U.S. Senate Candidate Dykstra Announces Town Hall Meetings

From today's mailbag:

Sioux Falls, S.D. - U.S. Republican Senate Candidate Joel Dykstra has announced he will be hosting a series of Town Hall Meetings across the state of South Dakota. The series is in response to Senator Tim Johnson's decision not to participate in any Senate candidate debates.

Town Hall Meetings are being planned in every region of the state. There will be a minimum of four meetings, one each in Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Pierre and Aberdeen, and conversations are ongoing about how many more the campaign schedule will allow. The meetings will be held in late September and early October. Actual dates, times and additional communities will soon be announced by the campaign.

According to Dykstra, the Town Hall Meetings will offer a venue for public dialogue in the absence of traditional debates. "The voters deserve the chance to have their voices heard on key issues in the campaign with or without the senior Senator's participation." Dykstra said there are many critical issues that need to be discussed by both candidates. "We will extend an invitation to Senator Johnson to participate in one or all of the events. However, if his campaign staff won't agree to debates, then it's our duty to offer voters the chance to talk about the issues that are critical to South Dakota and the future of America."

Dykstra said he is disappointed that Johnson's campaign decision-makers have prevented the Senator from participating in debates, starting with the Dakota Fest forum next week. "I don't think this is about Senator Johnson's speaking ability, but because he doesn't want to publicly defend his voting record. He has continually voted against domestic oil drilling, he has voted to allow illegal immigrants to receive Social Security and continues to toe the line for the liberal party leadership and their agenda in Washington."

"I believe the voters will respond positively to this chance to participate in the campaign discussion. South Dakota has an opportunity to choose a new direction and a new voice for real change," he said.

This is a good idea. A town hall meeting would afford both candidates to share their views on the issues without the intense setting of a debate.

I hope Senator Johnson will take Dykstra up on the offer.