QUILCENE — Staying connected with constituents makes for more effective representation, according to U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, and in that spirit, the congressman who represents the Northern Olympic Peninsula finished a series of area town hall meetings with a stop Friday.
“Whenever there is a gathering of more than 10 people, I try to be there, to be available,” said Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor.
“I try to be as accessible as I can, to hear what’s on people’s minds.”
During last week’s congressional recess, Kilmer — who represents the 6th District, which includes the Olympic Peninsula — held seven town hall meetings, appearing in Port Townsend on Tuesday, Sequim on Thursday and Quilcene on Friday.
He said he hears the same concerns at most of the meetings, but there is often something new.
“People want one of two things: for the economy to work and for the government to work and eliminate the current level of partisan bickering,” he said.
“But there are times when I hear an idea. Recently, I heard from someone who felt the Food and Drug Administration isn’t approving generic drugs fast enough, and we are now in communication with the FDA about that topic.”
During the recess, Kilmer talked to smaller, more private audiences, such as hosting Jane Chu, the chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, at Fort Worden on Tuesday and attending a lunch meeting with the North Hood Canal Chamber of Commerce at the Gear Head Deli in Quilcene on Friday.
About 25 businesspeople gathered for the 90-minute talk, which addressed business and politics.
Since his election in 2012, Kilmer has criticized Congress for a lack of cooperation and productivity, but this may be improving.
“I do these meetings to share the good, the bad and the ugly, but lately, there hasn’t been much good; it’s been mostly bad and ugly,” he said.
“But between October and the end of the session, we actually saw Congress make some progress, like voting in a replacement for No Child Left Behind, and we also saw a transportation law pass that supplies five years of funding.”
Kilmer said that prior to the passage of that law, Congress was funding transportation for months at a time. Changing this has allowed more effective long-range planning.
“The big enchilada this year was that Congress passed a budget that will hold for almost a year and a half and will prevent a government shutdown,” he said.
Kilmer said the new bill will eliminate sequestration, a process that forces budget cuts that he defined as “the Latin word for ‘stupid.’ ”
Kilmer said the presidential race, which includes two unconventional candidates — Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republican Donald Trump — is a result of “a legitimate frustration that things aren’t working.”
“Regardless of who our next president is, we need to have a functioning government, and I am committed to working with whoever is elected,” Kilmer said.
He said he was saddened by a low voter turnout in 2014.
“The deep pockets and special interests have too much say, which lessens the sense of efficacy of voters to think they have a say in our government,” he said.
“Two-thirds of citizens cast a vote of no confidence by deciding to not vote at all.”
Kilmer said he doesn’t believe that money is speech and corporations are people, and has sponsored a constitutional amendment to repeal the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling.
“There is a way to fix this, as there is now a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said in reference to the recent death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
“Part of the reason this vacancy matters is that it offers the opportunity to revisit the decisions that many of us find repugnant.”
Kilmer invited input from the public, offering several channels for them to connect.
To contact Kilmer or his staff, go to www.kilmer.house.gov or call 202-225-5916.
Kilmer’s Port Angeles district office is located at 332 E. Fifth St. and can be reached at 360-797-3623.
It is open from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
