Raleigh – When he was first elected to the Senate in 2014, Senator Tillis promised to “spend time going out and doing what I did when I became speaker – town hall meetings.” Yet according to a new report from WFAE, Senator Tillis “hasn’t kept that pledge,” instead only meeting with “Republican-friendly audiences” in events not open to the full public.

Tillis has repeatedly refused to hold public town hall meetings with constituents – one business owner labelled him “Timid Tillis” in 2017 for being too scared to meet with the public – because he’s a weak politician who’s desperate to avoid answering tough questions, like when one military spouse recently asked, “How can we trust you to fix it if you’re taking money from us actively for a border wall?”

That broken promise on the emergency declaration allowed $80 million to be raided from North Carolina’s military bases, earning him continued negative press from across the state and contributing to his “image problem” as a weak, cowardly politician who’s too timid to face his constituents.

WFAE: Saying There’s No Dialogue, Tillis Avoids Traditional Town Halls
By Steve Harrison
October 15, 2019

Key Points:

• After Thom Tillis defeated Kay Hagan five years ago to win his Senate seat, he said he would hold town halls in an effort to represent all North Carolinians.

• At a news conference shortly after the 2014 election, Tillis said, “I think a part of what you do is you get out within the state. I’ll be home every weekend, I’ll travel back every week, and I’ll spend time going out and doing what I did when I became speaker — town hall meetings. Talk about what your priorities are. Listening and speaking to them.”

• But Tillis hasn’t kept that pledge to hold town halls, at least not in the traditional sense.

• Anger toward Republicans intensified after President Donald Trump’s election in 2016, when liberal voters often challenged — and sometimes shouted at — GOP lawmakers during town halls. Many were upset that Republicans were trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

• But that political rage arguably began in 2009 after President Barack Obama’s election – five years before Tillis pledged to hold town halls.

• The web site Legistorm says Tillis did not hold town halls in 2015 and 2016. It says he last held a town hall in 2017 – but it was by telephone. That was the same year a man yelled at Tillis during a Durham business luncheon, saying he was “Timid Tillis” for not answering questions about health care.

• A representative for Tillis did not respond to comment on whether the senator has held a traditional town hall open to anyone.

• Tillis events are often before Republican-friendly audiences, like a Charlotte Business Alliance Event this summer on protecting intellectual property from China.