther Border with Mexico.

For a more detailed report on Schrier's first town hall meeting in North Central Washington, read the Wenatchee Business Journal or go to Wenatcheebusinessjournal.com.